Jan. 1 had barely begun when a young man, allegedly drunk, plowed his car into a woman walking along Wilton Road in Farmington. Taylor Gaboury, 21, died at the scene.

A beautiful woman with striking blue eyes, Gaboury graduated from Mt. Blue High School in 2012. Her mother told a reporter that she loved camping and other outdoor activities, and that she hoped to enroll in an engineering program focused on clean energy.

Her death came less than two hours after the end of 2015, the worst year for pedestrian deaths in Maine in more than two decades. The new year was off to an inauspicious start.

It soon got worse. On the evening of Jan. 1, a man was struck by a car while crossing Main Street in Waterville, and he suffered serious injuries.

These latest crashes, coming after the 19 pedestrian fatalities and 276 pedestrian injuries in 2015, got me wondering what we can do to make roads safer for walking in Maine.

I began by delving into the data. The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety provided reports for all but one of last year’s pedestrian fatalities. Here’s what they show about factors contributing to the crashes:

Three pedestrians were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

One pedestrian made a “dart/dash” across the road.

Two drivers were driving under the influence of medications, drugs or alcohol; one was asleep or fatigued; and three were distracted by electronic devices or something else.

One driver was going too fast.

While most crashes occurred in dry weather, lighting seemed to be a factor. Twelve of the 18 crashes took place in the dark, two happened at dawn or dusk, and glare was an issue in three others. In many cases, the pedestrians were wearing dark clothes.

Eight of the pedestrians killed last year were crossing the road at the time of the crash, and a ninth was crossing a shopping center parking lot. Police noted that most of those pedestrians were not in crosswalks or crossing at lights. But the reports don’t say whether the roads actually had crosswalks or lights.

Maine DOT compiles crash data for all reported pedestrian crashes. From 2010 to 2014, 1,382 pedestrians were struck by cars. Fifty-two died, 245 suffered incapacitating injuries and nearly all of the rest had some type of less serious injury.

Data for those five years also shows:

• Most fatalities occurred in rural areas.

• The most important pedestrian action that contributed to crashes was crossing with no signal or crosswalk.

• About 9 percent of pedestrians were intoxicated, and about 2 percent were physically impaired or handicapped.

• The most important motorist action that contributed to crashes was failure to yield the right-of-way, followed by driving in an erratic, reckless, careless, negligent or aggressive manner.

Maine law requires motorists to stop whenever pedestrians indicate they are about to enter crosswalks. But that is not enough. We need a multi-pronged approach that includes:

• More roads with sidewalks, paved shoulders and other improvements for safe walking.

• Lower speed limits.

• More pedestrian education. While the Maine Safe Routes to School program does a great job of reaching children, I could not find any groups that provide ongoing pedestrian safety training to adults.

• Public service announcements targeting both drivers and pedestrians. The Bicycle Coalition of Maine, which also works on pedestrian issues, is working with state transportation agencies to plan such a campaign.

• Crosswalks that are made as visible as possible by raising the pavement, marking them with reflective tape and installing flashing lights on either side of the road.

• More enforcement of pedestrian and distracted-driving laws.

When my older daughter was a teenager, I once saw her cross Portland’s Congress Street mid-block without even looking for cars. When she saw the appalled look on my face, she said, “Don’t worry, Mom. The cars don’t want to hit me. They’ll stop.”

Other pedestrians seem to share that magical thinking. I do not. Many years ago, I was struck by a car while crossing a street. I suffered a concussion and other injuries.

I now wave at motorists as if I were an old friend before stepping into a crosswalk. It’s my way of saying: Stop texting! Notice me! Don’t hit me!

I encourage you to do the same.

Shoshana Hoose is a freelance writer who walks and bicycles in Greater Portland and beyond. Contact her at shoshanahoose@gmail.com.