Los Angeles the Country’s Most Dangerous City for Pedestrians
Los Angeles is not considered to be much of a pedestrian-friendly city, but it looks as though it might be even less friendly to walkers than previously thought. The Auto Insurance Center recently published a study analyzing data gathered in 2014 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Association looking at rates of pedestrian fatalities in the US; it found that the county that proved to be the most dangerous place to be on foot along city streets is Los Angeles.
The study examined both the rate of pedestrian fatalities across the country, as well as rates of drunken driving, news reports regarding the state of city pedestrian paths and sidewalks, and any other information that would explain why walkers would end up getting hurt. The researchers found that Los Angeles County was the site of 281 pedestrian fatalities in 2014. This is nearly three times as many pedestrian fatalities as occurred in the second-ranked county, Arizona’s Maricopa County, which saw 94 pedestrian fatalities in 2014. Other dangerous counties in southern California include San Diego (at #4), San Bernardino (#6), and Riverside (#14). California did not rank among most dangerous states for pedestrians, however; New Mexico, Florida, and Delaware rounded out the top three most dangerous states for walkers, with Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa ranking as the three safest.
The researchers attribute Los Angeles’ high rate of pedestrian fatalities to LA’s infamously bad traffic, and the low utilization of public transportation in Los Angeles. The authors noted that locales like Boston and Manhattan didn’t make the list of most treacherous for pedestrians, as these places offer abundant alternatives to walking or driving. The authors also noted that large amounts of traffic aren’t necessarily the deciding factor regarding whether or not cities have a high rate of pedestrian deaths, as about half of all fatal pedestrian crashes occur in rural locations.
If you or a loved one have been the victim of a crash as a pedestrian in Los Angeles, seek out the compensation you’ll need to cover medical expenses and lost work by contacting the experienced Century City personal injury and pedestrian accident attorneys at Magaña, Cathcart & McCarthy for a free consultation on your claims, at 310-553-6300.
