Pedestrian deaths in Maryland increased 25 percent in the last year and fatalities reached 28-year highs nationwide in 2018, according to a Governors Highway Safety Association report published Thursday.
“While we have made progress reducing fatalities among many other road users in the past decade, pedestrian deaths have risen 35 percent,” association Executive Director Jonathan Adkins said in a statement. “The alarm bells continue to sound on this issue; it’s clear we need to fortify our collective efforts to protect pedestrians and reverse the trend.”
The association received data from states for the first six months of 2018, and projected 6,227 pedestrian fatalities occurred during the full year, the highest total since 1990.
Fatalities in Maryland jumped from 48 between January and June 2017 to 60 in that same period in 2018. The state’s 25 percent increase was 11th in the nation. Maryland was one of 25 states to experience year-over-year increases, along with Washington, D.C.
Montgomery County’s rates were in line with state and national increases, with pedestrian fatalities rising from 11 in 2017 to 16 in 2018. Last year’s total was the highest since 19 fatalities in 2008.
There have been 68 reported collisions involving pedestrians in 2019, including two deaths. Tam Minh Pham, 69, of Gaithersburg, died Thursday of injuries he received Feb. 10 after he was struck by an SUV while crossing a Gaithersburg highway, county police announced. There were 68 incidents in the same period last year.
Montgomery adopted a Vision Zero traffic safety initiative in February 2016 to eliminate pedestrian fatalities by 2030.
A two-year action plan to implement Vision Zero principles in November 2017 has done little to reduce injuries.
County Council member Hans Riemer recently discussed concerns about the progress of the Vision Zero plan in a letter to residents this month.
Riemer said nearly half of the 41 items outlined in the two-year plan are behind schedule or haven’t started, and a separate 10-year action plan hasn’t been touched.
“We seemed to have momentum at that time,” Riemer said. “I am concerned now that we lost what momentum we had.”
Riemer added the council has an important role to play in reducing roadway fatalities, and action has been taken in recent months.
The council is reviewing the Viers Mill Corridor Master Plan, which includes several infrastructure improvements to increase traffic safety and received comments from residents at a recent public meeting.
The county Planning Board approved the scope of work for the Aspen Hill Vision Zero Study in December, designed to explore pedestrian access and walkability to help staff implement safety measures in the area.
“Crossing the street should not be a death sentence,” Richard Retting, author of the governors association report, said in a statement. “We have a range of proven infrastructure, engineering, and behavioral strategies that we know can reduce pedestrian deaths. Critical improvements to road and vehicle design are being made, but take significant time and resources to implement.”
