Pedestrian Deaths Highest In Decades

(ONN) – A new report shows the U.S. has the highest number of pedestrian deaths in nearly three decades.

The Governor’s Highway Safety Association looked at numbers across the country and found that 6,227 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes last year, the highest number since 1990.

“We’re in bigger vehicles, we’re going faster. Alcohol is playing a big role, both with drivers and pedestrians,” said Executive Director Jonathan Adkins.

He says cell phone use by drivers is also a factor, as well as the fact that more people are walking to work.

Most of the fatal crashes happen after dark.

The report points to local streets as the most dangerous. That’s where a third of these deaths occur.