Important Info - Pedestrian Accident Statistics

Pedestrian accidents happen when pedestrians run into vehicles.  With this comes injury, be it major or minor.  Pedestrian accident statistics show that about that these events are fatal for about 5,000 pedestrians each year.  About 64,000 are injured in accidents each year.

According to the National Highway Traffic Association and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, about 11 percent of motor vehicle fatalities involve pedestrian fatalities.  Between 1975 – 2005, over 180,000 pedestrians have succumbed to accidents using a vehicle.  Pedestrians come in second as the largest group of accident deaths using a vehicle.

Pedestrians die every hour and forty-one  minutes in an accident involving a vehicle; for pedestrian injuries, it’s every eight minutes.  The urban areas are some of the hardest hit areas.  There is more volume of pedestrians and vehicles in the busy areas. Pedestrian accident statistics also show that rural areas are greatly affected as well.  In rural areas, speeding on those roads has a higher impact. 

On the whole, pedestrian accident statistics show that almost 86% of accidents that are not fatal happen in urban areas.  A little over 14% of accidents that are not fatal happen in rural areas.  A lot of pedestrian accidents with injuries happen at intersections and places other than intersections.  The drivers drive faster in their vehicles and they don’t plan nor do they like to stop, even when they are supposed to.

Pedestrian accident statistics show that males are more prone to be in accidents more than females.  With that, the pedestrian injury rate for males is higher than it is for females.  When pedestrians get struck, it is usually in the front of a vehicle.  They make contact with the front bumper and/or the edge of the vehicle’s hood.

Most of the pedestrian accidents happen during the weekend evening hours.  The ones that are more vulnerable are children and the elderly.  Children that are under 16 years of age are struck by vehicles more than anyone.

Pedestrians who are elderly are not struck as much as the children, but they are more likely to succumb to their injuries after making contact with eh vehicle.  The elderly is about 16 percent of the fatalities from accidents and 6 percent of injuries.  

The important thing to get out of this is that both parties (pedestrians and drivers) need to pay attention when they are out on the road.