Pedestrian deaths are on the rise and a new report suggests legal marijuana could be to blame.
The Governor's Highway Safety Association report was just released. It says nearly 6,000 pedestrians were killed just last year. That's about the same as in 2016. Nevada ranks the sixth highest state when it comes to pedestrian deaths.
The report also says that in the first half of 2017, pedestrian deaths went up in states that have legalized marijuana, and went down in other states
A correlation between marijuana and pedestrian deaths was not proven in the report, so it's still not clear if the rise could be attributed to other factors. Those other factors could be that more people are driving with lower gas prices, or an increase in texting and driving.
Local authorities are doing something about it. According to the report, there are pedestrian improvement projects currently in place, like adding street lights and crosswalks. The state also has a new campaign called ePEDemic that shows real-life stories of people killed on Nevada roads.
