On Tuesday, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) published preliminary estimates that in the first half of last year, pedestrian deaths on U.S. roads declined 4%.
However, pedestrian fatality numbers are still above the 2019 levels.
"While we've made some modest progress, there's still obviously quite a bit of work to be done," said Russ Martin, the GHSA's senior director of policy and government relations. "We're still way above pre-pandemic levels of pedestrian deaths."
In 2022, pedestrian fatalities wer at a four-decade high before going down in the first half of 2023.
According to the GHSA's projections, 3,373 pedestrians were killed in motor vehicle collisions between January and June of last year. That's a decline of approximately 150 pedestrian deaths from the prior year, but still over 400 more than the same period in 2019.
The rate of pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 people also declined, from 1.04 in 2023 to 1.01 in 2022.
The projected number of pedestrian deaths in the first half of 2023 varied from state to state. California had the largest drop in fatalities, with 66 less than 2022.
Other states saw drops as well such as Arizona, Georgia, and Virginia.
Some states saw an increase in fatalities such as Colorado, Alabama, and Tennessee.
Martin says the overall decline in pedestrian fatality numbers could in part be a result of cities and states adopting more pedestrian safety measures.
"Since the pandemic has occurred, I feel like there's been kind of a revolution in the way that we look at traffic safety in this country, as we're thinking about the larger system rather than trying to address symptoms," Martin said.
Despite last year's decline in pedestrian deaths, Martin is reluctant to say that they have peaked.
"We still have a major pedestrian safety crisis, and we're trying to see what we can do about it," he said.
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Source: NPR, GHSA
