It wasn’t long ago that walking was most people’s primary source of transportation, and not by choice. Walking miles to get from point A to point B was just what you had to do.
Nowadays, public transit and cars has made commuting much faster than walking (albeit more dangerous).
However, many people still walk and bike for a whole host of reasons — from environmental and health, to financial and practicality. Especially in urban cities like Nashville and Memphis, walking is a common mode of transportation for many people.
Unfortunately, this trend has also led to an increase in pedestrian accidents and fatalities across the nation.
2018 Governors Highway Safety Association report
An annual report regarding pedestrian deaths was released by the Governors Highway Safety Association earlier this year.
Named the “Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2018 Preliminary Data,” it forecasts 6,227 pedestrian fatalities for 2018 — the most pedestrian fatalities on record since the 1990s.
What’s behind this increase?
Some causes include:
- Unsafe driving
- Unfriendly infrastructure
- Increased exposure
- More SUVs on the road
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that Tennessee was actually one of 23 states that had a decrease in pedestrian fatalities when comparing the first half of 2017 to the first half of 2018.
Pedestrian fatalities Tennessee
The GHSA report mentions that 25 states and Washington, DC all had increases in pedestrian fatalities, while 23 states had decreases. Two states happened to remain the same.
In Tennessee, there were 5 fewer pedestrian fatalities in 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, which is a 9 percent decrease. The actual stats are listed below.
- Tennessee pedestrian fatalities from January 2017-June 2017: 57
- Tennessee pedestrian fatalities from January 2018-June 2018: 52
So are Tennessee pedestrian safety initiatives responsible for this positive change? It’s hard to say. But we can probably all agree that the Volunteer State still has a long way to go to make walking a safer activity.
If you or a loved are injured in a pedestrian accident, contact the Tennessee injury attorneys at Gilreath & Associates to help get the compensation you deserve. Your first consultation is free.