Pedestrian Safety Awareness is in October

Slow down and look out for pedestrians! That’s the key message transportation safety authorities want drivers to internalize this month as part of National Pedestrian Safety Awareness Month.

Held every October, Pedestrian Safety Month is timed to coincide with back to school, Halloween, and the time of year when dwindling daylight can create extra risks for roadway travelers. This year, safety officials are stepping up their efforts, with a distinct focus on addressing the disturbing rise in pedestrian deaths that have occurred in recent years.

Here’s why officials say the U.S. is now facing a “pedestrian safety crisis,” with a closer look at:

• The Stunning Rise in Deadly Pedestrian Accidents
• Pedestrians & School Bus Safety
• How Pedestrian Risks Grow More Frightful on Halloween
• Safety Tips to Prevent Pedestrian Accidents

Please feel free to bookmark this resource and share it on social media to spread awareness for Pedestrian Safety Month. For printable resources available in English and Spanish, here’s more from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The Stunning Rise in Deadly Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrians may be risking their lives every time they’re walking along the roads — and those risks seem to be getting greater by the year, according to the latest data from federal regulators.

In fact, NHTSA officials report that in 2022 (the most recent year for which complete data is available):

• 7,522 pedestrians were killed on U.S. roads.
• Fatal pedestrian accidents increased by nearly 1% when compared to the previous year.
• Roughly 1 pedestrian was involved in a deadly wreck every 70 minutes. Every 8 minutes, a pedestrian was hurt in a crash.
• Pedestrian deaths hit a 40-year high, peaking at levels that hadn’t been reported since 1981.
• Pedestrian injuries spiked by 11%.
• About 18% of all traffic fatalities involve pedestrians. In contrast, pedestrians only comprise about 3% of those hurt in motor vehicle collisions.
• About 3 in 4 pedestrian deaths happen outside of intersections.
• Most deadly pedestrian accidents happen after dark when there’s minimal visibility.
• Nearly 50% of all fatal pedestrian accidents involve a drunk driver and/or a drunk pedestrian.
• Nearly 1 in 4 deadly pedestrian accidents involves a hit-and-run crash.

These numbers have highlighted some deeply alarming trends, sparking a multifaceted approach to addressing pedestrian safety in meaningful and more effective ways that can truly save lives.

Pedestrians & School Bus Safety

A focal point of Pedestrian Safety Month is National School Bus Safety Week, which runs from October 21 to 25, 2024. As a crucial time to prioritize safety around school buses, this campaign is dedicated to:

• Promoting the importance of vigilance around school buses
• Reinforcing safety practices for getting on and off school buses, crossing in front of buses, waiting for buses, and sharing the roads with school buses
• Ensuring that the millions of students who rely on school buses daily can safely travel to and from school.

Looking at the latest data on school bus accidents reveals why this annual campaign continues to be so crucial for federal authorities. Specifically, from 2013 to 2022:

• There were 976 deadly school bus accidents in the U.S., resulting in 1,082 fatalities.
• Each year, about 108 people on average die in school bus accidents.
• Nearly 200 children were killed in school bus accidents. Most of these deaths impacted children who were either passengers in smaller vehicles or who were pedestrians at the time of the crash.
• School bus accidents were about 1.5 times more likely to kill pedestrians, rather than bus occupants.

Notably, school buses are statistically the safest way for school children to get to and from school. Nevertheless, far too many people are still hurt and killed in school bus accidents each year, making the October awareness campaign particularly important during this back-to-school month.

How Pedestrian Risks Grow More Frightful on Halloween

While school bus safety is one notable callout of National Pedestrian Safety Month, so is Halloween. As a time when pedestrians tend to flood the streets, Halloween can be an incredibly risky time for children and adults to be walking, especially due to factors like (but not limited to):

• Dusk and darkness: Limited visibility at night can make it much more challenging for drivers to see and avoid trick-or-treaters.
• Costumes: Dark-colored costumes can make pedestrians nearly invisible to motorists while masks and bulkier costumes can impede pedestrians’ vision and possibly introduce fall, slip, and trip hazards to already risky circumstances.
• Impairment: Halloween can be a big party day in some circles, and that can put more drunk or drugged drivers on the roads, both as motorists and pedestrians. When impairment is involved, slower reaction times and misperceptions can amplify the risk of wrecks.

