The Number of Pedestrians Being Killed and Injured in Auto-Pedestrian Accidents is Increasing Dramatically in Houston and Throughout the United States. An In-Depth Look at this Troubling Trend from a Houston Car Accident Attorney’s Perspective.

The number of pedestrians injured or killed by car accidents throughout the United States has grown substantially in recent years and appears likely to continue increasing. This problem is not uniformly spread across the country, and it is affecting some regions significantly more than others. Unfortunately, the greater Houston area has been part of this dangerous and concerning trend. In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in the number of auto-pedestrian car accidents in Houston, with a corresponding increase in the number of pedestrians injured or killed in these types of accidents.

On a statewide level, the number of auto-pedestrian accidents has similarly increased in Texas, with a corresponding increase in the number of pedestrians injured or killed in auto-pedestrian car accidents throughout the State of Texas. This has led to government officials from the Texas Department of Transportation to take steps to emphasize the problem and undertake initiatives seeking to reduce the number of auto-pedestrian accidents and the injuries and deaths they cause throughout Texas.

Similarly, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Houston, and other Harris County government officials have all undertaken initiatives at the local level aiming to raise public awareness about this growing danger to the Houston community and reduce the number of auto-pedestrian accidents, pedestrian injuries, and pedestrian deaths in the Houston area.

This blog takes a deeper look at the trend of increasing injuries and deaths to pedestrians caused by car accidents throughout the United States and the Houston area, and provides a deeper look at some of the factors that may be causing or contributing to these trends in Houston, throughout the State of Texas, and throughout the United States nationally.

From the Late 1970’s Until 2009, the Number of Pedestrian Deaths from Car Accidents in the United States Steadily Declined. The Trend Began to Reverse in 2010 and the Number of Pedestrians Killed in Car Accidents Nationwide is Now at a 40-Year High.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) the nationwide number of pedestrian deaths caused by car accidents in the United States consistently declined from the late 1970s to 2009 across the United States.

However, beginning in approximately 2009, the trend began to reverse and the number of pedestrian deaths in the United States caused by auto-pedestrian accidents began to increase and continued to steadily increase. The current number of pedestrians killed by car accidents in the United States is at a 40-year high, as reported by NPR, Vox, and The New York Times, among others.

How bad is the current state of the problem on a national level? On average, drivers in the United States kill approximately 20 pedestrians each day, or one pedestrian killed in a car accident approximately every 64 minutes. Approximately one out of every 5 people who was killed in a car accident in the United States in 2022 was a pedestrian.

The Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) also estimated that in 2022 approximately 140,000 pedestrians injured in auto-pedestrian crashes nationwide had to be treated in the emergency room for non-fatal injuries.

What are Some of the Factors Behind the Nationwide Increase in Pedestrian Deaths and Injuries Caused by Car Accidents?

There is no sole factor that can be singled out as the one and only cause of the growing trend of increasing pedestrian deaths and injuries resulting from car accidents. This is especially true on a national level, as the overall trend of increasing pedestrian injuries and deaths from car accidents has affected some cities and regions significantly more than others due to factors such as access to effective public transportation, urban planning, and overall infrastructure conditions.

However, there are several factors that have been identified as being significant factors causing or contributing to the nationwide increase in pedestrian injuries and deaths from auto-pedestrian collisions:

• An analysis performed by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) has found that the phenomenon of more Americans buying larger vehicles, particularly larger trucks and SUV’s, has caused or contributed to the number of injuries and deaths caused by auto-pedestrian crashes. Not surprisingly, a larger vehicle is more likely to cause injury when it crashes into a pedestrian in comparison to a smaller vehicle, and there is a correlation between the size and weight of a vehicle and the likelihood of serious injury or death resulting from that vehicle crashing into a pedestrian. This effect is due to larger vehicles having larger blind spots and more blind spots compared to smaller vehicles, making drivers of larger vehicles more likely to hit pedestrians because the drivers don’t see them.

