Pedestrian Injuries

The Surface Transporation Policy Project of Washington, D.C., has rated Houston as the sixth most dangerous city in the United States for a pedestrian. According to an article in the Houston Chronicle (8/7/98) authored by Dan Feldstein, the group ranked each city based on its auto-pedestrian deaths and serious injuries as a percentage of all vehicle deaths and serious injuries. In the Houston area, about 18 percent of people killed or seriously injured by a vehicle in 1997 were pedestrians.

The 10 most perilous cities for pedestrians are, in order: Orlando, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Providence, R.I., Phoenix, Houston-Galveston, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Buffalo, N.Y., and Charlotte, N.C.

The surface transporation group which released the list is a coalition of transit, bicycle and other groups. It found that the most dangerous cities were those in the South and West that had sprawling development. Such land-use patterns favor the automobile and make walking difficult.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, pedestrians are the second largest category of motor vehicle deaths, after occupants, and account for about 13 percent of motor vehicle deaths. The problem is worst among the elderly.

There were 447 auto-pedestrian deaths in Texas in 1997.

Pedestrian deaths are principally an urban problem. Many pedestrians are killed at crosswalks, sidewalks, median strips, and traffic islands. For those not killed, serious injuries often result from pedestrians being thrown onto the hoods, windshields, or tops of vehicles. Serious injuries to people's head, pelvis, and legs are common.

Physical separations like overpasses, underpasses, and barriers can reduce the problem of auto-pedestrian injuries. Warning signs and pavement markings at intersections also can be effective. And because there's a higher ratio of pedestrian deaths to injuries where speed limits are higher, lowering the limits could reduce pedestrian deaths.

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

• 5,412 pedestrians died in 1996, down 3 percent from 1995. Since 1975, 13 to 17 percent of motor vehicle deaths have been pedestrians.
• Pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people decreased 42 percent between 1975 and 1996 (from 3.5 to 2.0 per 100,000).
• Pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people 0-9 years old decreased 71 percent between 1975 and 1996. Children this age used to have the second highest pedestrian death rate but now have the lowest.
• Fifty-five percent of pedestrians age 16 and older killed in nighttime motor vehicle crashes in 1996 had blood alcohol concentrations at or above 0.10 percent. Thirty-six percent had no alcohol in their blood.
• Eighteen percent of pedestrian deaths occur in hit-and-run crashes.
• Sixty-nine percent of all pedestrian deaths in 1996 were males.
• People age 65 and older have about twice as many pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people as younger groups, even though the rate among elderly people has been declining since at least 1950.
• At age 80 and older, the 1996 pedestrian death rate among men was more than 3 times as high as at age 74 and younger.

Fatal pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions occur most often in the early evening hours between 6 and 9 PM, and pedestrian deaths are more likely to occur on Friday and Saturday than on other days, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.