

Download the full report Between 2008 and 2017, drivers struck and killed 49,340 people who were walking on streets all across the United States. That’s more than 13 people per day, or one person every hour and 46 minutes. It’s the equivalent of a jumbo jet full of people crashing—with no survivors—every single month. Dangerous by Design 2019 takes a closer look at this alarming epidemic. We can and must do more to reduce the number of people who die while walking every day on our roadways. For too long we have disregarded this problem by prioritizing moving cars at high speeds over safety for everyone. It’s past time for that to change. Protecting the safety of all people who use the street—especially the people most vulnerable to being struck and killed—needs to be a higher priority for policymakers, and this priority must be reflected in the decisions we make about how to fund, design, operate, maintain, and measure the success of our roads. Overview In the past decade, the number of people struck and killed while walking increased by 35 percent. Though fatalities decreased ever so slightly in 2017, the last two years on record (2016 and 2017) were the most deadly years for people killed by drivers while walking since 1990. This report ranks states and metropolitan areas around the country using our “Pedestrian Danger Index”, or PDI. This index measures how deadly it is for people to walk based on the number of people struck and killed by drivers while walking, controlling for the number of people that live in that state or metro area and the share of people who walk to work. The 2019 edition of Dangerous by Design includes traffic deaths that occurred between 2008 and 2017 from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), a national database of all fatal traffic crashes. This report shows that our streets are not getting safer for everyone. Even more so, while traffic deaths impact every community in the United States, states and metropolitan areas across the southern continental United States, older adults, people of color, and people walking in low-income communities bear a higher share of this harm. Why is this happening? We’re not walking more, and we’re only driving slightly more than we were back in 2008. Yet even as driving got safer from 2008-2017, significantly more people walking were struck and killed. This is happening because our streets, which we designed for the movement of vehicles, have not changed. In fact, we are continuing to design streets that are dangerous for all people. Furthermore, federal and state policies, standards, and funding mechanisms still produce roads that prioritize high speeds for cars over safety for all people. To reverse this trend and save lives, we need to protect all users of the transportation system through our policies, programs, and funding. The most dangerous states and metro areas Based on PDI, the 20 most dangerous metro areas for walking in the United States are: 2019 Rank Metro Area Pedestrian Deaths (2008-2017) Annual Pedestrian Fatalities per 100,000 People 2019 Pedestrian Danger Index 1 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 656 2.82 313.3 2 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 212 3.45 265.4 3 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 165 2.94 245.0 4 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 194 2.58 234.6 5 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 162 2.54 230.9 6 Jacksonville, FL 419 2.94 226.2 7 Bakersfield, CA 247 2.83 217.7 8 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 148 2.17 217.0 9 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 900 3.07 204.7 10 Jackson, MS 111 1.92 192.0 11 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 297 2.21 184.2 12 Baton Rouge, LA 182 2.21 157.9 13 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 179 1.57 157.0 14 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 1,549 2.61 153.5 15 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 197 2.29 152.7 16 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 140 1.69 140.8 17 Albuquerque, NM 213 2.35 138.2 18 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 757 1.76 135.4 19 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 118 1.62 135.0 20 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 126 2.15 134.4 Based on PDI, the 20 most dangerous states for walking in the United States are: 2019 Rank State Pedestrian Fatalities (2008-2017) Average Annual Pedestrian Fatalities per 100,000 (2008-2017) 2019 Pedestrian Danger Index 1 Florida 5,433 2.73 182.0 2 Alabama 841 1.74 145.0 3 Delaware 250 2.67 127.1 4 Louisiana 1,047 2.25 125.0 5 Mississippi 551 1.84 122.7 6 Georgia 1,782 1.76 117.3 7 New Mexico 537 2.58 117.3 8 Texas 4,831 1.79 111.9 9 Arizona 1,503 2.23 111.5 10 South Carolina 1,144 2.37 107.8 11 Nevada 601 2.12 101.0 12 Tennessee 856 1.31 100.8 13 North Carolina 1,762 1.77 98.3 14 Oklahoma 596 1.54 85.6 15 Arkansas 427 1.44 84.7 16 California 7,127 1.84 68.2 17 Missouri 779 1.29 67.9 18 Maryland 1,059 1.78 65.9 19 Michigan 1,409 1.42 64.6 20 Kentucky 610 1.38 57.5 What can and should be done Our federal government needs to take the lead on prioritizing safer streets. Federal dollars and policies helped create these unsafe streets in the first place. And federal funds, policies, and guidance have a significant role to play in fixing these streets and in designing the streets we’ll build tomorrow. We call on Congress to adopt a strong, federal Complete Streets policy that requires state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to consistently plan for all people who use the street, including the most vulnerable users. We call on state DOTs and MPOs to put people first and give their organizations the tools and training they need to create transportation networks that serve all users. We call on the over 1,400 communities that have adopted a Complete Streets policy to turn their vision into practice and implementation. And we call on you to demand safer streets from the elected officials in your communities.

