Pedestrian Accident Fatality Chart
According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System nearly 5,000 pedestrians are killed each year in auto accidents which include cars, trucks and buses. Chances of death greatly increase based on the speed of the car or truck with a less than 10% chance at 20 miles per hour and nearly 90% chance at 40 miles per hour. Although not all pedestrians hit by an auto result in death, even those survive normally have traumatic injuries including lacerations, broken limbs, head, brain or spinal injuries.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, pedestrians are the second largest category of motor vehicle deaths after occupants, accounting for 11% of motor vehicle deaths. According to NHTSA, 4,808 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in 2002 and 71,000 were injured. Almost one-fourth of those fatalities were children between the ages of 5 and 9.1 On average, a pedestrian is killed every 109 minutes and injured every 7 minutes.
The physical vulnerability of pedestrians is a major factor in their injury. The most serious pedestrian injuries often result from pedestrians being thrown onto hoods, windshields, or tops of vehicles.
Injuries and fatalities involving pedestrians occur most frequently in three distinct groups of people: young children (between the ages of 5-9), older adults (age 70+), and persons impaired by alcohol. Pedestrian deaths constitute a third of traffic deaths among children 3-9 years of age.2 Children 10-15 years of age have the highest nonfatal injury rates.
