LA County ranked highest in number of pedestrian deaths in US

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11) - Los Angeles County holds the title of America's highest number of pedestrian deaths for the year 2014, according to a poll conducted by the Auto Insurance Center.

The poll, based on combed-through data that was largely received from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the AIC confirmed that automobile accidents killed 281 pedestrians in L.A. County within that year alone.

The number of deaths is nearly triple the number in Maricopa County, Arizona (Phoenix), which was ranked the second deadliest county in the US for pedestrians.

Other counties back here in Southern California with a high pedestrian death rate include San Diego at #4 with 84 fatalities, San Bernardino at #6 with 66 fatalities and Riverside County at #14 with 51 pedestrians recorded dead.

The AIC noted that the Southern California accidental deaths can be blamed on a combination of very heavy traffic and a high population count for a major metropolitan area. Men also make up the bulk of pedestrians struck and killed by motorists.

"The city of Los Angeles is home to some of the worst traffic in the country and a population second only to New York City," the poll reported, "so it isn't shocking that the county has nearly three times as many pedestrian fatalities than the next-highest location." New York, Boston and Seattle also were noted to have the highest populations, but may not have as many pedestrian deaths due to the much higher use of public transportation.

The poll concluded that "while pedestrian deaths are much lower than they were in the late '70s, when they topped 8,000 a year, there were still over 5,500 pedestrian deaths in 2014."

They ended with a common-sense warning. "Pedestrian deaths are almost always preventable, and it's up to you as both a driver and walker to follow common-sense rules like not drinking and driving, always looking both ways (and removing headphones) before crossing the street, and resisting the need for speed down those long and tempting country roads."

(Source: Auto Insurance Center)

For more information, check out the report on the Auto Insurance Center's official website.