Additionally, larger vehicles are generally heavier and are more likely to have greater momentum at the time of impact, making it more likely that a pedestrian will be killed or injured in an auto-pedestrian collision with a larger vehicle compared to a smaller one due to the larger vehicle hitting the pedestrian with greater force because of its heavier weight.

Furthermore, the positioning of the hood on larger and taller vehicles also contributes to the likelihood of pedestrian death or injury from an auto-pedestrian accident in comparison to a smaller vehicle, as IIHS studies have shown that “hood leading edge height,” the vertical distance from the ground to the frontmost point of a vehicle’s hood was a significant factor that increases the risks of injury or death to pedestrians resulting from auto-pedestrian collisions, with vehicles with higher front ends being more likely overall to cause injuries to pedestrians in auto-pedestrian crashes, and also being more likely to cause serious injuries to pedestrians in auto-pedestrian crashes as compared to vehicles with lower “hood leading edge height.”

• Another factor found by the IIHS to increase the likelihood of pedestrian injury or death from a car accident is vehicle speed at the time of the crash. As expected, the analysis of the IIHS confirmed that the faster a vehicle is traveling at the time it impacts a pedestrian, the more likely the collision between the vehicle and the pedestrian is to cause significant injury or death.

• The consumption of alcohol and inebriated driving was also found to play a significant role in causing or contributing to auto-pedestrian collisions, as approximately one out of six drivers involved in an auto-pedestrian collision was over the legal blood alcohol limit (BAC) and was driving while intoxicated at the time of the crash. In auto-pedestrian crashes in 2022 where the pedestrian died from the crash.

• An increase in distracted driving is also a factor in the growing risk of being killed or injured from a car accidents that pedestrians are facing, as driver inattention is a significant risk factor in making car accidents of all kinds more likely to occur, including those involving pedestrians

Nationwide Statistics Show that Native American, Black, and Hispanic Pedestrians Face Higher Risks of Being Killed in an Auto-Pedestrian Car Accident than Other Groups

In 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a report titled “Evaluating Disparities in Traffic Fatalities by Race, Ethnicity, and Income”. Smart Growth America, a nonprofit public interest organization also conducted a study in 2022 on the factors behind the rise of pedestrian deaths in the United States. Both reports were made to better understand the factors behind the nationwide increase in pedestrian car accident deaths to find viable and effective solutions to this growing safety problem.

The reports found Native American, Black and Latino pedestrians had a significantly higher risk of being killed in an auto-pedestrian car accident in comparison to other groups.

Specifically, the reports showed the following:

• The rate of American Indian or Alaskan Native pedestrians killed in car accidents in the United States was nearly 5 per 100,000 people

• The rate of Black/African American pedestrians killed in car accidents in the United States was nearly 3 per 100,000 people

• The rate of Hispanic/Latino pedestrians killed in car accidents in the United States was approximately 2 per 100,000 people

• The rate of White pedestrians killed in car accidents in the United States was approximately 1.5 per 100,000 people

• The rate of Asian pedestrians killed in car accidents in the United States was approximately 1 per 100,000 people

Black/African American Pedestrians Face a Significantly Higher Risk of Being Killed in a Car Accident in the United States when the Difference in Total Distance Walked is Considered

To get a better understanding these nationwide statistics and the factors causing them, the NHTSA report also examined the race/ethnicity of pedestrians killed in car accidents in the United States per 100 million miles walked. In sorting the data in this way, the report sought to determine whether race/ethnicity is a statistically significant factor for predicting the risk a person faces to be killed in a car accident in the United States even when accounting for the fact that nationwide data shows that people in some race/ethnicity groups walk more than others and therefore are comparatively more likely to be pedestrians in the first place. The conclusions found in the report were the following:

• There were 31.51 Black/African American pedestrians killed in car accidents in the United States per 100 million miles walked

• There were 16.06 Hispanic/Latino pedestrians killed in car accidents in the United States per 100 million miles walked
• There were 15.17 White pedestrians killed in car accidents in the United States per 100 million miles walked
• There were 16.57 Asian pedestrians killed in car accidents in the United States per 100 million miles walked

Thus, the report’s analysis makes it clear that Black/African American pedestrians face a significantly higher risk in the United States of being killed in an auto-pedestrian accident than Hispanic/Latino, White, or Asian pedestrians when the relative walking done is taken into account.

