You might want to reconsider your morning jog route.
In South Carolina, 71 pedestrians were killed in the first six months of 2017. That’s a 7.6 percent increase from the 66 pedestrian deaths in the first six months of 2016, according to a report published on Feb. 28 by the Governors Highway Safety Association.
Twenty-two pedestrians were fatally struck in the tri-county region in 2017, according to preliminary numbers from the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Charleston County leads the pack with 13 deaths, followed by Beaufort with five, and Dorchester with four. In 2016, the number of tri-county’s pedestrian that were fatally struck was also 22, but Charleston County only claimed 11 of those deaths.
In the City of Charleston, six pedestrians were killed in 2017 compared to two pedestrians in 2016, according to numbers from the Charleston Police Department. Twelve Holy City pedestrians suffered an incapacitating injury in 2017, down from 14 in 2016.
The GHSA study also ranks South Carolina as the third worst state for pedestrian deaths per population. The Palmetto State ranks at 2.96 deaths per 100,000 people. New Mexico (3.45) and Florida (3.22) took the first and second spots, respectively.
One third of nationwide pedestrian deaths in 2016 occurred in local, municipal streets, and 75 percent of pedestrian deaths in the same year happened at night. The number of pedestrian deaths nationwide shot up 27 percent from 2007 to 2016.
And in case you thought you evening jog route was somehow safer, 83 percent of South Carolina’s pedestrian deaths in the past three years happened in the dark, according to the study.
In recent years, Charleston has expanded its pedestrian safety program by issuing brochures and placing posters throughout schools in the city.
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