FATALITY FACTS 2009

Pedestrians

Pedestrian motor vehicle crash deaths have declined dramatically since 1975 but still account for 12 percent of crash deaths. The rates of pedestrian deaths in motor vehicle crashes per 100,000 people are highest for people ages 70 and older.

Pedestrian deaths occur primarily in urban areas. Many pedestrians are killed on crosswalks, sidewalks, median strips, and traffic islands. Physical separations such as overpasses, underpasses, and barriers can reduce the problem. Increased illumination and improved signal timing at intersections also can be effective. Because traffic speeds affect the risk and severity of pedestrian crashes, reducing speeds can lower pedestrian deaths. Retting, R.A.; Ferguson, S.A.; and McCartt, A.T. 2003. A review of evidence-based traffic engineering measures to reduce pedestrian-motor vehicle crashes. American Journal of Public Health. 93:1456-63.

Vehicle factors also are important. Most serious injuries result from pedestrians impacting vehicle bumpers, hoods, or the windshield area. Serious head, pelvis, and leg injuries are common, and the severity of such injuries may be mitigated through improved vehicle design. Daniel, S., Jr. 2004. The role of the vehicle front end in pedestrian impact protection. Pedestrian Safety (PT-112), 99-112. Warrendale, PA: Society of Automotive Engineers. In addition, crash avoidance technologies, such as those that automatically brake the vehicle prior to impact, are being developed. Although these technologies have the potential to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries to pedestrians, their effectiveness in real-world crashes is unknown.

The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Data subsections:

Trends Age and gender Alcohol Where they died When they died

Trends

A total of 4,092 pedestrian deaths occurred in 2009, down 46 percent from 1975. Since 1975 pedestrian deaths have declined from 17 percent of all motor vehicle crash deaths to 12 percent in 2009. Pedestrian deaths declined by 7 percent from 2008 to 2009, compared to a decline of 10 percent for all other crash deaths.

Pedestrian deaths and other motor vehicle crash deaths, 1975-2009

Pedestrian deaths and other motor vehicle crash deaths, 1975-2009
Year	Pedestrian deaths		Other deaths		All motor vehicle deaths
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1975	7,516	17	37,009	83	44,525
1976	7,427	16	38,096	84	45,523
1977	7,732	16	40,146	84	47,878
1978	7,795	15	42,536	85	50,331
1979	8,096	16	42,997	84	51,093
1980	8,070	16	43,021	84	51,091
1981	7,837	16	41,464	84	49,301
1982	7,331	17	36,614	83	43,945
1983	6,826	16	35,763	84	42,589
1984	7,025	16	37,232	84	44,257
1985	6,808	16	37,017	84	43,825
1986	6,779	15	39,308	85	46,087
1987	6,745	15	39,645	85	46,390
1988	6,870	15	40,217	85	47,087
1989	6,556	14	39,026	86	45,582
1990	6,482	15	38,117	85	44,599
1991	5,801	14	35,707	86	41,508
1992	5,549	14	33,701	86	39,250
1993	5,649	14	34,501	86	40,150
1994	5,489	13	35,227	87	40,716
1995	5,584	13	36,233	87	41,817
1996	5,449	13	36,616	87	42,065
1997	5,321	13	36,692	87	42,013
1998	5,228	13	36,273	87	41,501
1999	4,939	12	36,778	88	41,717
2000	4,763	11	37,182	89	41,945
2001	4,901	12	37,295	88	42,196
2002	4,851	11	38,154	89	43,005
2003	4,774	11	38,110	89	42,884
2004	4,675	11	38,161	89	42,836
2005	4,892	11	38,618	89	43,510
2006	4,795	11	37,913	89	42,708
2007	4,699	11	36,560	89	41,259
2008	4,414	12	33,009	88	37,423
2009	4,092	12	29,716	88	33,808

Seventeen percent of pedestrian deaths in 2009 occurred in hit-and-run crashes.

