One of the more unfortunate aspects of living in Los Angeles is that in many ways, the city is better set up for two tons of steel on wheels than for human beings on foot. In a city full of drivers unaccustomed to the very idea of walking, that can lead to some deadly encounters for pedestrians. There's a whole laundry list of intersections in LA that are magnets for pedestrian accidents. A new study from the Auto Insurance Center (via LA Weekly) shows just how bad it is for walkers here. LA County gets the dubious honor of having the most pedestrian deaths in the country. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data for 2014, *207 pedestrians met their demise by traffic accidents in Los Angeles County. Update 2/4: The source reexamined their data and updated it to correct inaccuracies. The data and images in our post have been updated accordingly.
Not only does LA County have the most pedestrian deaths in America, they absolutely dominate the category. The 207 pedestrians that died in LA County is more than double the traffic deaths than the second-ranked county in the country. Maricopa County in Arizona, home of Phoenix, had only 91 deaths in the same time period. In fact, Southern California is very well represented in this unfortunate category. San Bernardino County came in seventh place, with 59 pedestrian fatalities, and Riverside was 14th with 43.
Want to steer clear of death by car in LA? Then stay away from Redondo Beach. The intersection of Vincent Street and Pacific Coast Highway was found to be the worst intersection for walkers in the entire country—a distinction it shared with a crossing in Philadelphia. A total of 4 pedestrians have been fatally hit at this location. Even worse, the intersection is within just a few square blocks of a park, two schools, a library, and the beach, so there's plenty of potential for more awfulness. Maybe a scramble crosswalk is in order.
· L.A. IS AMERICA'S DEADLIEST PLACE FOR WALKING [LA Weekly]
· The Worst Places to Be a Pedestrian [Auto Insurance Center]
· Mapping the Most Dangerous Intersections in Los Angeles [Curbed LA]