Where are the most dangerous streets near you? This interactive map explores pedestrian fatality data in more detail. This map plots every* pedestrian fatality from 2008-2017. Zoom in and drag, or search for any U.S. address (or city/state) by clicking on the magnifying glass in the lower left corner. Clicking an icon will bring up any available details about that fatality. This map was generated using data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, provided by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. *A total of 495 fatalities from 2008-2017 were excluded due to poor location data.

Metro-area rankings and data This table shows the Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) and other fatality statistics for each of the 100 largest metro areas (defined by the U.S. Census Bureau) in the country. The higher a metro area’s PDI, the more dangerous it is for people walking.

Tables are sortable by any column, but default to sorting by the highest PDI (most dangerous) first.

More information on change in PDI since Dangerous by Design 2016 and other data are available in the appendix of the full report. Download that here. 2019 Rank Metro Area Pedestrian Deaths (2008-2017) Annual Pedestrian

Fatalities per 100,000 people

(2008-2017) 2019 Pedestrian Danger Index 1 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 656 2.82 313.3 2 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 212 3.45 265.4 3 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 165 2.94 245.0 4 North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 194 2.58 234.6 5 Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 162 2.54 230.9 6 Jacksonville, FL 419 2.94 226.2 7 Bakersfield, CA 247 2.83 217.7 8 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 148 2.17 217.0 9 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 900 3.07 204.7 10 Jackson, MS 111 1.92 192.0 11 Memphis, TN-MS-AR 297 2.21 184.2 12 Baton Rouge, LA 182 2.21 157.9 13 Birmingham-Hoover, AL 179 1.57 157.0 14 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 1,549 2.61 153.5 15 Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin, SC 197 2.29 152.7 16 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 140 1.69 140.8 17 Albuquerque, NM 213 2.35 138.2 18 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 757 1.76 135.4 19 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 118 1.62 135.0 20 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 126 2.15 134.4 21 San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 519 2.23 131.2 22 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 874 1.95 130.0 23 Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 1,179 1.82 130.0 24 Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 453 2.19 128.8 25 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 1,005 1.79 127.9 26 Fresno, CA 209 2.17 127.7 27 Greensboro-High Point, NC 121 1.62 124.6 28 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 1,037 1.49 124.2 29 Tulsa, OK 148 1.52 116.9 30 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 922 2.08 115.6 31 Raleigh, NC 170 1.37 114.2 32 Oklahoma City, OK 222 1.66 110.7 33 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 359 1.51 107.9 34 Stockton-Lodi, CA 151 2.11 105.5 35 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 225 1.77 104.1 36 Knoxville, TN 105 1.23 102.5 37 Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN 232 1.29 99.2 38 El Paso, TX 173 2.07 98.6 39 Winston-Salem, NC 89 1.36 97.1 40 Austin-Round Rock, TX 303 1.56 91.8 41 Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 269 1.37 91.3 42 New Orleans-Metairie, LA 257 2.06 89.6 43 St. Louis, MO-IL 393 1.40 87.5 44 Charleston-North Charleston, SC 165 2.27 87.3 45 Kansas City, MO-KS 234 1.13 86.9 46 Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA 407 1.81 86.2 47 Tucson, AZ 199 1.98 86.1 48 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 281 1.45 80.6 49 Richmond, VA 175 1.39 77.2 50 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 2,520 1.91 76.4 51 Wichita, KS 68 1.06 70.7 52 Salt Lake City, UT 155 1.34 70.5 53 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 67 1.21 67.2 54 San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 610 1.87 64.5 55 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 496 1.78 63.6 56 Ogden-Clearfield, UT 66 1.04 61.2 57 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 352 1.28 58.2 National Average 49,340 1.55 55.3 58 Chattanooga, TN-GA 60 1.10 55.0 59 Columbus, OH 225 1.13 53.8 60 Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI 111 1.08 51.4 61 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 86 1.02 51.0 62 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 145 1.20 50.0 63 Columbia, SC 175 2.19 49.8 64 Toledo, OH 72 1.19 49.6 65 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 1,045 1.73 46.8 66 Akron, OH 56 0.80 44.4 67 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 49 0.80 44.4 68 Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY 131 1.15 44.2 69 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 102 1.23 43.9 70 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 194 0.90 42.9 71 Dayton, OH 85 1.06 42.4 72 Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, PA 78 1.39 42.1 73 Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI 178 1.13 41.9 74 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 70 1.25 41.7 75 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 213 1.24 41.3 76 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 764 1.27 39.7 77 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 101 1.07 39.6 78 New Haven-Milford, CT 121 1.41 38.1 79 Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 57 1.05 36.2 80 Boise City, ID 43 0.65 36.1 81 Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 59 0.65 36.1 82 Cleveland-Elyria, OH 162 0.79 35.9 83 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 288 1.22 35.8 84 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 106 1.21 34.6 85 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 1,022 1.07 34.5 86 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 195 1.21 33.6 87 San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 659 1.44 33.5 88 Worcester, MA-CT 102 1.10 33.3 89 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 237 0.68 30.9 90 Urban Honolulu, HI 154 1.56 30.6 91 Rochester, NY 110 1.02 29.1 92 Pittsburgh, PA 211 0.90 27.3 93 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 3,210 1.60 27.1 94 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 360 0.98 26.5 95 Springfield, MA 76 1.21 24.7 96 Syracuse, NY 71 1.07 23.8 97 Colorado Springs, CO 55 0.80 23.5 98 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 465 0.98 19.6 99 Madison, WI 56 0.88 18.0 100 Provo-Orem, UT 45 0.78 17.3

