A third of pedestrians killed in crashes in 2016 were over the legal alcohol limit for drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That's nearly 2000 people - up by more than 300 since 2014.
"Those numbers are pretty shocking," said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety offices. "We think this is a big problem."
Being drunk can affect judgment and reaction time and result in poor decision-making and risky behaviour, such as crossing an intersection against the light or cutting across a road midblock, safety experts say. You may not even be thinking about whether drivers can see you.
And while many programmes are designed to reduce drink driving and improve pedestrian safety, few are aimed at impaired walkers.
"We've done a good job of educating people about drunken driving and the dangers," Adkins said. "But we haven't reminded people that if you're too hammered to get behind the wheel, you may be too hammered to walk home in the dark."
Pedestrian deaths jumped by 27 per cent from 2007 to 2016, even as other US traffic deaths dropped.
Distracted walking and alcohol consumption are contributing to the problem, federal data shows. And when alcohol factors into a pedestrian death, it's more often the walker than the driver who is drunk.
"Most people don't realise how big a problem it is to be walking when you're impaired," said Jessica Cicchino, a vice-president at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a research group funded by insurers. "You're probably not going to be putting anyone else at risk, but you could be hurting yourself."
Drivers often don't see drunken pedestrians until it's too late, Cicchino said, especially at night, when most deaths occur. The victims, typically men ages 21 to 59, are not crossing at an intersection, research shows.
"If your reflexes are impaired, you might be stumbling into the road and not able to act as quickly," Cicchino said.
If your reflexes are impaired, you might be stumbling into the road and not able to act as quickly
In Austin, Texas, where a dozen drunken walkers died in 2016 and seven died in 2017, many crashes were on a stretch of Interstate 35, an eight-lane, high-speed highway divided by a concrete barrier, police detective Pat Oborski said. The highway is lined with fast-food restaurants on one side and low-cost motels on the other.
Drunken pedestrians cross the highway to the motels and restaurants on frontage roads, Oborski said, even though there's a bridge over the highway nearby.
Austin's pedestrian safety coordinator, Joel Meyer, said officials are working to make pedestrians more visible, such as by providing safer crossings and improving street lighting.
But little has been done nationwide to address deaths of drunken pedestrians, according to an IIHS study. Few educational campaigns alert people about the risk of alcohol impairment when walking or bicycling, it found, and more research is needed to figure out how to prevent such deaths.
Among the study's recommendations: lowering speed limits, improving roadway lighting and marketing ride-hailing services to pedestrians and bicyclists in addition to drivers who have had too much to drink.
Safety experts say states also need to broaden their campaigns against drink driving to encourage pedestrians and bicyclists to opt for alternatives after heavy drinking.
- Jenni Bergal is a reporter for Stateline, an initiative of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
