Data & Statistics
SGA Dangerous by Design report, 2022
This 2022 report, annually published by Smart Growth America, provides the most up-to-date look at the preventable & national epidemic of people struck and killed while walking. The 2022 report ranks the most dangerous states and metro areas in the United States based on traffic fatalities from 2016 to 2020. South Carolina ranks #3 in the USA, and 3 of our major metropolitan areas rank in the top 20.
Read the Brief, compiled by PCC in 2019, which details the reasons why pedestrian and bike infrastructure are important in South Carolina: Safety, Health, Economics, and Equity. The Brief includes the most up to date facts, statistics, and information specific to our state. The report was part of our SC Livable Communities Alliance campaign, funded through the Voices for Healthy Kids collaborative initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Heart Association.
See the most salient points of the Brief in this link here.
PCC / SCLCA Bicycle and Pedestrian Crashes Report, 2009-2017
Read the report by Charles Brown, researcher at Rutgers, about SC’s pedestrian and bicycle injury and fatality crash data over a 9 year period. In 2018, this report was provided to SCDOT and served to jumpstart writing of the Departmental Directive for Complete Streets. The report was part of our SC Livable Communities Alliance campaign and was funded through the Voices for Healthy Kids collaborative initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Heart Association.
The report revealed that the overwhelming majority of SC's ped/bike crashes were on state owned roads and therefore an SCDOT responsibility. Elevated were counties and areas of greatest concern, including Charleston with the highest ped/bike fatality incidence/rate. Yet the report also dispelled previously held myths and elevated a new reality: that South Carolina’s highest rates of bike/ped crashes are also occurring in very rural counties, including many without any planning at all for ped/bike safety and access.
SCDOT Pedestrian Crash Analysis
In 2019, SCDOT analyzed 2014-2018 pedestrian crashes and determined this preliminary study. This study was done as an initial dip into figuring out how to fix (mitigate) the growing pedestrian epidemic in SC.
PCC Bicycle and Pedestrian Crashes Report, 2009-2015
Read the original Report by Chris Clark, PCC Policy Fellow, about SC’s pedestrian and bicycle injury and fatality data. This Report revealed interesting summary stats, including typical conditions of crashes, in addition to correlations between location (Councils of Government) and demography.
Benchmarking Report
On a biennial basis, the League of American Bicyclists works with CDC’s Active People, Healthy Nation initiative. It continues work started by the Alliance for Biking and Walking in 2007, to collect and analyze data on bicycling and walking in all 50 states and at least the 50 most-populated U.S. cities.
The Benchmarking Report: Bicycling and Walking in the United States traces the rise of walking and biking and explores its connection to equity, mobility, health, economics, and a host of other issues.
People
On average, 40% of people do not drive, including students, the elderly, and low income South Carolinians. While 28% of our state is African American, 45% of bicycle and pedestrian injuries and fatalities are among African Americans. While 70% of SC roads are state owned, 93% of pedestrian and 95% of bike fatalities are on state owned roads, and 86% of pedestrian and 85% of bike injuries are on state owned roads.