On a list of the twenty deadliest U.S. cites for pedestrians, Phoenix holds the unenviable distinction of being Number 4, according to Quote Inspector, an auto insurance association. When it comes to pedestrian related fatalities, Phoenix comes in behind Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Detroit, Michigan; and San Bernardino, California.
These are the hazardous numbers:
- Pedestrian fatality rate: 4.6 per 100k (2.7X higher than U.S. average)
- Total pedestrian fatalities (past 5 years): 362
- 5-year change in pedestrian fatalities: 88.5%
- Pedestrian fatalities in low light conditions: 76.8%
- 65+ pedestrian fatality rate: 7.3 per 100k
- Minority pedestrian fatality rate: 4.3 per 100k
Although alcohol often plays a role in the late night (described as “low light”) fatalities there appears to be a cultural defiance to walking inside crosswalk lines. We’ve all seen people deliberately walk several feet outside the crosswalk when they and the children they often have in tow would all be much safer minus the penchant for mocking the law.
Arizona Revised Statutes §28-793 is very clear as it relates to crossing at other than a crosswalk.
Always eager to expand the bureaucracy, democrat-controlled Phoenix approved an Office of Pedestrian Safety in 2018, though the fatalities have continued to rise.
Though the majority of pedestrian-vehicle fatalities are avoidable deaths, the local newspaper puts a different spin on the problem, headlining, “Phoenix has deadliest roads in nation. Is the city doing enough?” The city is not causing the needless deaths, it‘s the defiant pedestrians, which an activist quoted in the article suggested we “stop shaming.”
Phoenix also has a deadly problem with “wrong-way” drivers on Valley freeways as exemplified by this shocking ABC15 video (provided by ADOT). Despite the clearly marked exit signs, there is an increasing penchant for entering on the egresses. Alcohol is frequently involved, but a frequently contributing factor is the inability to read English. Arizona is a border state, and the welcoming Biden administration, making sure they have access to every conceivable economic benefit, bears a burden for the deaths, as it views the millions of illegal aliens it welcomes as unalterably increasing the numbers of the democrat party.
The Western Journal headlines its clarifying September 30, 2021 report, “Number of New Illegals in ‘21 Greater Than Populations of 11 States.”