Pennsylvania

Pedestrian Deaths in Motor Vehicle Crashes in Pennsylvania Hit 20-Year High

In 2018, 201 pedestrians were killed, a jump from 150 the year before. Overall crash fatalities in Pennsylvania, meanwhile, have been trending downward over two decades.

What to Know

  • Pedestrian deaths in motor vehicle crashes hit 201 in 2018, the highest total since 1999.
  • Overall crash deaths in Pennsylvania, meanwhile, have been trending down for the last two decades.
  • Montgomery County had 18 pedestrian deaths last year, a 300-percent increase over 2017.

Pedestrian deaths in Pennsylvania motor vehicle crashes topped 200 in 2018, the first time since the state Department of Transportation started compiling crash data.

The 201 pedestrian deaths represent a large increase over the 150 from 2017, and the highest total since 1999, when PennDOT started keeping track.

Montgomery County suffered through a particularly deadly year as 18 pedestrians were killed. That was a 300-percent jump over the six deaths in 2017.

Statistics provided by the state show the next highest amount of pedestrian fatalities occurred in 2001, when 195 died.

"Our biggest priority continues to be safe travel regardless of the mode you use, and we continue to work with our partners to decrease fatalities through education and outreach," PennDOT Secretary Leslie Richards, a former Montgomery County commissioner, said in a statement.

Overall motor vehicle crash deaths, meanwhile, have been on the decline for the last two decades. However, the 1,190 deaths in 2018 represented a three-year high after record-low death totals in 2016 and 2017, when 1,188 and 1,137 fatalities occurred, respectively.

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