Fatal Auto Pedestrian Accidents on the Rise in Texas

The number of fatal auto pedestrian accidents in Texas has risen 36 percent since the Texas Department of Transportation began keeping the records in 2010, recently released National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show.

Overall traffic fatalities in Texas rose 15 percent during this same period. Both of these numbers show dramatic increases over national figures which continue to drop or have remained flat.

“A stronger economy and distracted driving in Texas are no doubt contributing factors to the rise in both auto pedestrian accidents and overall fatal collisions in our state,” said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas. “More drivers on our roadways and more pedestrians crossing streets eventually lead to more people getting hurt.”

Fatal auto pedestrian accidents in Texas have risen almost every year since 2010. Across the country figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Fatality Analysis Reporting System show:

• 69 percent of pedestrian victims were men
• Most of the deaths occurred between 3 p.m. and midnight
• One in three pedestrians had a blood-alcohol content of more than .08.
• More and more people say that walking is their primary mode of getting to work. Living downtown and getting exercise are reasons cited for the larger pedestrian traffic.

With two weeks remaining in 2015, the year has already set a record for the highest number of auto pedestrian accidents in Austin and possibly Dallas as well, but auto pedestrian fatalities dropped this year from previous years in San Antonio, according to the insurance council.

Hanna urged pedestrians to avoid trying to cross major highways and never assume that a driver sees you or will slow down.