Walking through a city is a fantastic way to explore. Additionally, walking is friendly for the environment and as well as a healthy way to travel. That being said, travel by vehicle is a much more common method across the nation resulting in more cars on the road, leading to a higher risk of injury for pedestrians. Studies show that there were more than 6,500 pedestrian deaths nationwide and as many as 55,000 pedestrian injuries in 2020. Insurance carrier Insurify recently conducted a study to identify the most dangerous cities in America for pedestrians. The research was based on 4.6 million car insurance applications and factored in the number of pedestrian deaths due to traffic accidents as well as traffic citations issued for failure to yield to pedestrians. While failing to yield happens 20 times more often than pedestrian deaths, it is a common contributor to these fatal crashes; thus, looking at the failure to yield citations can reveal a pattern of driving behavior and patterns related to the risk of pedestrian traffic deaths in a particular region.
Study Results
According to the Insurify study, every four out of 10,000 drivers nationwide have been cited for failing to yield to a pedestrian. Moreover, cities on the coast had more failure to yield citations and pedestrian car accident deaths than the rest of the country. The least safe coastal cities in the United States included those in northern California and New York, which correlates with their population density, as these are the most populated areas in the nation. The safest cities for pedestrians according to Insurify’s data included Indianapolis, Louisville, and Memphis.
When it comes to the state of Nevada, two cities ranked among the topmost dangerous cities for pedestrians — Reno and Sparks. Reno ranked 16th in the nation, with its failure to yield to pedestrian citation rate five times higher than the national average. Sparks, its neighboring city, ranked even higher as the 10th most dangerous city for pedestrians. Sparks’ failure to yield citation rate was 6.6 times higher than the national average. Notably, Las Vegas and other cities in the state did not make the list.
Pedestrian Safety
While pedestrian safety has been a prevalent issue in Nevada in recent years, specifically the Reno-Sparks area, deaths increased by 18.5% during the pandemic. To counteract these trends, the city of Reno has tried to improve pedestrian safety areas in downtown and other congested places in the city. The legislature has also raised the consequences for speeding and reckless driving to deter bad driving behavior and reduce fatal crashes.
Contact Our Attorneys
If you or someone you know has been hurt in a pedestrian accident, contact the Nevada personal injury attorneys at H&P Law. Our skilled lawyers have years of experience fighting for the injured in Las Vegas and throughout the state. Contact us today.
