pedestrian fatalities, similarly finding that SUV involvement has been increasing at a faster rate (50%) compared to passenger cars (30%). Retting (2019) also examined the recent increase in U.S. Third, we include additional variables, several of which are significant to the final findings. Second, we account for both the before and after periods to understand whether post-2009 changes represent new trends. First, our paper examines the share of the total night time pedestrian fatality increase (both frequency and proportion) for each category within each variable. While Hu and Cicchino (2018) provide a strong foundation, our current work adds several novel perspectives. Hu and Cicchino (2018) also found that the rise in SUV (sport utility vehicle) involvement was larger than the increases for cars, vans, pickups, or medium/heavy trucks. They found that between 20, the largest increases in pedestrian deaths occurred in urban areas, on arterials, at non-intersections, and in dark conditions. Hu and Cicchino (2018) recently completed pioneering work on the topic that used Poisson and linear regressions to investigate roadway, environmental, personal, and vehicle factors underlying the recent pedestrian safety crisis. Doing so will help to ensure safety for this vulnerable group of road users and inform possible solutions. This study identifies factors related to the recent nighttime pedestrian fatality trend by examining Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data between 20 to see whether changes in infrastructure, user, vehicle, or situational characteristics are related to increases in fatal nighttime pedestrian crashes. Only 21.2% of pedestrian fatalities in 2017 occurred in daylight.
1,594 of these fatalities occurred in the dark, representing more than 85% of the total increase (Fig. Between 20, pedestrian fatalities increased by 1,868. Much of this sharp increase in pedestrian fatalities has occurred at night (Hu and Cicchino, 2018, Retting, 2019). While the number of pedestrian fatalities was nearly cut in half in the 30 years between 19, more than half of that progress was erased in just eight years. Other than the 6,080 pedestrians killed in 2016, this represents the highest number of pedestrians killed since 1990. Solutions may be correspondingly comprehensive, employing non-linear, systems-based approaches such as Safe Systems.ĥ,977 pedestrians were killed by motor vehicles in the United States in 2017 – a 45.5% increase in pedestrian fatalities over the previous eight years (NHTSA, 2018) (Fig. However, the problems giving rise to these pedestrian fatalities are likely a result of not only engineering issues but also interrelated social and political factors. Rethinking vehicle design, especially high front profiles, may improve vehicle issues. Engineering solutions such as road diets or traffic calming may be used to improve identified infrastructure issues by reducing vehicle speeds and road widths.
Practical Applications: More research is needed to understand the efficacy of different solutions, but this paper provides guidance for such future research. Conclusions: By identifying factors related to the increase in nighttime pedestrian fatalities, this work constitutes a vital first step in making our streets safer for pedestrians. The age of pedestrians killed increased more (18.1%) than the national average (3.2%). Increased pedestrian alcohol and drug involvement warrant further investigation. In addition, SUVs were involved in 39.7% of additional fatalities, overrepresenting their share of the fleet. Results: The increase in fatal nighttime pedestrian crashes is most strongly correlated with infrastructure factors: non-intersection unmarked locations (saw 80.8% of additional fatalities) 40–45 mph roads (54.6%) five-lane roads (40.7%) urban (99.7%) and arterials (81.1%).
We model changes in crash characteristic proportions between 2002–20–2017 using linear regressions and test for autocorrelation with Breusch-Godfrey tests. Within-variable and before/after examinations of crashes in terms of infrastructure, user, vehicle, and situational characteristics are performed with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and two-sample t -tests. Method: We examine Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data for fatal pedestrian crashes that occurred in the dark between 20. More than 85% of those additional pedestrian fatalities occurred at night. Introduction: Pedestrian fatalities in the United States increased 45.5% between 20.