Pedestrian deaths by hit-and-run occurrence, 2009
Hit-and-run		No hit-and-run		Total*
Num	%	Num	%	Num
699	17	3,391	83	4,092
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Age and gender

The rate of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people decreased 62 percent between 1975 and 2009. The pedestrian death rate for children ages 0-12 decreased 90 percent. Children this age had the third highest pedestrian death rate in 1975 but in 2009 had the lowest. The death rate for pedestrians 70 and older has declined 77 percent since 1975. Despite the huge decline, pedestrians this age had the highest death rate every year since 1975.

Pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people by age, 1975-2009

Pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people by age, 1975-2009
Year	< 13	13-19	20-34	35-59	60-69	≥ 70	Total*
1975	3.6	2.7	2.4	3.0	4.1	9.3	3.5
1976	3.4	2.9	2.4	2.9	4.1	8.6	3.4
1977	3.1	2.8	2.7	2.9	4.6	9.0	3.5
1978	3.2	2.9	2.9	3.0	4.2	7.6	3.5
1979	2.9	3.2	3.2	3.0	4.3	7.8	3.6
1980	2.7	3.2	3.3	3.0	4.0	8.0	3.6
1981	2.4	2.9	3.3	2.9	3.6	7.4	3.4
1982	2.2	2.9	3.2	2.8	3.3	6.3	3.2
1983	2.1	2.5	2.9	2.5	3.3	5.9	2.9
1984	2.1	2.3	2.9	2.6	3.3	6.2	3.0
1985	2.1	2.3	2.7	2.6	3.1	6.1	2.9
1986	2.0	2.3	2.8	2.5	2.7	5.9	2.8
1987	2.0	2.1	2.6	2.6	3.2	5.8	2.8
1988	2.0	1.9	2.7	2.5	3.1	6.3	2.8
1989	1.7	1.7	2.6	2.6	2.9	5.7	2.7
1990	1.6	1.7	2.5	2.5	3.0	5.6	2.6
1991	1.4	1.8	2.3	2.1	2.4	4.8	2.3
1992	1.3	1.6	2.1	2.2	2.5	4.5	2.2
1993	1.3	1.6	2.1	2.1	2.5	4.4	2.2
1994	1.3	1.4	2.0	2.1	2.3	4.4	2.1
1995	1.2	1.5	2.0	2.2	2.5	4.3	2.1
1996	1.1	1.4	2.0	2.2	2.5	4.0	2.1
1997	1.0	1.4	1.9	2.1	2.5	3.8	2.0
1998	0.9	1.3	1.8	2.1	2.3	3.9	1.9
1999	0.9	1.2	1.6	2.0	2.1	3.5	1.8
2000	0.8	1.2	1.5	1.9	1.9	3.2	1.7
2001	0.7	1.2	1.5	2.0	1.9	3.4	1.7
2002	0.6	1.2	1.5	1.9	2.2	3.2	1.7
2003	0.6	1.2	1.5	1.9	2.0	3.0	1.6
2004	0.6	1.0	1.5	1.9	1.9	2.9	1.6
2005	0.5	1.1	1.6	2.0	1.9	2.9	1.7
2006	0.5	1.1	1.6	1.9	2.0	2.6	1.6
2007	0.5	1.2	1.6	1.9	1.5	2.7	1.6
2008	0.4	1.1	1.5	1.8	1.6	2.2	1.5
2009	0.4	0.9	1.4	1.7	1.6	2.1	1.3
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

The rate of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people in 2009 was 62 percent higher for people 70 and older than for those younger than 70. Since 1975, the rate of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people has decreased 57 percent for people younger than 70 and 77 percent for those 70 and older.

Pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people by age, 1975-2009
Year	< 13			13-19			20-34			35-59			60-69			≥ 70
Year	Population	Num	Rate	Population	Num	Rate	Population	Num	Rate	Population	Num	Rate	Population	Num	Rate	Population	Num	Rate
1975	45,851,304	1,632	3.6	29,795,023	796	2.7	50,998,098	1,236	2.4	57,233,228	1,694	3.0	17,531,601	726	4.1	14,563,945	1,348	9.3
1976	45,000,704	1,522	3.4	29,909,414	855	2.9	52,745,005	1,292	2.4	57,600,060	1,651	2.9	17,819,861	735	4.1	14,960,120	1,291	8.6
1977	44,337,332	1,390	3.1	29,800,313	835	2.8	54,497,448	1,487	2.7	58,124,426	1,668	2.9	18,078,657	837	4.6	15,401,249	1,383	9.0
1978	43,907,467	1,419	3.2	29,543,252	868	2.9	55,909,063	1,604	2.9	59,035,863	1,779	3.0	18,312,359	777	4.2	15,876,541	1,214	7.6
1979	43,778,959	1,291	2.9	29,077,607	923	3.2	57,499,197	1,832	3.2	59,699,815	1,813	3.0	18,611,292	792	4.3	16,388,617	1,277	7.8
1980	43,914,342	1,183	2.7	28,486,487	906	3.2	58,814,391	1,919	3.3	60,159,384	1,792	3.0	18,952,138	750	4.0	16,897,977	1,344	8.0
1981	44,049,940	1,064	2.4	27,743,947	797	2.9	60,563,416	2,002	3.3	60,528,289	1,758	2.9	19,257,302	697	3.6	17,322,714	1,278	7.4
1982	44,131,596	986	2.2	27,160,586	793	2.9	61,099,524	1,925	3.2	61,918,207	1,715	2.8	19,570,695	653	3.3	17,783,888	1,124	6.3
1983	44,119,297	944	2.1	26,737,497	671	2.5	61,840,154	1,792	2.9	63,079,650	1,591	2.5	19,781,554	643	3.3	18,233,751	1,081	5.9
1984	43,978,044	935	2.1	26,435,885	615	2.3	62,491,255	1,829	2.9	64,239,802	1,686	2.6	20,016,859	665	3.3	18,662,938	1,164	6.2
1985	44,260,136	925	2.1	26,001,247	592	2.3	62,961,154	1,687	2.7	65,378,882	1,685	2.6	20,249,528	621	3.1	19,072,785	1,170	6.1
1986	44,755,454	913	2.0	25,592,481	584	2.3	63,115,889	1,751	2.8	66,802,926	1,702	2.5	20,402,611	552	2.7	19,463,480	1,157	5.9
1987	45,348,247	898	2.0	25,209,615	518	2.1	63,032,298	1,656	2.6	68,290,374	1,781	2.6	20,517,672	654	3.2	19,890,817	1,160	5.8
1988	45,942,966	905	2.0	25,004,445	487	1.9	62,784,739	1,703	2.7	69,852,055	1,773	2.5	20,612,351	632	3.1	20,302,280	1,271	6.3
1989	46,690,604	786	1.7	24,664,300	421	1.7	62,494,056	1,648	2.6	71,581,353	1,839	2.6	20,669,409	603	2.9	20,719,397	1,180	5.7
1990	47,472,527	768	1.6	24,404,795	423	1.7	62,282,683	1,584	2.5	73,444,237	1,804	2.5	20,695,871	631	3.0	21,164,283	1,195	5.6