State rankings and reports In addition to metro areas, Dangerous by Design also examines statewide PDI. After that table, brief state reports provide yet another layer of state-level data. This table below shows the PDI for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. More information on change in PDI since Dangerous by Design 2016 and other pieces of state-level data are available in the appendix of the full report. Download it here. 2019 Rank State Pedestrian Fatalities (2008-2017) Annual Pedestrian

Fatalities per 100,000 people

(2008-2017) 2019 Pedestrian Danger Index 1 Florida 5,433 2.73 182.0 2 Alabama 841 1.74 145.0 3 Delaware 250 2.67 127.1 4 Louisiana 1,047 2.25 125.0 5 Mississippi 551 1.84 122.7 6 Georgia 1,782 1.76 117.3 7 New Mexico 537 2.58 117.3 8 Texas 4,831 1.79 111.9 9 Arizona 1,503 2.23 111.5 10 South Carolina 1,144 2.37 107.8 11 Nevada 601 2.12 101.0 12 Tennessee 856 1.31 100.8 13 North Carolina 1,762 1.77 98.3 14 Oklahoma 596 1.54 85.6 15 Arkansas 427 1.44 84.7 16 California 7,127 1.84 68.2 17 Missouri 779 1.29 67.9 18 Maryland 1,059 1.78 65.9 19 Michigan 1,409 1.42 64.6 20 Kentucky 610 1.38 57.5 National Average 49,340 1.55 55.3 21 New Jersey 1,543 1.73 54.1 22 Indiana 725 1.10 52.4 23 Virginia 865 1.04 43.3 24 Utah 321 1.09 42.0 25 Connecticut 425 1.18 40.7 26 Ohio 1,058 0.91 39.6 27 West Virginia 214 1.16 38.7 28 Oregon 557 1.40 36.8 29 Colorado 590 1.10 36.7 30 Hawaii 226 1.60 36.4 31 Kansas 242 0.83 36.1 32 Illinois 1,323 1.03 33.2 33 Pennsylvania 1,502 1.17 30.0 34 Rhode Island 127 1.20 30.0 35 Washington 712 1.01 28.1 36 District of Columbia 101 1.53 26.8 37 Wisconsin 491 0.85 25.8 38 Idaho 121 0.74 25.5 39 Montana 130 1.27 24.9 40 North Dakota 62 0.84 24.7 41 New York 2,958 1.50 24.6 42 Maine 130 0.98 23.9 43 Minnesota 361 0.66 23.6 44 New Hampshire 97 0.73 23.6 45 Nebraska 116 0.62 23.0 46 Massachusetts 725 1.08 22.5 47 South Dakota 72 0.85 22.4 48 Wyoming 48 0.82 20.5 49 Iowa 210 0.68 19.4 50 Alaska 93 1.26 16.0 51 Vermont 50 0.80 13.8 State reports These fact sheets, produced in collaboration with AARP, take a closer look at how pedestrian deaths vary state-by-state, including how the number of deaths have changed between 2008-2017 and who is most at risk. Click on the map below to download any of the state reports, or explore the tables on this page to compare the states where older adults and people of color were most disproportionately at risk of being struck and killed while walking. Older adults This table shows the average annual fatality rate per 100,000 people by age group. It also ranks the states by relative risk for older adults, but you can click to resort the table by any column. Rank State Fatality rate, age 50+ Fatality rate, age 65+ Fatality rate, age 75+ Relative risk, age 50+ 1 District of Columbia 2.90 2.93 2.77 2.88 2 Vermont 1.27 1.70 2.96 2.66 3 Hawaii 2.65 3.56 5.04 2.62 4 New York 2.36 3.22 4.45 2.27 5 Massachusetts 1.66 2.30 3.02 2.22 6 California 2.89 3.35 4.51 2.12 7 Rhode Island 1.80 2.88 4.03 2.12 8 Nebraska 0.92 0.96 1.20 2.01 9 Utah 1.69 1.76 2.28 1.90 10 Nevada 3.10 3.04 4.17 1.89 11 New Hampshire 1.02 1.62 2.29 1.87 12 Connecticut 1.65 2.05 2.91 1.81 13 Wisconsin 1.18 1.43 2.07 1.77 14 New Jersey 2.39 2.9 3.55 1.75 15 Iowa 0.93 1.00 1.00 1.72 16 Washington 1.38 1.64 2.38 1.70 17 Idaho 1.01 1.24 1.80 1.65 18 Oregon 1.86 1.61 2.46 1.64 19 Minnesota 0.87 1.14 1.52 1.59 20 Pennsylvania 1.52 1.86 2.39 1.58 21 Virginia 1.36 1.37 1.30 1.57 22 Illinois 1.34 1.57 2.07 1.54 23 Kansas 1.08 1.30 1.75 1.51 24 Wyoming 1.04 1.12 1.52 1.47 25 Alaska 1.62 1.59 3.08 1.45 