Pedestrian Safety | Traffic Safety Marketing

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At some point in the day, everyone is a pedestrian, which is why pedestrian safety is an essential part of every highway safety communications plan. Below you’ll find messaging on how drivers can keep pedestrians safe and how pedestrians can stay safe.

Some assets are available in English and Spanish. Share this information with partner organizations to help spread the message across all communities.

A reminder – October is Pedestrian Safety Month, a good opportunity to increase safety messaging across all platforms.

Facts

Pedestrian facts, stats and reports from NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis

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In 2022, there were 7,522 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in the United States. That is 21 pedestrians a day and 145 pedestrians a week. This represents a 0.7% increase from the 7,470 pedestrian fatalities in 2021.
On average, a pedestrian was killed every 70 minutes and injured every 8 minutes in traffic crashes in 2022.
Pedestrian deaths accounted for 18% of all traffic fatalities in 2022 and 3% of all people injured in traffic crashes in 2022.
In 2022, there were an estimated 67,336 pedestrians injured, an 11% increase from the 60,579 pedestrians injured in 2021.
In 2022, the number of pedestrians killed in traffic crashes was the highest since 1981.
Sixteen percent of the pedestrian fatalities occurred at intersections, 75% occurred at locations that were not intersections, and the remaining 9% occurred at other locations in 2022.
More pedestrian fatalities occurred in the dark (78%) than in daylight (19%), dusk (2%), and dawn (2%) in 2022.
Alcohol use is a significant factor in fatal crashes. In 2022, 48% of all crashes resulting in pedestrian fatalities involved either a driver and/or pedestrian with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher.
Seventeen percent of the children 14 and younger killed in traffic crashes in 2022 were pedestrians.
Research shows that the average risk of death for a pedestrian reaches 10% at an impact speed of 23 mph, 25% at 32 mph, 50% at 42 mph, 75% at 50 mph and 90% at 58 mph.
Seventy percent of the pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in 2022 were males.
More pedestrian fatalities occurred in urban areas (85%) than rural areas (15%) in 2022.
Nearly 1 out of every 4 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes in 2022 (24%) were struck by hit-and-run drivers.

For facts translated in Spanish, visit NHTSA.gov/Espanol.

Pedestrian Safety Month

During October, USDOT and NHTSA celebrate National Pedestrian Safety Month. You can use any of the materials available on this page to increase your pedestrian safety messaging.

Also, sample news releases can be downloaded and used during National Pedestrian Safety Month.

Social Media

This social media playbook contains sample social media content in English and Spanish. Download this guide for instructions on posting the below playbook graphics to Facebook, X and Instagram. The content is designed for easy posting and seamless integration into your current social media strategy.

Social Media Playbook | English & Spanish

Resource Guide

Within this Pedestrian Safety Community Resource Guide, you will find resources you can immediately utilize to enhance your focus on pedestrian safety.