1991	48,240,747	695	1.4	24,066,587	437	1.8	62,025,750	1,444	2.3	75,460,332	1,615	2.1	20,607,779	502	2.4	21,751,897	1,044	4.8
1992	48,903,668	635	1.3	24,163,175	376	1.6	61,427,100	1,278	2.1	77,802,376	1,704	2.2	20,412,163	505	2.5	22,321,217	997	4.5
1993	49,335,864	644	1.3	24,664,091	402	1.6	60,582,332	1,294	2.1	80,150,573	1,702	2.1	20,249,075	506	2.5	22,800,673	1,012	4.4
1994	49,692,462	659	1.3	25,219,838	355	1.4	59,629,351	1,190	2.0	82,498,005	1,756	2.1	20,043,520	463	2.3	23,243,845	1,021	4.4
1995	49,920,484	597	1.2	25,764,300	389	1.5	58,712,407	1,192	2.0	84,740,716	1,847	2.2	19,971,612	504	2.5	23,693,757	1,008	4.3
1996	50,085,188	570	1.1	26,357,198	362	1.4	57,753,910	1,132	2.0	87,078,329	1,879	2.2	19,897,624	498	2.5	24,056,323	951	4.0
1997	50,364,983	513	1.0	26,730,812	371	1.4	57,046,569	1,083	1.9	89,395,083	1,877	2.1	19,837,343	497	2.5	24,408,817	931	3.8
1998	50,527,476	464	0.9	27,174,728	351	1.3	56,421,053	999	1.8	91,476,094	1,945	2.1	19,855,101	455	2.3	24,793,551	965	3.9
1999	50,667,139	449	0.9	27,518,156	333	1.2	55,961,401	920	1.6	93,490,306	1,884	2.0	19,961,006	425	2.1	25,092,805	885	3.5
2000	52,219,423	403	0.8	28,326,412	337	1.2	58,971,709	890	1.5	96,740,434	1,883	1.9	20,374,305	396	1.9	25,559,879	807	3.2
2001	52,341,395	363	0.7	28,437,711	346	1.2	59,465,066	911	1.5	98,425,536	1,970	2.0	20,634,900	387	1.9	25,797,467	878	3.4
2002	52,332,306	317	0.6	28,644,313	353	1.2	60,046,068	901	1.5	99,833,172	1,929	1.9	21,080,035	461	2.2	26,005,326	845	3.2
2003	52,187,602	327	0.6	29,028,500	348	1.2	60,599,350	899	1.5	100,920,120	1,942	1.9	21,852,458	447	2.0	26,200,946	777	3.0
2004	52,151,406	293	0.6	29,400,392	305	1.0	61,003,240	945	1.5	102,216,958	1,907	1.9	22,545,890	421	1.9	26,337,518	763	2.9
2005	52,149,395	274	0.5	29,589,854	325	1.1	61,180,772	980	1.6	103,698,407	2,055	2.0	23,133,307	433	1.9	26,658,669	777	2.9
2006	52,306,908	267	0.5	29,772,198	314	1.1	61,527,219	973	1.6	105,169,569	2,025	1.9	23,737,792	467	2.0	26,884,798	707	2.6
2007	52,585,809	243	0.5	29,775,943	343	1.2	61,623,322	970	1.6	105,272,308	2,001	1.9	25,228,258	374	1.5	27,135,517	726	2.7
2008	52,929,779	215	0.4	29,710,307	320	1.1	61,990,546	930	1.5	105,456,640	1,895	1.8	26,451,418	421	1.6	27,521,034	603	2.2
2009	53,753,412	198	0.4	29,667,279	256	0.9	63,105,881	865	1.4	105,097,465	1,739	1.7	27,596,243	435	1.6	27,786,270	577	2.1