26 Colorado 1.38 1.46 2.01 1.42 27 Arizona 2.75 2.36 2.87 1.40 28 Texas 2.17 2.10 2.71 1.33 29 Florida 3.13 2.75 3.33 1.32 30 Tennessee 1.53 1.29 1.45 1.28 31 Maryland 2.06 2.06 2.67 1.28 32 Maine 1.12 1.73 3.02 1.28 33 Michigan 1.64 1.41 1.95 1.27 34 Georgia 2.04 1.73 2.50 1.26 35 Oklahoma 1.68 1.35 1.88 1.15 36 Ohio 0.99 1.01 1.30 1.14 37 Indiana 1.19 1.32 1.63 1.12 38 Alabama 1.82 1.68 1.82 1.08 39 South Carolina 2.46 2.03 2.71 1.07 40 North Carolina 1.79 1.49 1.71 1.02 41 Kentucky 1.39 1.38 1.45 1.01 42 Louisiana 2.23 1.50 1.60 0.99 43 Montana 1.25 1.76 2.53 0.97 44 Mississippi 1.8 1.41 1.63 0.97 45 Arkansas 1.35 0.97 1.07 0.91 46 Delaware 2.49 2.15 2.86 0.90 47 North Dakota 0.77 0.67 0.20 0.88 48 Missouri 1.17 1.29 1.48 0.87 49 New Mexico 2.32 1.95 2.74 0.86 50 West Virginia 1.01 0.73 0.94 0.81 51 South Dakota 0.70 0.62 0.99 0.76 People of color This table shows the average annual fatality rate per 100,000 people by racial or ethnic group. It also ranks the states by relative risk for people of color, but you can click to resort the table by any column. Rank State Fatality rate, White non-Hispanic Fatality rate, Black/African American Fatality rate, Hispanic/Latino Fatality rate, Asian/Pacific Islander Fatality rate, American Indian/Alaska Native Relative risk, people of color 1 South Dakota 0.48 0.00 0.34 1.71 4.72 5.27 2 North Dakota 0.52 0.68 1.74 0.00 6.52 4.99 3 Montana 0.96 2.35 0.86 0.00 6.10 3.26 4 Alaska 0.68 0.82 0.20 0.19 5.21 3.10 5 Michigan 0.99 2.97 1.05 1.07 7.56 2.03 6 Missouri 1.08 2.82 0.80 1.84 0.00 1.84 7 Georgia** 0.82 1.72 1.12 0.98 0.35 1.57 8 Wisconsin 0.72 2.10 1.02 0.80 3.50 1.44 9 Arkansas 1.28 2.67 0.87 1.04 0.53 1.43 10 Mississippi 1.53 2.31 1.85 3.79 3.06 1.42 11 District of Columbia 1.06 1.79 2.03 1.23 0.00 1.40 12 Alabama 1.45 2.50 2.17 1.75 0.42 1.40 13 Ohio 0.83 1.62 1.12 0.88 0.00 1.35 14 South Carolina 1.99 3.45 2.55 0.14 1.30 1.34 15 Tennessee 1.05 1.88 1.37 1.47 0.00 1.33 16 Louisiana 1.93 3.00 1.39 1.37 0.00 1.29 17 North Carolina 1.53 2.70 1.70 0.80 2.81 1.25 18 Indiana* 0.79 1.91 0.77 0.53 0.63 1.23 19 Oklahoma 1.37 2.63 1.23 1.09 3.49 1.20 20 Virginia 0.82 1.49 0.98 0.83 0.46 1.14 21 Minnesota 0.61 0.87 0.51 0.60 4.74 1.13 22 Kentucky 1.30 1.97 0.61 0.84 1.10 0.90 23 New Mexico 1.79 3.58 1.83 0.98 9.42 0.89 24 Maryland* 1.42 1.83 0.76 0.71 0.00 0.89 25 Arizona* 1.43 2.79 1.69 0.41 9.47 0.88 26 New York** 1.06 1.06 1.01 0.99 1.06 0.87 27 Washington 0.94 1.40 0.84 1.04 5.64 0.85 28 Wyoming 0.79 0.00 0.53 0.00 4.60 0.83 29 Nebraska 0.56 1.24 0.83 0.24 1.91 0.82 30 Illinois 0.88 1.51 0.89 0.73 0.00 0.79 31 Hawaii 1.83 1.16 1.20 2.13 14.73 0.79 32 Rhode Island 1.19 2.61 0.94 0.85 3.90 0.76 33 Massachusetts 0.99 1.66 0.97 1.11 0.00 0.76 34 Delaware 2.80 3.05 2.18 1.15 0.00 0.73 35 Kansas 0.82 1.37 0.73 0.63 2.51 0.73 36 New Jersey 1.60 2.50 1.66 1.24 1.08 0.72 37 Iowa 0.63 1.16 0.46 0.72 1.00 0.71 38 West Virginia 1.19 1.58 0.38 0.68 0.00 0.66 39 Utah 0.92 1.23 1.36 1.62 4.42 0.64 40 New Hampshire 0.73 0.57 0.23 0.93 0.00 0.59 41 Colorado 0.92 2.01 1.48 1.15 1.99 0.57 42 Connecticut* 1.04 1.26 0.84 0.91 0.00 0.56 43 Idaho 0.73 1.92 0.66 0.00 3.73 0.54 44 Nevada 2.28 3.49 1.38 1.70 1.57 0.46 45 Florida 2.84 3.04 2.65 1.67 3.21 0.46 46 Texas 1.45 2.42 1.49 0.74 1.72 0.43 47 Oregon 1.47 2.16 1.03 1.26 3.76 0.42 48 Maine 0.90 0.00 0.00 0.00 3.74 0.40 49 California 1.84 3.14 1.59 1.47 2.98 0.38 50 Vermont 0.85 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 NA Pennsylvania*** NA NA NA NA NA NA * > 15 percent of pedestrian fatalities have missing or incomplete race and/or ethnicity data.

