Pedestrians in the United States face an extremely heightened risk of serious injury or death when crossing or walking on city streets and roads. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that over the course of one recent year, 4,743 pedestrians lost their lives and another 76,000 sustained injury in vehicle-related accidents in the U.S. This is an average of one pedestrian fatality every two hours, while one pedestrian is injured on average every seven minutes.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), pedestrians are most at risk of suffering fatal injuries in urban environments. That’s where three out of four, or 73 percent, of pedestrian deaths occur. Fatal pedestrian accidents are more likely to occur at non-intersections, where speeds may be higher, and during the evening hours, when visibility is poor. Alcohol is often a contributing factor and played a role in 48 percent of the accidents in which a pedestrian was killed.
As everyone is a pedestrian at some point in their lives, it is important for you and your family members know what driver mistakes are most likely to cause an impact with a pedestrian. That knowledge could help you avoid becoming a statistic in a pedestrian accident.
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