Pedestrian Deaths from Car Accidents in the United States are More Likely to Occur in Low-Income Neighborhoods

There is no single factor that entirely explains the racial/ethnic risk disparities in pedestrian car accident deaths discussed above. However, economic factors appear to play a significant role as one of the main causes of the above-cited disparities.

Approximately 17 percent of the United States population lives in low-income communities (those with a median annual household income of $2,500-$43,000), more than 30 percent of car accident pedestrian deaths occur in these areas. There is no single factor or simple explanation to fully account for this disparity, but factors which appear to have a significant role in causing more auto-pedestrian car accidents to occur in low-income areas include lack of infrastructure, lack of safety features, and more people walking as a primary means of transportation due to lack of a vehicle.

Like the United States as a Whole, the Houston Area Has Experienced a Steady Increase in the Number of Auto-Pedestrian Car Accidents and Resulting Injuries and Deaths

Unfortunately, the statistical trends in Houston relating to auto-pedestrian car accidents mirror the nationwide trends discussed above, with auto-pedestrian car accidents and resulting injuries and deaths steadily increasing in the greater Houston area in recent years.

Deaths from auto-pedestrian accidents in Houston are increasing at a significantly higher rate than the United States as a whole. From 2011-2021, the number of pedestrian deaths from car accidents across the United States increased by 50% whereas in Houston the number of pedestrians killed in car accidents increased by 125% over the same time period.

The rate of auto-pedestrian car accidents in the greater Houston area has continued to increase since 2021. Correspondingly, the number of injuries and deaths caused by auto-pedestrian car accidents in Houston has also continued to increase. The greater Houston area is statistically one of the biggest cluster areas for auto-pedestrian accidents in the entire United States.

What are Some of the Factors Behind the Increase in Pedestrian Deaths and Injuries Caused by Car Accidents in Houston?

Many of the same factors behind the nationwide increase in auto-pedestrian car accidents and resulting injuries and deaths are also causing the increase in auto-pedestrian accidents in Houston. These include the following:

• The increase in larger vehicles on Houston roads is contributing to the increase in auto-pedestrian car accidents and resulting injuries and deaths. Anyone driving in the greater Houston area can see that Houstonians have an affinity for big vehicles, especially trucks and SUV’s. As discussed above, a study by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) found this phenomenon is one of the factors causing an increased number of injuries and deaths from auto-pedestrian car accidents. More large vehicles on the roads in the Houston area are increasing the risks of injury or death to pedestrians in Houston for the same reasons they are increasing those same risks throughout the United States. Larger vehicles have larger blind spots and more blind spots, larger vehicles weigh more and hit pedestrians with more force in auto-pedestrian collisions, and the way larger vehicles are structurally built, especially in relation to their hoods, increases the likelihood they will cause injury or death to a pedestrian in a collision.

• Another factor found by the IIHS to increase the likelihood of pedestrian injury or death from a car accident is vehicle speed at the time of the crash. Houstonians tend to drive faster than average on pedestrian roadways and increase the risks of auto-pedestrian car accidents occurring, as well as the risks of resulting injury or death to pedestrians with these driving behaviors. Increased speeding is increasing the risks faced by pedestrians in the Houston area just as it is increasing the risks pedestrians face throughout the United States.

