Texas roads are getting deadlier for pedestrians, even as traffic declines in 2020

Texas pedestrian deaths increased 8% in the first six months of 2020 despite large reductions in motor vehicle travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Texas Department of Transportation partially attributed the increase to speeding.

“We are still looking into why this increase may have happened, but initial studies show speed was a big contributor,” said Adam Hammons, a department spokesman.

Texas’ increase is far higher than the national increase of 0.2%.

Hammons said the Texas Transportation Commission dedicated $600 million to fix some of the infrastructure problems that contribute to pedestrian deaths.

“This includes widening some roads, adding rumble strips along more center lines and shoulders that alert drivers to slow down or if they are veering out of their lanes, adding reinforced shoulders and select turn lanes,” Hammons said. “Along with implementing new technology that will increase safety on the entire system of roads.”

Texas highways saw as much as a 44% decrease in traffic during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, according to TxDOT. Nationally, people drove 16.5% fewer miles in the first half of 2020 than they did in the first half of 2019.

“This decrease in traffic gave us hope that the horrific streak of daily deaths on our roadways might finally come to an end,” Hammons said.

Richard Retting, who researched and provided data analysis for the report, agreed.

“Clearly, many people were not driving,” Retting said. “We would expect to see pedestrian death go down in that setting based on the circumstances.”

Texas’ increase in pedestrian deaths for the first half of 2020 followed the trend of its major cities, whose pedestrian deaths have been increasing since 2017.

According to the report, pedestrian deaths in San Antonio, Dallas and Houston went up consistently from 2017 to 2019. Between those years, San Antonio has increased pedestrian deaths by 29%, Dallas by 13% and Houston by 11%. No Fort Worth data was available.

“2020 may be part of the larger trend in Texas,” Retting said. “Pedestrian deaths are just continuing to go up for any number of reasons unrelated to COVID.”

Texas accounted for 11% of all pedestrian fatalities nationwide in the first half of 2020, while the state has 9% of the population according to the U.S. Census.

GSHA attributed some of the increase in pedestrian fatalities nationwide to the increasing shift in vehicle sales from cars to light trucks, such as pickup trucks.

“Although passenger cars are more likely to be involved in fatal pedestrian crashes, from 2010 to 2019 the number of pedestrian fatalities involving SUVs increased at a faster rate compared to passenger cars — 69% versus 46%,” the report said.

In 2019, Texas had over 13 million registered private and commercial trucks, the second highest in the United States, behind California, according to the federal Department of Transportation Services.

GHSA also said warmer weather can also be associated with pedestrian fatalities.

“Warmer temperatures could be a contributing factor as well,” the report said. “Warmer weather can encourage more nighttime outdoor activity (including walking) and is associated with increased alcohol consumption, which increases the risk of fatal pedestrian collisions.”