** > 30 percent of pedestrian fatalities have missing or incomplete race and/or ethnicity data.

*** Pennsylvania data not reported as a result of missing or incomplete race and/or ethnicity data in 86 percent of pedestrian fatalities. * > 15 percent of pedestrian fatalities have missing or incomplete race and/or ethnicity data.** > 30 percent of pedestrian fatalities have missing or incomplete race and/or ethnicity data.*** Pennsylvania data not reported as a result of missing or incomplete race and/or ethnicity data in 86 percent of pedestrian fatalities.

Traffic deaths for people walking, biking, and rolling continue to rise 2018 was the deadliest on record for people walking and riding bicycles in nearly three decades. In 2018, drivers in the United States struck and killed 6,283 people walking, and another 857 people were struck and killed while riding bicycles. Deaths among these vulnerable users continue to rise nationwide even as overall deaths stagnate or decline. Between 2009 and 2018, traffic deaths among motor vehicle occupants declined by one percent, but over the same decade traffic deaths among people walking increased by 53 percent. Similarly, traffic deaths among people bicycling increased by 36 percent during this time period. Download the report In this interim update, Smart Growth America reexamined the top 20 most dangerous states for people walking over the past decade based on our Pedestrian Danger Index. Although rankings within the top 20 states shifted slightly, in 2020 the same states comprise the top 10 and top 20 most dangerous places for people walking compared to our Dangerous by Design 2019 report. Most states failed to meet their unambitious “safety” targets Our federal and state governments are not doing nearly enough to address this safety crisis. Through the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), each state is required to set “safety” targets for the number of deaths and serious injuries on their roadways. In exchange, the federal government provides funding to implement safety projects and programming. Beginning in 2018, states set a target for the number of non-motorized deaths and serious injuries combined, which includes people walking, biking, using wheelchairs, and riding scooters and other non-motorized vehicles. Unfortunately, 18 states set targets for more non-motorized users to be killed and injured compared to the most recent year of data reported at the time. Smart Growth America assessed how states fared compared to their 2018 HSIP targets for deaths and serious injuries among people walking, biking, and rolling. Although the National Transportation Safety Board issued official recommendations to create a nationwide database of all traffic injuries, these data are not yet available, so SGA projected serious injuries for 2018 based on recent trends in the share of fatalities versus serious injuries over recent years. The results are uninspiring. A total of ten states aimed for more people to be killed or seriously injured while walking, biking, and rolling, and then exceeded that target. Another eight states set targets to increase deaths and serious injuries but fortunately remained below their goal. Among states that aimed to improve safety for non-motorized users, only eight states successfully achieved their goals while 24 states saw deaths and serious injuries exceed their targets. To explore the number of deaths and serious injuries among people walking, biking, and rolling state by state over the past five years, download the PDF of the Dangerous by Design 2020 interim report below: Download the report