• As also discussed above, alcohol consumption is a significant factor causing the increase in auto-pedestrian car accidents in the United States, with approximately one out of six drivers involved in an auto-pedestrian car accident in the United States being over the legal blood alcohol limit (BAC) at the time of the crash. Alcohol consumption also plays a role in causing auto-pedestrian car accidents in Houston, as a nationwide study found Houston to rank seventh-highest nationwide for DUI fatalities, making it one of the most dangerous places to drive according to the study.

• Distracted driving is a growing problem in Houston just as much as other places in the United States, and there is no doubt this is one of the factors causing the increase in auto-pedestrian car accidents and resulting injuries and deaths in the greater Houston area.

In addition to the above factors, Houston’s lack of public transportation and urban sprawl, and large population all increase the number of pedestrians in the greater Houston area. At the same time, on an average day in Houston there are over two million cars on the road, and the average Houstonian has one of the longest commutes to and from work in the United States, adding possible driver fatigue to the mix as yet another factor causing or contributing to the increase in auto-pedestrian accidents and resulting injuries and deaths in Houston. The factors creating a greater risk for pedestrians in Houston to be injured or killed in a car accident are many of the same factors that have caused this risk to increase throughout the United States as a whole.

A Study by the University of Texas Found that Auto-Pedestrian Car Accidents are More Likely to Occur in Black/African American Neighborhoods in Houston Compared to Other Areas

Unfortunately, the ethnic and racial disparities relating to the risk of being involved in a car accident as a pedestrian which exist nationally in the United States are also present in Houston, largely for the same reasons. A study conducted by the University of Texas examined car accident data and found that auto-pedestrian car accidents in the Houston area are far more likely to occur in Houston neighborhoods with a large Black/African American population than other parts of the city. The study found the main causes of this disparity to be a lack of infrastructure and safety features in these Houston neighborhoods, with infrastructure and safety features either missing entirely or significantly underdeveloped compared to other Houston neighborhoods where auto-pedestrian car accidents occurred less frequently. These disparities and increased risk factors in the Houston area also mirror those that have been found to exist on a nationwide level throughout the United States, as discussed above.

Government Officials from State and Local Agencies Have Undertaken Various Efforts to Stop the Increase in Auto-Pedestrian Car Accidents and Resulting Injuries and Deaths in Houston and Throughout the State of Texas

Auto-pedestrian accidents have been a growing problem in other parts of Texas as well, and the Texas Department of Transportation has undertaken several pedestrian safety campaigns in an effort to stop the increase in auto-pedestrian car accidents and resulting injuries and deaths throughout the State of Texas.

Similarly, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office launched a safety campaign in December of 2023 with the goal of reducing pedestrian deaths over the holidays. Reducing the number of auto-pedestrian accidents and the number of resulting injuries and deaths has also been one of the main goals of the Vision Zero campaign undertaken by the City of Houston.

The first step towards resolving any problem is recognizing it exists. State and local government officials and agencies have acknowledged the problem and taken steps to try to address it. Time will tell how effective these actions will be in reducing pedestrian injuries and deaths from car accidents throughout the Houston area and the State of Texas. Because of multiple factors causing the increase in auto-pedestrian car accidents in Houston and throughout Texas, it will likely take a sustained, long-term effort by multiple government agencies and private sector participants to effectively address this problem and achieve significant and tangible results reducing the risks faced by pedestrians and making our communities safer.

If You Were Injured or Lost a Loved One in an Auto-Pedestrian Accident It is Important to Hire the Right Attorneys for Your Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Claim

If you were injured or lost a loved one because of an auto-pedestrian car accident, our attorneys here to help. Our experienced personal injury lawyers at The Kishinevsky Law Firm have helped injured clients in the greater Houston area and throughout the State of Texas to successfully obtain full and fair compensation for their damages, including situations involving auto-pedestrian accidents and wrongful death claims. If you or a family member were the victim of an auto-pedestrian car accident, contact our office today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your situation and find out how we may be able to help you to receive full and fair compensation for your claims.