Safety

In 2022* there were 7,522 pedestrians, 1,105 bicyclists, and 324 other nonmotorists (e.g. persons riding micromobility devices) killed in crashes with motor vehicles in the United States. Together these road users account for a growing share of total US traffic fatalities: in 2013, pedestrians, bicyclists, and other nonmotorists represented 17.4 percent of total traffic fatalities, and in 2022 they accounted for 21.1 percent of fatalities.

Nonmotorist fatalities increased by 56.5 percent in the ten-year period between 2013 and 2022. During that same time period, total traffic fatalities increased by 29.2 percent.

*National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2024, April 1). Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST): 2013-2021 Final File and 2022 Annual Report File (ARF). Version 5.5. Retrieved April 3, 2024, from https://cdan.dot.gov/query.

Over a five year period from 2018-2022, at a national level, the majority of pedestrian fatalities (74.6 percent) and bicyclist fatalities (62.4 percent) occur at non-intersections.

Lighting conditions are a major factor in pedestrian fatalities: 76.1 percent of pedestrian fatalities nationwide occur in dark conditions. By contrast, 48.9 percent of bicyclist fatalities occur in dark conditions. Time of day plays a role in this as well. The hours from 6:00pm to 11:00pm tend to account for more pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities than other times of day.

Chart of U.S. Pedestrian Fatalities from 2018-2022 by location type. Of the total 34,203 pedestrian fatalities, 28,429, or 83.1 percent of them occurred in urban locations; 220 or 0.6 percent of them occurred in unknown locations, and 5,554 or 16.2 percent occurred in rural locations. Of the 28,429 urban location fatalities, 20,439 or 59.8 percent occurred at non-intersections, 7,919 or 23.2 percent occurred at intersections, and 71 or 0.2 percent occurred at other locations. Of the 5,554 rural location fatalities, 5,095 or 14.9 percent occurred at non-intersections, 422 or 1.2 percent occurred at intersections, and 37 or 0.1 percent occurred at other locations. Chart of U.S. Bicyclist Fatalities from 2018-2022 by location type. Of the total 4,759 bicyclist fatalities, 3,876, or 81.4 percent of them occurred in urban locations; 20 or 0.4 percent of them occurred in unknown locations, and 863 or 18.1 percent occurred in rural locations. Of the 3,876 urban location fatalities, 2,273 or 47.8 percent occurred at non-intersections, 1,592 or 33.5 percent occurred at intersections, and 11 or 0.2 percent occurred at other locations. Of the 863 rural location fatalities, 685 or 14.6 percent occurred at non-intersections, 166 or 3.5 percent occurred at intersections, and 2 or 0.0 percent occurred at other locations.

NHTSA Fatality and Injury Reporting System Tool (FIRST) reports on pedestrian and bicyclist injuries at the national level, using estimates each year from the from the Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS). In 2022, 67,336 people were injured while walking, and 46,195 people were injured while biking, a 22.9 percent increase and 18.8 percent increase respectively from 2020.
 
Studies have shown that pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities represent only the "top of the iceberg" with respect to all crashes involving these modes. Furthermore, research has demonstrated consistent underreporting of crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists, so as many as 44-75 percent of pedestrian crashes and 7-46 percent of bicyclist crashes may be missing from police-reported crash data. In a recent study examining North Carolina pedestrian crash characteristics, investigators found that for each pedestrian fatality, 17 pedestrians were reported to have been involved in a non-fatal motor vehicle crash and 24 pedestrians were treated for their injuries in an emergency department setting.

Where to Find Data