Which congressional districts are the most dangerous for people walking? This short addendum to Dangerous by Design segments all pedestrian fatalities by congressional district and shows which districts are the most deadly in absolute numbers and by rate, controlling for the size of the population. See the table below for the 100 most dangerous U.S. House districts. Why the focus on Congress? The federal government needs to take the lead on prioritizing safer streets. Federal dollars and policies helped create these unsafe streets in the first place—and they continue to perpetuate them. Federal funds, policies, and guidance have a significant role to play in fixing our existing streets and in designing the streets we’ll build tomorrow. The elected representatives from the most deadly districts can take tangible steps toward reducing the epidemic of preventable pedestrian fatalities. The first step they can and should take is to co-sponsor the Complete Streets Act of 2019 in the House (and in the Senate)—a strong, federal Complete Streets policy that requires state departments of transportation (DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to consistently plan for all people who use the street, including the most vulnerable users. Click on the “take action” tab to send a message to your congressional delegation and urge them to co-sponsor this vital legislation. Send a message 100 most dangerous congressional districts for people walking, ranked Click to sort the table, which shows only 25 rows at once. You can also search for your rep’s name using the search bar Rank Congressional district Member of Congress Pedestrian fatalities (2008-17) Pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 people 2008-17) Cosponsoring "The Complete Streets Act of 2019"? (More info) 1 Arizona's 7th district Ruben Gallego 344 4.48 Yes 2 Nevada's 1st district Dina Titus 287 4.19 Yes 3 South Carolina's 6th district James E. Clyburn 270 4.05 NO 4 Florida's 24th district Frederica S. Wilson 292 3.98 Yes 5 Florida's 13th district Charlie Crist 275 3.87 NO 6 Florida's 5th district Al Lawson, Jr. 272 3.79 NO 7 Texas's 35th district Lloyd Doggett 279 3.59 NO 8 Michigan's 13th district Rashida Tlaib 235 3.43 Yes 9 Florida's 10th district Val Butler Demings 261 3.42 Yes 10 Florida's 6th district Mike Waltz 245 3.36 NO 11 Texas's 18th district Sheila Jackson Lee 252 3.36 NO 12 South Carolina's 7th district Tom Rice 230 3.34 NO 13 Georgia's 5th district John Lewis 242 3.29 Yes 14 New Mexico's 3rd district Ben Ray Lujan 227 3.28 NO 15 Texas's 30th district Eddie Bernice Johnson 244 3.27 Yes 16 Florida's 14th district Kathy Castor 238 3.22 Yes 17 Florida's 20th district Alcee L. Hastings 242 3.22 NO 18 California's 8th district Paul Cook 223 3.11 NO 19 Arizona's 1st district Tom O'Halleran 228 3.1 NO 20 Louisiana's 2nd district Cedric L. Richmond 240 3.08 Yes 21 California's 34th district Jimmy Gomez 214 2.97 NO 22 Tennessee's 9th district Steve Cohen 210 2.97 Yes 23 Florida's 8th district Bill Posey 212 2.94 NO 24 Florida's 15th district Ross Spano 219 2.94 NO 25 Florida's 1st district Matt Gaetz 217 2.92 NO 26 California's 37th district Karen Bass 206 2.85 NO 27 California's 6th district Doris O. Matsui 209 2.85 NO 28 California's 21st district TJ Cox 202 2.84 NO 29 Florida's 22nd district Theodore E. Deutch 208 2.84 NO 30 Michigan's 14th district Brenda L. Lawrence 196 2.83 NO 31 New Mexico's 1st district Debra A. Haaland 195 2.82 NO 32 Alabama's 7th district Terri A. Sewell 189 2.8 NO 33 Pennsylvania's 2nd district Brendan Boyle 198 2.78 NO 34 Florida's 16th district Vern Buchanan 208 2.73 NO 35 California's 43rd district Maxine Waters 195 2.71 NO 36 Florida's 4th district John H. Rutherford 202 2.7 NO 37 Florida's 12th district Gus M. Bilirakis 197 2.7 NO 38 Texas's 33rd district Marc A. Veasey 