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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 2017
Distraction cited as pedestrian Gov. Brown sacks three on
deaths spike 11 percent in 2016 DEQ oversight commission
By JOAN LOWY
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Pedes-
trian deaths are climbing faster
than motorist fatalities, reach-
ing nearly 6,000 deaths last
year — the highest total in more
than two decades, according to
an analysis of preliminary state
data released Thursday.
Increased driving due to an
improved economy, lower gas
prices and more walking for
exercise and environmental
factors are some of the likely
reasons behind the estimated
11 percent spike in pedestrian
fatalities in 2016. The figures
were prepared for the Gover-
nors Highway Safety Associ-
ation, which represents state
highway safety offices.
But researchers say they
think the biggest factor may be
more drivers and walkers dis-
tracted by cellphones and other
electronic devices, although
that’s hard to confirm.
Walking and miles driven
are up only a few percent-
age points, and are unlikely to
account for most of the surge in
pedestrian deaths, said Richard
Retting, safety director for Sam
Schwartz Transportation Con-
sultants and the author of the
report. Meanwhile, texting and
use of wireless devices have
exploded, he said.
“It’s the only factor that
seems to indicate a dramatic
change in how people behave,”
Retting said.
The report is based on data
from all states and the District
of Columbia for the first six
months of 2016 and extrapo-
lated for the rest of the year.
It shows the largest annual
increase in both the number and
percentage of pedestrian fatali-
ties in the more than 40 years
those national records on such
deaths have been kept, with the
second largest increase occur-
ring in 2015. Pedestrian deaths
as a share of total motor vehi-
cle crash deaths increased
from 11 percent in 2006 to
15 percent in 2015.
Spike in pedestrian deaths
Preliminary figures show U.S. pedestrian deaths rose sharply
in 2016, continuing a recent trend that researchers believe is
partly due to distraction caused by electronic devices.
U.S. pedestrian deaths by year:
2016 (est.): 5,997
6 thousand deaths
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Pedestrian deaths as a percentage of all traffic fatalities:
16 percent
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15
15
’14
’15
13
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14
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’06
’07
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’08
’09
By PARIS ACHEN
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Gov. Kate
Brown has offered only a vague
explanation for the dismissal
of three of the five-member
Environmental Quality Com-
mission Wednesday.
The same day Brown
removed chairwoman Colleen
Johnson and Commissioners
Morgan Rider and Melinda
Eden, she also announced
nominees to replace them.
The trio was unavailable
for comment Wednesday, but
Johnson said they plan to issue
a statement today.
The governor believes her
new picks will bring new per-
spectives to the commission
and work more collaboratively
with her office, said Brown’s
spokesman Bryan Hockaday.
“As an oversight body,
Oregonians expect the EQC to
take decisive action to create
rules and guide policies that
are protective of human health
and preserve vital habitats
of diverse species by ensur-
ing our air and water is clean
and available to future gener-
ations of Oregonians,” Brown
said in a statement. “Amid
uncertainty at the federal level,
these goals could be at risk. It’s
essential that the EQC work
collaboratively with the Gov-
ernor’s Office in meeting these
new challenges.”
Johnson told the Regis-
ter-Guard that she and the two
other former commissioners
“were completely blindsided
and stunned.”
The agency, which enforces
laws curbing air, ground and
water pollution, has a $332
million budget and about 700
full-time staff.
The new nominees are
Kathleen George, a member
of the Grande Ronde Tribal
Council; Wade Mosby, a
founding member of the For-
est Stewardship Council; and
Molly Kile, an associate pro-
fessor at Oregon State Univer-
sity. If confirmed by the Senate
April 26, they will start their
new positions May 3.
The change in leadership
comes after the commission on
Feb. 15 selected Brown’s nat-
ural resources adviser, Rich-
ard Whitman, as DEQ direc-
tor. Whitman, who had been
adviser to Gov. John Kitzhaber
and then Brown, had served as
interim director since October.
That month, former Director
Dick Pedersen resigned amid
scandal over the agency’s
response to heave metal emis-
sions in the Portland area.
Commissioners
Sam
Baraso and Ed Armstrong will
remain on the commission,
according to Brown’s office.
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SOURCE: Governors Highway Safety Association
“This latest data shows that
the U.S. isn’t meeting the mark
on keeping pedestrians safe
on our roadways,” said Jona-
than Adkins, the safety asso-
ciation’s executive director.
“Every one of these lives rep-
resents a loved one not coming
home tonight, which is abso-
lutely unacceptable.”
Traffic fatalities over-
all jumped 6 percent last year,
pushing deaths on U.S. roads
to their highest level in nearly
a decade and erasing improve-
ments made during the Great
Recession and economic recov-
ery, according to data released
last month by the National
Safety Council, a leading safety
organization. The council esti-
mates there were more than
40,200 traffic deaths in 2016.
The last time there were more
than 40,000 fatalities in a single
year was in 2007, just before
the economy tanked. There
were 41,000 deaths that year.
AP
But pedestrian deaths are
sharply outpacing fatalities
overall, climbing 25 percent
from 2010 to 2015, accord-
ing to Retting’s research. Total
traffic deaths increased about 6
percent over the same period.
“We cannot look at dis-
tracted driving solely as an
in-vehicle issue,” said Kelly
Nantel, a spokeswoman for the
safety council. “That discounts
the impact distraction could
have on pedestrians.”
On the other hand, “walk-
ing is working,” she said. “Just
as we need drivers to be alert,
pedestrians have to be, too.”
Another factor in pedestrian
deaths is alcohol. Thirty-four
percent of pedestrians and 15
percent of drivers involved in
fatal crashes were intoxicated
at the time, Retting said. But
there is no indication that there
has been a change in drinking
habits that would account for
the spike in deaths, he said.
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