The number of pedestrians struck by vehicles in Los Angeles dropped by roughly 70% in 2020 compared to the previous year because less people were on the streets because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released Tuesday by the University of Southern California.
The data, published by Crosstown LA, a nonprofit news site based at USC’s Annenburg School of Journalism, show that vehicle-pedestrian crashes dipped dramatically in 2020 following a steady increase between 2015 and 2019.
In total, 1,135 pedestrians were struck by vehicles in Los Angeles in 2020 compared to 3,733 in 2019, the site reported.
For the first few months of the year, pedestrian-vehicle collisions stayed high, at over 300 in January, then to less than 200 in February and March.
When coronavirus-related restrictions began being put in place, the number of crashes dipped even lower, and stayed below 100 per month through December, Crosstown reported.
Western Avenue saw the most pedestrian-vehicle collisions in the city in 2020, at 32. Vermont Avenue and Figueroa Street were also among the top five streets with the most pedestrian crashes in both 2019 and 2020, Crosstown reported.
John Yi, the executive director of the pedestrian advocacy group Los Angeles Walks, told Crosstown that in the absence of any improved street design or better infrastructure since 2019, the decrease can likely be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in less traffic.
For years, city officials have been focused on trying to reduce traffic deaths, and in 2015 began a 10-year plan to eliminate them completely through creating safer streets. Since that time, pedestrian traffic deaths increased by 55% as of 2019, Crosstown reported. They dipped by 57% in 2020, according to the site.