The two biggest cities in Northern Nevada are two of the most dangerous for people walking across the street, according to Insurify, an online platform for insurance rates.
In Sparks, the rate of drivers cited for failing to yield to a pedestrian is more than 500% higher than the national average. In neighboring Reno, it’s more than 400% higher.
That’s close to the rate also seen in Casper, Wyoming.
Chase Gardner of Insurify says there are a few reasons those cities are among the 20 most dangerous for pedestrians.
“There’s just not a lot of infrastructure there to support walkers on a day-to-day basis,” Gardner said. “And you combine that with some high foot traffic, especially maybe some higher tourist foot traffic.”
Meanwhile, major cities in New Mexico, Colorado and Utah are on the safer side. Albuquerque’s rate of failure-to-yield citations is 59% lower than the national average. Denver and Salt Lake City’s rates are more than 20% lower.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