With that in mind, safety officials encourage all roadway travelers to take a proactive approach to pedestrian safety on Halloween, throughout October, and all year long.

Safety Tips to Prevent Pedestrian Accidents

To help you and your loved ones stay safe on the roads, here are a series of pedestrian safety tips, with distinct recommendations for motorists, pedestrians, and school bus safety.

Driver Pedestrian Safety Tips

Whenever you’re driving in parking lots, at intersections, and around other pedestrian-dense areas:

1. Slow down: Reduce your speed in neighborhoods, by schools, and around busy intersections.
2. Stay focused: Keep your eyes on the road, especially in areas with high foot traffic. Always avoid your phone and other distractions while you’re behind the wheel.
3. Yield to pedestrians: Always yield the right of way at crosswalks and intersections.
4. Be extra careful in low visibility conditions: When it’s dark or there’s adverse weather, make it a point to look out for pedestrians, especially in poorly lit areas.
5. Always check your blind spots: Smaller pedestrians can disappear in blind spots, which can make parking lots and other areas especially dangerous. So, check your blind spots before turning, pulling out of a parking spot, or otherwise maneuvering a vehicle around pedestrians.

Pedestrian Safety Tips

Whenever you’re walking, here’s what you can do to try to stay safe as a pedestrian:

1. Use crosswalks: Always cross streets at designated crosswalks, obeying traffic signals to cross when you have the green light. Also, wait a few seconds on the sidewalk right after the light changes and before you cross the street just in case a vehicle blasts through their red light.
2. Remain visible: Wear bright or reflective clothing, especially when walking at night (and including on Halloween). Also, be where you can be seen and where drivers will expect to see pedestrians.
3. Avoid distractions: Don’t use your phone and avoid wearing noise-canceling headphones as a pedestrian. Stay as aware as possible of your surroundings, looking around and listening to the sounds around you so you can remain responsive as conditions change.
4. Make eye contact: Do your best to look drivers in the eye and get some acknowledgment from them that they see you before stepping into the street in front of their car. You can even exchange a quick “wave” if the driver’s wearing sunglasses or you can’t see their eyes.
5. Follow the rules of the road: Don’t jaywalk or cross on red lights. Walk on sidewalks and crosswalks, complying with all traffic laws. Be cautious, even when you have the right of way.

School Bus Safety Tips for Parents

If your children ride a school bus, here are some steps you can take to promote school bus safety:

1. Be a role model: Show your children how to cross the street safely by looking both ways and following traffic signals.
2. Supervise younger children: Always accompany young children to the bus stop and wait with them until they board. You may need to remind them about safety rules routinely when they first start riding the bus.
3. Teach the “danger zone”: Make sure children know that the “danger zone” is a 10-foot area around the bus where the driver can’t see them. Explain that they need to stay out of the danger zone at all times.
4. Arrive early: Try to get children to the bus stop at least 5 minutes early to avoid rushing, which can increase the risk of accidents.
5. Know when to stop for school buses: When you’re sharing the roads with school buses, stop when the bus stops for drop-offs and pickups. Never try to drive around a bus that’s unloading or picking up children.

School Bus Safety Tips for Kids

Children who ride a school bus can get in the habit of the following to stay safe around these vehicles:

1. Wait at a distance: When waiting at the bus stop, stand at least five giant steps (or about 10 feet) away from the curb.
2. Look both ways: Always look left, right, and then left again before crossing the street, even when the bus stop sign is out.
3. Wait for the driver’s signal: Never cross in front of the bus until the driver signals that it’s safe to do so.
4. Stay seated: Once on the bus, sit facing forward, keep the aisle clear, and avoid distracting the driver.
5. Stay out of the “danger zone”: Never go into the area around the bus where the driver cannot see you. Wait where you can be seen.

Simple strategies can go a long way to promoting pedestrian safety, but they can’t turn back the clock to prevent traffic crashes that have already happened.

If you or someone you love has been hurt in a pedestrian accident or any traffic collision, the more you know about your rights and legal options, the sooner you may be able to get on the path to recovery and justice.