The Governor's Highway Safety Association has released new data showing that pedestrian fatalities in the United States have surged to their highest level since 1988. Numerous factors are thought to be responsible such as increasing numbers of light trucks on the road as well as the distraction presented by smartphones both behind the wheel and on the pavement. The vast majority of pedestrians killed on U.S. roads in 2018 lost their lives at night - 76 percent. Additionally, most pedestrian fatalities occur in urban areas.
The research also examined pedestrian deaths in the largest American cities, finding that Los Angeles recorded the most in 2018 with 117. That figure marks a decline on the 128 pedestrian deaths the city experienced the year before. New York comes second on the list with 112 pedestrian deaths while Phoenix had the third-highest toll with 110. In total, it is estimated that 6,590 pedestrians died in the U.S. last year.
