Florida is famous for its year-round balmy weather, making it an ideal location to go for a pleasant walk on any given day. However, four cities in the Sunshine State now have the dubious distinction of being among the most dangerous in the nation for pedestrians.
A recent study found that Pompano Beach owns the top spot in the nation for most pedestrians killed as a result of vehicle accidents. The study was completed by a San Diego-based data analysis firm called 1Point1 Interactive. The study focused on cities with a population of 100,000 or greater.
Pompano Beach
Pompano Beach holds a population of 112,000 in Florida’s Broward County. Broward County saw a total 802 pedestrian injuries and 75 deaths in 2022. With Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale seeing the most incidents. Broward County includes Miami metropolitan area which has a population of more than six million.
The number of pedestrian deaths in Pompano Beach is 8.9 per 100,000 people, the most in the nation. That was an 11% increase over the previous year’s statistics.
Fort Lauderdale
Just to the south of Pompano Beach is Fort Lauderdale with a population of 182,000. It may not be surprising that this city came in second for pedestrian deaths. The data shows that 8.19 people per thousand were killed while out walking the streets. That was a whopping 50% increase over the previous year.
West Palm Beach
When compared to Pompano Beach and Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach with a population of 117,415 is a lot safer for walkers. However, it still bears a dismal pedestrian death rate of 6.1 fatalities per 100,000 people. Like the previous two cities, West Palm Beach is within the Miami metropolitan area.
Miami
Considering the three deadliest cities for pedestrians are near Miami, it will come as no surprise that the city of Miami itself rounds out the 4th most dangerous location for people walking the streets. It clocks in at 5.1 deaths per 100,000 residents.
Why So Dangerous?
The biggest driver of pedestrian deaths in Florida cities can be tagged to one cause: alcohol. Almost half (49%) of incidents wherein people were struck by a car when walking were caused by a person driving drunk.
Another significant factor is street size. Streets that are wide with crossroads and intersections far between tend to cause more pedestrian accidents than narrower streets, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. Just 16% of accidents happened at intersections but 64% between intersections.
Specific streets have been observed to be significantly worse than others. In Pompano Beach, for example, Dixie Highway was the site of the highest percentage of deaths. I-95, U.S. Highway 1 and Powerline Road came in next for the highest number of deaths.
It is notable that all three of these roadways are major arteries and have the most intersections that are part of a wide construction design. In other words, the intersections are further apart than average. The same is true for U.S. Highway 1 in Fort Lauderdale. That roadway had the most fatalities. It’s a wide road with intersections far apart.
Cary Codd with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said two efforts can reduce pedestrian accidents: education and law enforcement. Codd noted that his county recently received a $200,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation to assist “high visibility enforcement.”
The Deadliest State for Pedestrians
Despite having four cities in the top 20 deadliest locations for pedestrians, the state with the greatest number of fatalities for seven years running is New Mexico. That’s according to Forbes magazine. However, Florida and Arizona are frequently in the top three for pedestrian accidents and/or deaths.
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