The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) estimates 7,668 pedestrians died in traffic or non-traffic incidents in 2019 . Non-traffic incidents occur on non-traffic ways such as driveways, parking lots, or other private property. The latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that in 2019 6,205 pedestrians died in traffic crashes occurring on public roads.
According to NHTSA data, in 2019 most pedestrian traffic deaths occurred in urban settings (82%), on the open road (73%) versus intersections (26%), and during dark lighting conditions (80%). The largest number of pedestrian deaths occur on Saturdays (1,042), and the majority of these deaths happen during dark lighting conditions (853).
Except for a decline on Saturday and Sunday, the number of pedestrian deaths during daylight hours is relatively consistent throughout the week. However, pedestrian fatalities at night (during dark lighting conditions) vary substantially. Night time pedestrian deaths are at their lowest point on Tuesday and increase throughout the remainder of the week, peaking on Saturday.
I bought a copy of Right of Way. Happy to lend to anyone who wants the compendium of pedestrian stats all in one place (it’s extremely readable, btw)
Thanks for this data report Mike. I am not surprised at this at all really. As someone who rarely drives, when I do have to drive at night I am blind half the time because of other car headlights, and then there is the windshield reflections…let alone the pillar blind spots etc I find it incredibly risky to drive at night especially if most of the light being provided is via headlights and not via even overhead light…