Sixty-nine percent of pedestrians killed in 2009 were males, a proportion that has varied little since 1975.

Pedestrian deaths by gender, 1975-2009
Year	Male		Female		Total*
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1975	5,196	69	2,319	31	7,516
1976	5,120	69	2,307	31	7,427
1977	5,331	69	2,400	31	7,732
1978	5,494	70	2,296	29	7,795
1979	5,701	70	2,391	30	8,096
1980	5,613	70	2,454	30	8,070
1981	5,459	70	2,332	30	7,837
1982	5,144	70	2,185	30	7,331
1983	4,775	70	2,050	30	6,826
1984	5,016	71	2,005	29	7,025
1985	4,671	69	2,133	31	6,808
1986	4,771	70	2,004	30	6,779
1987	4,777	71	1,967	29	6,745
1988	4,756	69	2,111	31	6,870
1989	4,594	70	1,959	30	6,556
1990	4,495	69	1,985	31	6,482
1991	3,985	69	1,815	31	5,801
1992	3,867	70	1,679	30	5,549
1993	3,936	70	1,711	30	5,649
1994	3,757	68	1,732	32	5,489
1995	3,856	69	1,728	31	5,584
1996	3,780	69	1,667	31	5,449
1997	3,643	68	1,677	32	5,321
1998	3,558	68	1,670	32	5,228
1999	3,466	70	1,472	30	4,939
2000	3,251	68	1,512	32	4,763
2001	3,421	70	1,479	30	4,901
2002	3,298	68	1,552	32	4,851
2003	3,274	69	1,499	31	4,774
2004	3,237	69	1,435	31	4,675
2005	3,450	71	1,441	29	4,892
2006	3,332	69	1,459	30	4,795
2007	3,288	70	1,411	30	4,699
2008	3,078	70	1,331	30	4,414
2009	2,814	69	1,277	31	4,092
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Alcohol

Fifty-three percent of pedestrians 16 and older killed in nighttime (9pm-6am) crashes in 2009 had blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) at or above 0.08 percent, compared to 61 percent in 1982. The rate of high BACs among pedestrians 16 and older killed in daytime (6am-9pm) crashes in 2009 was 23 percent, compared to 27 percent in 1982.

Estimated number and percent of fatally injured pedestrians age 16 and older with BACs ≥ 0.08 percent by time of day, 1982-2009
Year	Nighttime (9pm-6am)			Daytime (6am-9pm)
	Pedestrians killed	Estimated pedestrians killed with BACs ≥ 0.08		Pedestrians killed	Estimated pedestrians killed with BACs ≥ 0.08
	Num	Num	%	Num	Num	%
1982	3,033	1,861	61	2,911	783	27
1983	2,612	1,684	64	2,940	787	27
1984	2,668	1,665	62	3,046	750	25
1985	2,467	1,528	62	3,040	717	24
1986	2,505	1,523	61	3,004	694	23
1987	2,521	1,446	57	3,035	710	23
1988	2,515	1,475	59	3,148	674	21
1989	2,422	1,445	60	3,095	725	23
1990	2,431	1,486	61	3,029	633	21
1991	2,201	1,295	59	2,646	584	22
1992	2,040	1,215	60	2,673	636	24
1993	2,031	1,212	60	2,681	630	23
1994	1,945	1,091	56	2,659	615	23
1995	2,041	1,150	56	2,716	633	23
1996	2,025	1,165	58	2,624	627	24
1997	1,882	1,041	55	2,714	581	21
1998	1,899	1,054	55	2,666	608	23
1999	1,871	1,071	57	2,423	566	23
2000	1,743	992	57	2,416	529	22
2001	1,856	980	53	2,482	566	23
2002	1,893	997	53	2,447	576	24
2003	1,843	1,000	54	2,428	545	22
2004	1,845	997	54	2,372	523	22
2005	1,968	1,056	54	2,462	492	20
2006	1,999	1,093	55	2,353	548	23
2007	1,932	1,036	54	2,344	538	23
2008	1,846	983	53	2,204	553	25
2009	1,742	929	53	2,024	460	23

Where they died

Seventy-one percent of pedestrian deaths in 2009 occurred in urban areas, up from 59 percent in 1975.

