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Las Vegas ranked 21st worst for pedestrian safety

Posted at 9:17 AM, Jan 11, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-11 12:25:33-05

Las Vegas has been ranked the 21st worst for pedestrian safety, according to a new report from the National Complete Streets Coalition.

In addition, the state of Nevada was ranked as the 12th deadliest state for walkers.

More than 46,000 were struck and killed by cars nationwide between 2005 and 2014. In 2014, 4,884 pedestrians died, which is an average of 13 people every day.

There were 401 pedestrian deaths between the years of 2005 and 2014 in the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise area and 529 pedestrian deaths for the state of Nevada.

The top 5 most dangerous metropolitan areas, which are all in Florida, for pedestrians are:

1. Cape Coral-Fort Myers
2. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville
3. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford
4. Jacksonville
5. Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach

Las Vegas was number 13 and the state of Nevada was number 6 on the list the last time that the National Complete Streets Coalition released its rankings in 2011.

According to the study, low-income racial minorities and adults over the age of 65 are the most likely to be hit and killed by a car while walking. Minorities and the elderly are less likely to own a vehicle. This means they walk more, increasing their chances of being struck and killed.

In addition, poor neighborhoods and communities of color also have some of the most dangerous pedestrian infrastructure.

In Nevada, 44.1 percent of the population is non-white and 36.6 percent of pedestrian deaths were minorities. 13.7 percent of the population is over the age of 65 and 19.5 percent of pedestrian deaths between 2005 and 2014 involved people over the age of 65.

The study ranked 104 of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, as well as every state.