NEWS: Local King County pedestrian deaths exceed national average

By Susan Gilmore , Seattle Times, January 20, 2006

The number of pedestrian fatalities in King County is above the national average, according to a study presented Thursday at a pedestrian-safety summit in SeaTac.

According to a profile of pedestrian fatalities, written by the King County Health Department, pedestrians make up 20 percent of the motor-vehicle fatalities in the county. The national average is 11 percent, and the state average is 12 percent.

The new study looked at 103 pedestrian fatalities in King County between 2000 and 2003, and found that nearly half, or 46 percent, were in Seattle.

The study recommends that there be stronger enforcement, ticketing both drivers and pedestrians.

On average, 26 pedestrians are killed in King County each year, the study found, and 62 percent are males.

One in four deaths were people aged 60 and older, and women aged 70 to 79 had the highest pedestrian-fatality rate.

Among other findings in the report:

• Nearly 30 percent of all pedestrian fatalities were people in their 40s.

• People of color, particularly Asians and Native Americans, represented nearly 40 percent of the pedestrian deaths.

• November, December and January are the most dangerous months for pedestrians because of the short days and rainy weather. Fatalities occurred most often at night and during rush hour, and on Mondays and Tuesdays.

• Ten percent of the fatalities occurred on Aurora Avenue, and half of those pedestrians had been drinking.

• Alcohol was a factor in about 30 percent of all deaths, but nearly 60 percent of the deaths on state highways involved drinking.

• Two-thirds of the deaths occurred during an attempt to cross a road.

• Nearly 60 percent of the pedestrians were killed on roads with posted speed limits of 35 mph or less.

King County Executive Ron Sims, who kicked off the pedestrian summit, told the gathering that he, as a third-grader, had been struck by a car while walking to school in Spokane.

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