Pedestrian Fatalities on Interstate Highways, United States, 1993-2012

Pedestrians on the Interstate Highway System present a distinctive traffic safety problem and account for 10 percent of all pedestrian fatalities each year in the United States. Very little research, however, has been conducted to date to investigate the problem of or address pedestrians who are struck by motor vehicles on an Interstate highway. The objective of this report is to quantify and describe pedestrian fatalities on Interstates from 1993 through 2012 at the national and state levels. Pedestrians may enter the Interstate intentionally, often despite restrictions and controls, while drivers and motor vehicle occupants may become “unintended” pedestrians when their vehicle is disabled by a crash or other incident. Research comparing states has confirmed that an increase in Interstate lane miles is associated with an increase in the number of pedestrians fatally injured on the Interstate (Dewey, et al, 2003). The proportion of pedestrian fatalities occurring on the Interstate in a given state, as well as pedestrian Interstate fatality crash rates, may reflect factors such as the availability and accessibility of the state’s Interstate route(s) to pedestrian use, pedestrian exposure (both on and off the Interstate) which reflects the population, pedestrian risk, overall traffic risk, and ratios of lane miles and vehicle-miles of travel (VMT) on roadways of various types.

• Record URL:
  • https://aaafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/PedestrianFatalitiesonInterstatesReport.pdf
• Summary URL:
  • https://aaafoundation.org/pedestrian-fatalities-interstate-highways/
• Supplemental Notes:
  • ©2014 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
• Corporate Authors:

  AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety

  607 14th Street, NW, Suite 201
  Washington, DC    20005
• Publication Date: 2014-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 11p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash characteristics; Crash rates; Fatalities; Interstate highways; Pedestrian safety; States
• Identifier Terms: Fatality Analysis Reporting System
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01548622
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 23 2014 12:08PM