Pedestrian Deaths Are Rising Faster Than Overall Traffic Fatalities: Report

National organization finds that pedestrian deaths are still 20% higher than nearly a decade earlier.

Despite recent declines in pedestrian fatalities, a new report shows the number of people struck and killed by passenger vehicles is still nearly 20% higher than in 2016.

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) released the 2024 Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State Preliminary Data report on July 10, finding that drivers struck and killed 7,148 pedestrians in the U.S. in 2024, representing a 4.3% decrease from 2023. 

While the data shows a positive downward trend in fatalities, the organization warns that the overall risk to pedestrians remains unacceptably high.

The GHSA is a nonprofit group that provides leadership and advocacy to help states and territories enhance traffic safety and make U.S. roads safer. It supports a holistic approach that establishes a multi-layered safety net to protect everyone on the road, which includes targeted traffic enforcement against dangerous driving behaviors.

In their new in-depth analysis of 2023 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the organization highlights persistent concerns about pedestrian deaths, particularly those involving hit-and-runs, nighttime crashes, larger vehicles like SUVs and pickups, and areas without sidewalks.

The GHSA report reveals that pedestrian deaths are increasing at a faster rate than overall traffic fatalities. Between 2009 and 2023, pedestrian deaths rose by a staggering 80%, while all other traffic fatalities increased by just 13%. 

Over the past eight years, pedestrian fatalities have risen more than 19%, with one in four deaths in 2024 involving a hit-and-run crash.

In 2023, light trucks accounted for 54% of pedestrian fatalities where a vehicle type was known, compared to 37% of passenger cars. That same year, 65% of pedestrian deaths occurred in locations without sidewalks.

The findings also reveal that over three-quarters of pedestrian deaths occurred after dark, with nighttime fatalities rising 84% between 2010 and 2023, nearly triple the 28% increase in daytime deaths.

Overall, between 2023 and 2024, pedestrian fatalities rose in 22 states, fell in 25 states, and remained unchanged in 3 states. 

In 2024, California (928 deaths), Texas (767), and Florida (713) recorded the most pedestrian fatalities. California and Florida saw the largest declines in raw numbers, accounting for 257 of the 324 fewer deaths nationwide, roughly 79% of the overall drop.

New Jersey had the biggest increase, with 52 more deaths than in 2023. Hawaii saw the highest percentage increase at 73%, while Idaho and Wyoming had the steepest percentage declines, each reporting a 55% drop in fatalities.

Pedestrian Traffic Fatality Trends

Over the past decade, pedestrian deaths have risen nearly 50%. However, a 2024 report found that the total number of annual traffic fatalities declined that year for the first time since 2020.

One of the factors pointed to as contributing to the increasing number of pedestrian deaths in the U.S. is the increased height of vehicle hoods, which significantly raises the risk and severity of pedestrian injury when an accident occurs.

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