192 2.67 NO 39 California's 16th district Jim Costa 192 2.66 NO 40 Louisiana's 3rd district Clay Higgins 206 2.65 NO 41 Delaware at-large Lisa Blunt Rochester 248 2.65 NO 42 New York's 2nd district Peter T. King 191 2.65 NO 43 Mississippi's 2nd district Bennie G. Thompson 191 2.64 NO 44 Florida's 27th district Donna E. Shalala 194 2.63 NO 45 Maryland's 4th district Anthony G. Brown 193 2.6 NO 46 California's 23rd district Kevin McCarthy 189 2.59 NO 47 Missouri's 1st district Wm. Lacy Clay 188 2.54 NO 48 California's 51st district Juan Vargas 185 2.53 NO 49 California's 36th district Raul Ruiz 186 2.53 NO 50 South Carolina's 4th district William R. Timmons IV 175 2.51 NO 51 Florida's 7th district Stephanie N. Murphy 185 2.51 NO 52 Georgia's 13th district David Scott 180 2.47 NO 53 Georgia's 2nd district Sanford D. Bishop Jr. 166 2.42 NO 54 New Jersey's 10th district Donald M. Payne Jr. 179 2.41 NO 55 Texas's 1st district Louie Gohmert 170 2.39 NO 56 Texas's 29th district Sylvia R. Garcia 174 2.38 NO 57 Florida's 17th district W. Gregory Steube 173 2.37 NO 58 Florida's 9th district Darren Soto 185 2.37 NO 59 North Carolina's 7th district David Rouzer 182 2.37 NO 60 Kentucky's 3rd district John A. Yarmuth 175 2.37 NO 61 Florida's 23rd district Debbie Wasserman Schultz 175 2.36 NO 62 Alabama's 1st district Bradley Byrne 162 2.32 NO 63 Florida's 11th district Daniel Webster 168 2.31 NO 64 Maryland's 2nd district C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger 173 2.3 NO 65 Florida's 26th district Debbie Mucarsel-Powell 175 2.3 NO 66 California's 40th district Lucille Roybal-Allard 163 2.3 NO 67 Texas's 36th district Brian Babin 166 2.29 NO 68 Indiana's 7th district Andre Carson 171 2.29 Yes 69 Texas's 27th district Michael Cloud 166 2.28 NO 70 Georgia's 4th district Hank Johnson Jr. 165 2.26 NO 71 Texas's 20th district Joaquin Castro 171 2.24 NO 72 Louisiana's 5th district Ralph Abraham 168 2.23 NO 73 Arizona's 9th district Greg Stanton 167 2.21 NO 74 New Jersey's 2nd district Jeff Van Drew 160 2.19 NO 75 California's 29th district Tony Cardenas 157 2.19 NO 76 Texas's 14th district Randy K. Weber Sr. 159 2.19 NO 77 New Jersey's 1st district Donald Norcross 159 2.17 NO 78 Florida's 3rd district Ted S. Yoho 155 2.17 NO 79 California's 31st district Pete Aguilar 159 2.17 NO 80 New York's 4th district Kathleen M. Rice 155 2.15 NO 81 Florida's 21st district Lois Frankel 158 2.14 NO 82 New Jersey's 3rd district Andy Kim 157 2.13 NO 83 Georgia's 12th district Rick W. Allen 151 2.13 NO 84 New York's 12th district Carolyn B. Maloney 154 2.12 NO 85 Tennessee's 5th district Jim Cooper 158 2.11 NO 86 California's 46th district J. Luis Correa 153 2.11 NO 87 New York's 1st district Lee M. Zeldin 152 2.11 NO 88 California's 1st district Doug LaMalfa 148 2.1 NO 89 Florida's 2nd district Neil P. Dunn 149 2.1 NO 90 Arizona's 3rd district Raul M. Grijalva 155 2.1 NO 91 California's 35th district Norma J. Torres 153 2.1 NO 92 Oklahoma's 5th district Kendra S. Horn 166 2.09 NO 93 California's 9th district Jerry McNerney 153 2.07 NO 94 North Carolina's 12th district Alma S. Adams 168 2.07 NO 95 Florida's 25th district Mario Diaz-Balart 154 2.07 NO 96 Texas's 16th district Veronica Escobar 151 2.06 NO 97 California's 44th district Nanette Diaz Barragan 146 2.02 NO 98 Mississippi's 4th district Steven M. Palazzo 152 2 NO 99 North Carolina's 9th district Vacant 150 1.96 NO 100 Louisiana's 4th district Mike Johnson 149 1.96 NO The number of people struck and killed while walking has climbed dramatically in certain districts. Here are the representatives who have seen the greatest increase in preventable pedestrian deaths in their districts Interactive map of all congressional districts Find your district on the map and click it to see the fatality totals, rate, and the representative’s name.

