Pedestrian Fatalities: When, Who & Why

Let's look at more facts about pedestrian crash fatalities in the United States.

When does it happen?
Every 107 minutes a pedestrian dies from a crash. On average, a pedestrian is struck every 12 minutes, every day.

New Year’s Day and Halloween account for the highest number of pedestrian fatalities, consistently 20%. The third day has changed from December 23 to December 1. October, November and December account for 32% of all pedestrian crashes.

Weekends are deadliest for pedestrians. More than 45% of all pedestrian crashes occur on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with nearly 18% occurring on Saturday.

Three hours pedestrians should stay off the road are 6-9 p.m., when 25% of the deaths occur. Another 21% happen between 9 p.m. and midnight. Only 6% happen between 9 a.m. and noon. Darkness is considered the number one factor.

Who gets killed?
More than 33,000 men were killed. Even though men represent 49% of the American population, they are killed in pedestrian crashes 69% of the time.

60% of pedestrians killed are white and 15% black. American Indian, Pacific Islanders and Asian represent another 5%. 19% of the deaths were determined to be of unknown race, based on corresponding death certificates.

Contrary to public perception, children under 16 only account for 10% of pedestrian deaths each year, even though children make up 21% of the American population.

People over 65 represent 13% of the population, yet represent 21% of the pedestrian fatalities. Different factors cited in this anomaly are frailty, poorer mobility and poorer eyesight.

Why does it happen?
In most cases, the pedestrian has to bear some of the blame for the crash. Their actions are represented by the following statistics:

Percentage/Action
27.3 Improperly crossed the street
25.4 Walked against the traffic flow
13.9 Failed to yield the right of way
12.1 Darted into the flow of traffic
9.8 Not visible to the driver
2.6 Were inattentive to traffic
1.5 Failed to obey traffic control

More than one-fourth of the deaths occurred because the pedestrian crossed the street improperly. Another fourth of all pedestrian deaths were attributed to walking, working or playing near the road. Nearly 14% of the crashes were caused by the pedestrian failing to yield to the vehicle.



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