“The top deadliest cities within the U.S. for pedestrians are found in Florida,” says Ellsworth Buck, Vice President for Insurance, Florida's largest independent car insurance agency.
Smart Growth American and also the National Complete Streets Coalition have published their report, “Dangerous by Design 2021,” detailing the nation's most deadly streets for pedestrians.
Data reveals, between 2008 and 2021 the amount of annual pedestrian deaths within the U.S. increased by 35 %. While walking has grown slightly during that time and driving has only increased 8 %. A total of 49,340 died over the ten-year period, a lot more than 13 people killed each day.
The most dangerous cities just to walk within the U.S. are ranked below
- Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford
- Daytona Beach-Deltona-Ormond Beach
- Melbourne-Palm Bay-Titusville
- Sarasota-Bradenton
- Lakeland-Winterhaven
- Jacksonville
- Bakersfield, CA
- Cape Coral-Ft. Myers
- Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
14.Miami-Ft. Lauderdale-West Palm Beach
“Over the ten-year period, the Orlando area saw 656 pedestrian deaths,” says Ellsworth Buck, Vice President for Insurance, Florida's top independent auto insurance agency.
The report exposes dangerous road design would be to blame for deaths. Modern streets are wide with faster limits and longer blocks. The coalition is looking on congress to make changes such as, lowering speeds limits in areas with heavy visitors. They would like to determine more crosswalks with plenty of time for you to cross the street.
“Our federal policies, standards and funding mechanisms that have been in place for many years produce dangerous roads that prioritize high speeds for cars over safety for those people. These federal policies have continued to influence state and local policies as street design practices,” the report states.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reminds pedestrians, when crossing the street- always obey signs and signals, keep alert at all times and do not assume a person sees you.
