Pedestrian deaths rose approximately 10 percent last year, as gas prices lowered and motorists drove more.
The Governors Highway Safety Association also states that use of cellphones distracting drivers and walkers may also be partially to blame for rising pedestrian fatalities.
Total traffic deaths were also up an estimated 8 percent last year. Pedestrian deaths account for 15 percent of all traffic deaths.
Nearly 3 out of 4 pedestrian deaths occur in urban environments. 70 percent occur at non intersections. Approximately three-quarters of pedestrian deaths occur after dark.
A third of those killed had been drinking alcohol, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data. About 15 percent of motorists involved in those crashes had a blood alcohol content at the legal limit or higher. Either the driver or pedestrian, or both, had some alcohol in 47 percent of all fatal pedestrian crashes.
Arizona has one of the highest state rates of pedestrian fatalities, per 100,000 residents.