January 28, 2019 by Matt Long (South Carolina Radio Network)
A new study shows South Carolina had the tenth-highest rate of pedestrian deaths compared to population over the past decade.
The report calculated the rate of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents, then factored in the number of people who walk to work in that state. Florida was ranked the most dangerous, followed by Alabama and Delaware. With the exception of Delaware, the ten worst-performing states were all located entirely south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
The report examined traffic death information between 2008-2017. Atherton said the findings suggest it is actually becoming more dangerous to walk along roads, noting that 2016 and 2017 saw the most pedestrian deaths in a single year since 1990.
“Even as traffic fatalities are actually going down, pedestrian fatalities are going up,” she said. “But we’re not walking any more. It’s not like there are more walkers and that’s why they’re getting struck and killed.”
The Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin region had the 15th-highest rate among metropolitan areas in the study. The Augusta, Georgia-AIken, SC region was ranked as 20th-worst. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford was ranked worst among all metro areas.
Atherton speculated that is due to larger cars and federal funding formulas which incentivize highways over alternative transportation methods, such as walking or biking.
