Where are the most dangerous streets near you?

This interactive map plots every pedestrian fatality w/ location data from 2008-2020. Search for any U.S. address (or city/state) by clicking on the magnifying glass on the left side of the map.  Tip: It’s often easiest to view this map directly in Tableau here. If the map below appears small on your desktop/laptop, click the second icon from the right on the bottom of the map to convert to a larger desktop view.

Go a little deeper into the data with this more sophisticated look. You can filter by age, race/ethnicity, state and other criteria, and then see a year-over-year chart of fatalities by those filters below the map. It’s often easiest to view this map directly in Tableau here.

These maps were generated using data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, provided by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Note that the totals here do not match the total number of fatalities for each year as several hundred fatalities from 2008-2020 have poor or lacking location data.

Metro-area rankings and data

The tables below rank the most dangerous metropolitan areas in the United States for people walking between 2016 and 2020. As in previous versions of this report, metro areas within the southern half of the U.S. account for a sizable portion of the top twenty most dangerous metro areas in the nation. The top 20 list includes 15 of that region’s major metro areas, including seven from Florida.

• The metro areas are ranked by the number of deaths per 100,000 people in the population (rate)
• Tables are sortable by any column
• This table is also available in the appendix of the full report PDF

State rankings

The following tables show all data for states, which are ranked by the overall fatality rate from 2016-2020.

• The states are ranked by the number of deaths per 100,000 people in the population (rate)
• Tables are sortable by any column
• This table (with additional data) is also available in the appendix of the full report PDF

How design produces danger (or safety)

Roadway design has a strong impact on how people drive, often more influential on driver behavior than the posted speed limit. While speed limit signs may only be posted every few blocks or miles, the road’s design is ever-present, continually providing guidance and visual cues. While there are myriad factors involved in these deaths, our streets are dangerous by design, designed to move many cars quickly at the expense of safety for everyone who uses them.

Read a longer, more in-depth version of this tab’s brief look at the impact of design:

We prioritize speed above safety on the most dangerous roads

Prioritizing both safety and keeping cars moving quickly—outside of limited access roads like interstate and freeways—is impossible. Watch this rich, visual explanation of how street design impacts the speed of vehicles and why we have to choose between speed or safety from Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition.

Here’s a typical arterial roadway design

The design of Union Avenue, located in the heart of Memphis, TN (#3 most dangerous metro in this report) is typical of the most dangerous roads for people on foot within metro areas. 60 percent of all 2020 deaths occurred on non-interstate arterial highways like this one. Within urban areas, that number grows to between 64 and 67 percent, according to NACTO. The below graphic examines five ways that speed is prioritized on Union Ave. at the expense of safety, and the contradictory messages sent to drivers: expect to see and yield to people outside of vehicles, and expect to travel fast all the time.

1. Design can be more influential on behavior than speed limits. Though the limit ranges from 25-35 mph, this road is designed for much higher speeds. It’s long and straight, with clear sight lines and five travel lanes for maximum vehicle throughput, resulting in higher speeds. And though the speed limit changes, the design never does.
2. Other streets regularly intersect Union, but lack crosswalks or signals, because keeping vehicles from stopping (speed) is prioritized ahead of providing frequent crossings (safety). There are also numerous curb cuts and driveways, resulting in dozens of intersections for people walking.
3. Numerous destinations means that more people will be present. There are grocery stores, a college, a high school, a hospital, shops and stores, and hundreds of homes and higher density apartment buildings.
4. Marked, signalized crosswalks are located as much as 0.4 miles apart, potentially requiring a 10-minute round trip to reach a destination that’s directly across the street. Multiple bus stops are also located in between these distant signalized crosswalks.
   
5. Sidewalks exist, but as an afterthought. They are narrow with numerous curb cuts for turns and frequent obstructions, and no buffer between people walking and vehicles moving at high speeds.

Most fatalities on Union Avenue occur at intersections

This graphic below, looking at a specific intersection on Union Avenue, shows four specific design components that lead to danger for people on foot, some of which exist solely to prioritize speedy car travel.

1. All four gently rounded corners allow right turns at high speeds, precisely when pedestrians have the right-of-way. Sharper turns require drivers to slow down and turn more slowly. In fact, a recent study shows that a 30-foot turning radius vs. a 10- foot radius will probably result in 30 percent more pedestrian crashes.  (See inset at bottom right.)
2. These sweeping corners—which exist for speed rather than safety—increase the distance required to cross on foot, putting people in harm’s way for more time, or making it impossible to cross in time for the young, old, or disabled.
3. Existing crosswalks are faded or invisible. When signalized intersections are far apart, as they are on Union, it’s even more vital that they be highly visible.
4. Sidewalks also have obstructions (utility poles, boxes, etc.) and lack rubberized or high-visibility markings to help all people safely cross. For people in wheelchairs or pushing strollers, sidewalks with obstructions can force them into the street to pass.

Read this Dangerous by Design supplement from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) for specific how-tos on designing and building safer streets through design.

Read this Dangerous by Design supplement from Strong Towns about how traffic engineering is part of the problem

Learn more from four other organizations

We are honored to include four special topical supplements in this year’s report. You can find all four in the report PDF, but all are also available here. Click any to read these short guest supplements about Dangerous by Design from a different angle from these four organizations:

Strong Towns: Traffic engineers do not share your values (pp. 13-14)

The National Association of City Transportation Officials: How to redesign your city’s most dangerous streets to save the most lives (pp. 19-21)

America Walks: When it comes to design, we must also consider the deadly impacts of ever-larger vehicles (pp. 24-25)

The Fines and Fees Justice Center: Traffic enforcement cannot do the job of better roadway design (pp. 37-38)