2017 Fatality Numbers Rank Florida as the Second Deadliest State for People Walking

Despite being credited with having “the most progressive efforts in the nation for pedestrians, including roads redesigned for walking safety, education campaigns and better medical responses for pedestrian injuries,” Florida still has a long way to go. Pedestrian fatalities are up nationwide, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association 2017 preliminary report on pedestrian traffic fatalities by state, and Florida ranks as the second deadliest

Amanda Day, director of BWCF said, “It’s going to take years and years and years to see the changes needed to reduce fatalities and injuries.”

And Orange County’s traffic-engineering manager Christy Lofye told Orlando Sentinel reporter Kevin Spear, “I personally take it very, very hard,” Lofye said of each death. “We’ve been putting so much effort into pedestrian safety and we have a long way to go.”

Kevin Spear interviewed local residents, shared some of the problem areas in Central Florida and even named some of the more recent pedestrian fatalities.

Read Kevin Spear’s story for the Orlando Sentinel, Pedestrian deaths rise in Central Florida, nation.