Who is most at risk? Who are the victims of these tragic crashes? Although people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and income levels suffer the consequences of dangerous street design, some neighborhoods and groups of people bear a larger share of the burden than others. Older adults, people of color, and people walking in low-income communities are disproportionately represented in fatal crashes involving people walking. Even after controlling for differences in population size and walking rates, we see that drivers strike and kill people over age 50, Black or African American people, American Indian or Alaska Native people, and people walking in communities with lower median household incomes at much higher rates. People age 50 and up, and especially people age 75 and older, are overrepresented in deaths involving people walking. This age group is more likely to experience challenges seeing, hearing, or moving, and if these trends are any indication, we are not devoting nearly enough attention to the unique needs of older adults when we design our streets. These disparities become even more pronounced when we account for variations in walking rates by age. The relative pedestrian danger for older adults age 50 and above is more than a third higher than it is for the general population, and for people age 75 and up it is almost twice as high. Drivers strike and kill people of color, especially Black or African American and American Indian or Alaska Native people, at higher rates compared to White, Non-Hispanic, and Asian or Pacific Islander people. The figure below highlights the relative danger by census-designated racial and ethnic groups of being struck and killed while walking, controlling for differences in walking rates and population size. Although nationwide data do not include information about the household income of individuals who are struck and killed while walking, they do reveal where people are walking when they are killed. People are struck and killed while walking at much higher rates in lower-income communities compared to higher-income ones. The lower a metro area’s median household income, the more dangerous its streets are likely to be for people walking. This is unsurprising, given that low-income communities are significantly less likely than higher-income communities to have sidewalks, marked crosswalks, and street design to support safer, slower speeds. Protecting the safety of all people who use the street, especially the people most vulnerable to being struck and killed, needs to be a higher priority for policymakers, and this priority must be reflected in the decisions we make about how to fund, design, operate, maintain, and measure the success of our roads.