Pedestrian deaths by land use, 2009
Year	Urban		Rural		Total*
Year	Num	%	Num	%	Num
1975	4,401	59	3,115	41	7,516
1976	4,409	59	3,013	41	7,427
1977	4,997	65	2,711	35	7,732
1978	4,934	63	2,748	35	7,795
1979	5,309	66	2,688	33	8,096
1980	5,279	65	2,698	33	8,070
1981	5,066	65	2,614	33	7,837
1982	4,809	66	2,455	33	7,331
1983	4,477	66	2,341	34	6,826
1984	4,660	66	2,360	34	7,025
1985	4,586	67	2,215	33	6,808
1986	4,580	68	2,197	32	6,779
1987	4,631	69	2,105	31	6,745
1988	4,650	68	2,216	32	6,870
1989	4,620	70	1,931	29	6,556
1990	4,619	71	1,855	29	6,482
1991	4,053	70	1,738	30	5,801
1992	3,923	71	1,597	29	5,549
1993	3,949	70	1,663	29	5,649
1994	3,934	72	1,543	28	5,489
1995	3,914	70	1,644	29	5,584
1996	3,838	70	1,596	29	5,449
1997	3,699	70	1,611	30	5,321
1998	3,584	69	1,611	31	5,228
1999	3,400	69	1,519	31	4,939
2000	3,298	69	1,376	29	4,763
2001	3,437	70	1,452	30	4,901
2002	3,421	71	1,418	29	4,851
2003	3,479	73	1,283	27	4,774
2004	3,393	73	1,274	27	4,675
2005	3,618	74	1,245	25	4,892
2006	3,521	73	1,234	26	4,795
2007	3,442	73	1,236	26	4,699
2008	3,184	72	1,210	27	4,414
2009	2,909	71	1,146	28	4,092
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Thirty-seven percent of pedestrian deaths among people 60 and older in 2009 occurred at intersections, compared with 22 percent for those younger than 60.

Pedestrian deaths by junction type and age, 2009
Junction type	< 13		13-19		20-34		35-59		60-69		≥ 70		Total*
Junction type	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
Non-intersection	145	73	196	77	723	84	1,308	75	281	65	361	63	3,029	74
Intersection	53	27	60	23	142	16	431	25	154	35	216	37	1,063	26
Total*	198	100	256	100	865	100	1,739	100	435	100	577	100	4,092	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

Seventy-three percent of pedestrian deaths in 2009 occurred on major roads, including interstates and freeways.

Pedestrian deaths by road type, 2009
Road type	Num	%
Interstates and freeways	613	15
Other major roads	2,358	58
Minor roads	1,070	26
All road types*	4,092	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

In urban areas, 53 percent of pedestrian deaths in 2009 occurred on roads with speed limits of 40 mph or less; in rural areas 27 percent of deaths occurred on such roads.

Pedestrian deaths by speed limit and land use, 2009
Speed limit	Urban		Rural		Total*
Speed limit	Num	%	Num	%	Num	%
No limit	9	<1	10	1	20	<1
< 35 mph	656	23	111	10	782	19
35-40 mph	898	31	199	17	1,099	27
45-50 mph	674	23	228	20	909	22
55+ mph	495	17	550	48	1,051	26
Unknown	177	6	48	4	231	6
Total*	2,909	100	1,146	100	4,092	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

When they died

Twenty-five percent of pedestrian deaths in 2009 occurred in crashes between 6 pm and 9 pm and 22 percent occurred between 9 pm and midnight.

Pedestrian deaths by time of day, 2009
Time of day	Deaths	%
Midnight-3am	496	12
3am-6am	379	9
6am-9am	343	8
9am-noon	233	6
Noon-3pm	238	6
3pm-6pm	440	11
6pm-9pm	1,016	25
9pm-midnight	918	22
Total*	4,092	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns

The largest proportion of pedestrian deaths in 2009 occurred on Saturday (18 percent), followed by Friday (17 percent).

Pedestrian deaths by day of week, 2008
Day of week	Deaths	%
Sunday	571	14
Monday	509	12
Tuesday	518	13
Wednesday	538	13
Thursday	529	13
Friday	700	17
Saturday	727	18
Total*	4,092	100
*Total includes other and/or unknowns