--- title: Pedestrian Deaths: Study Ranks Most Lethal States description: A new study of pedestrian fatalities finds widespread disparities between U.S. states, and in places you might not expect canonical: https://time.com/106155/pedestrian-deaths-traffic/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-20T17:37:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:08:22.246Z article:section: Health og:title: Pedestrian Deaths: Study Ranks Most Lethal States og:description: A new study of pedestrian fatalities finds widespread disparities between U.S. states, and in places you might not expect og:url: https://time.com/106155/pedestrian-deaths-traffic/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93ac4195e8bb6ddf/69869034adae44f0745432e4/98767852.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Fueled By Consumer Spending, Economy Grew At 3.2 Percent In 1st Quarter og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pedestrian Deaths: Study Ranks Most Lethal States twitter:description: A new study of pedestrian fatalities finds widespread disparities between U.S. states, and in places you might not expect twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93ac4195e8bb6ddf/69869034adae44f0745432e4/98767852.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Are The 5 Most Lethal States for Pedestrians > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=b6d2693a-0c32-4668-b769-5cdb88f60f99&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1)  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey May 20, 2014 5:37 PM UTC  A woman with shopping bags traverses a crosswalk near Columbus Circle April 30, 2010 in New York, New York. A woman with shopping bags traverses a crosswalk near Columbus Circle April 30, 2010 in New York, New York. Chris Hondros—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey May 20, 2014 5:37 PM UTC A [new study](http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/dangerous-by-design-2014/dangerous-by-design-2014.pdf) warns of a nationwide “epidemic” of pedestrian fatalities concentrated in states that aren’t exactly known for their bustling crosswalks. Researchers at the National Complete Streets Coalition [crunched](http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/documents/dangerous-by-design-2014/dangerous-by-design-2014.pdf) the numbers on 47,025 pedestrian deaths over the last 10 years—a number that exceeds deaths from natural disasters sixteen times over, the study notes. States with dense urban populations and heavy concentrations of walkers, including Washington D.C., New York and Massachusetts, skewed on the safe side of the study’s “Pedestrian Danger Index,” a measure of deaths relative to the number of people walking the streets. The real danger zones are down south in the car-centric urban tracts of Florida, Alabama and Louisiana. In short, these states weren’t made for walking.  Orlando, Florida topped the list of most hazardous cities with 583 pedestrian deaths and a danger index four times above the national average. Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami came in 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively among the most dangerous cities. The study also found that elderly pedestrians accounted for one in five fatalities, suggesting that Florida’s urban planners should neither be singled out for blame nor let off the hook. And perhaps they should pay a visit to these 5 pedestrian-friendly states:  The study’s authors advocated for reductions in speed limits and clearer delimitations between car lanes, bike lanes and crosswalks to combat an “epidemic” of pedestrian deaths, averaging 5,000 a year. “Not only is that number simply too high,” said Roger Millar, Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, “but these deaths are easily prevented through policy, design, and practice.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/106155/pedestrian-deaths-traffic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/106155/pedestrian-deaths-traffic/"},"headline":"These Are The 5 Most Lethal States for Pedestrians","datePublished":"2014-05-20T17:37:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:08:22.246Z","description":"Read this, Floridians","url":"https://time.com/106155/pedestrian-deaths-traffic/","keywords":["Public Health","Death","roads","Research","safety"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93ac4195e8bb6ddf/69869034adae44f0745432e4/98767852.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt93ac4195e8bb6ddf/69869034adae44f0745432e4/98767852.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Fueled By Consumer Spending, Economy Grew At 3.2 Percent In 1st Quarter","caption":"Fueled By Consumer Spending, Economy Grew At 3.2 Percent In 1st Quarter","creditText":"Chris Hondros—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/106155/pedestrian-deaths-traffic/","name":"These Are The 5 Most Lethal States for Pedestrians"}}]}] ```