# New Mexico is #1 in pedestrian and bicycling deaths **URL:** \ **Category:** Safety\ **Created:** [December 2, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/new-mexico-is-1-in-pedestrian-and-bicycling-deaths/96814 "2016-12-02T18:57:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RandomTroll](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/randomtroll/32/12184_2.png) [@RandomTroll](https://community.cartalk.com/u/RandomTroll)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 6:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/new-mexico-is-1-in-pedestrian-and-bicycling-deaths/96814/1 "2016-12-02T18:57:45Z")
Weighing strongly against New Mexico is a high percentage of fatal drunken driving crashes, and a No. 1 ranking in pedestrian and bicycling deaths. New Mexico racked up 74 pedestrian and five bicyclist fatalities, for a combined rate of 3.8 per 100,000 population We’re #1! We’re #1! > **[New Mexico drivers ranked 6th from the bottom](https://www.abqjournal.com/900324/high-rates-of-drunken-driving-factor-in-poor-rating-for-states-drivers.html)** > > Drunken driving penalizes state in survey of traffic statistics. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/new-mexico-is-1-in-pedestrian-and-bicycling-deaths/96814/2 "2016-12-03T00:29:12Z")
In my place of residence I could get a DUI on a bicycle, but making the assumption the drivers of the cars are over the limit. , ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/new-mexico-is-1-in-pedestrian-and-bicycling-deaths/96814/3 "2016-12-03T01:19:13Z")
> [@RandomTroll](#): > > pedestrian and > bicycling deaths. NM has sort of a lot of wide open country there, so maybe being a pedestrian in NM isn’t that practical. B/c there are so few of them, the pedestrians don’t know how to behave safely, add to that the drivers aren’t used to seeing pedestrians much. You’d think there would be quite a few bicyclists tho, NM seems a friendly bicycling place. But maybe that’s only in the resort areas like Taos. Other places, drivers aren’t expecting to see bicyclists. I know from my own experience that being a pedestrian or a bicyclist in Colorado 30 years ago was considerably less safe than where I live in Calif now, for those reasons. The drivers there just weren’t expecting to see me in either of those roles on the highway. Some of the older drivers were actually hostile to a pedestrian or a bicyclist even being near the roadway and bothering them. Probably less so now of course. ---
**Author:** ![cyberbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9e5f3/32.png) [@cyberbabe](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cyberbabe)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 3:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/new-mexico-is-1-in-pedestrian-and-bicycling-deaths/96814/4 "2016-12-03T03:31:26Z")
Car Talk Lackey > **[Pedestrians and bicyclists](http://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/pedestrians-and-bicyclists/fatalityfacts/pedestrians)** > > Roadway improvements have been shown to reduce crashes. Pedestrian motor vehicle crash deaths have declined dramatically since 1975 but still account for 15 percent of crash deaths. The rates of pedestrian deaths in motor vehicle crashes per 100,000 people are highest for people ages 70 and older. Pedestrian deaths occur primarily in urban areas. Engineering measures that separate vehicles and pedestrians such as sidewalks, refuge islands, overpasses and underpasses, and barriers can reduce the problem. Increased illumination, improved signal timing at intersections, and beacons that alert drivers to stop at crosswalks when pedestrians are present also can be effective. It’s getting more dangerous for school-age children and teens to walk to school. [www.wsj.com/...pedestrian-deaths.../63E53E9B-07C2-49C0-A08D-E3CC5](http://www.wsj.com/...pedestrian-deaths.../63E53E9B-07C2-49C0-A08D-E3CC5) Other discussions and stats at: [https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/.../pedestrian-fatalities.../story.html](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/.../pedestrian-fatalities.../story.html) [https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/pedestrian\_safety/](https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/pedestrian_safety/) [https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/81096](https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/81096) State info: [www.ghsa.org/files/pubs/spotlights/spotlight\_ped2015.pdf](http://www.ghsa.org/files/pubs/spotlights/spotlight_ped2015.pdf)