Disclaimer All reasonable endeavours are made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this report. However, the information is provided without warranties of any kind including accuracy, completeness, timeliness or fitness for any particular purpose. The Ministry of Transport excludes liability for any loss, damage or expense, direct or indirect, and however caused, whether through negligence or otherwise, resulting from any person or organisation's use of, or reliance on, the information provided in this report. Under the terms of the New Zealand Creative Commons Attribution 3. (BY) licence, this document, and the information contained within it, can be copied, distributed, adapted and otherwise used provided that the Ministry of Transport is attributed as the source of the material the material is not misrepresented or distorted through selective use of the material images contained in the material are not copied The terms of the Ministry s Copyright and disclaimer apply. Additional information Enquires relating to crash statistics may be directed to the Ministry of Transport, PO Box 3175, Wellington, or by email on info@transport.govt.nz. For more information about road safety, visit the Ministry of Transport website at www.transport.govt.nz. A selection of fact sheets is available via the research section of the Ministry of Transport website. These include: Crash fact sheets Alcohol and drugs Cyclists Diverted attention Fatigue Motorcyclists Pedestrians Speed Trucks Young drivers Travel survey fact sheets Comparing travel modes Cycling Driver travel Motorcycling Public transport Risk on the road Introduction and mode comparison Drivers and their passengers Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists Walking 2
Contents Contents... 3 Key facts... 3 Risk... 4 Time series... 4 Who gets injured?... 6 When do injuries occur?... 7 Where do injuries occur?... 8 Types of crash... 9 Who was at fault?... 9 Pedestrian factors... 1 Skateboarders and wheeled pedestrians... 1 Terminology... 11 Key facts In 213, 3 pedestrians died, 221 pedestrians were seriously injured, and 618 pedestrians suffered minor injuries in police-reported crashes on New Zealand roads. The total social cost 1 of policereported crashes involving pedestrians was approximately $353 million. This is about 12 percent of the social cost associated with all fatal or injury crashes in 213. 1 Definitions of fatal, serious and minor injuries and social cost are in Terminology at the end of the fact sheet. 3
Risk Walking is one of the safest modes of travel available. It carries the second lowest risk of death or injury per time unit travelled on New Zealand roads. Figure 1: Deaths/injuries in motor vehicle crashes per million hours spent travelling (July 29 June 213, all ages) 2 Deaths/injuries per million hours spent travelling 18 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Motorcyclists Cyclists Light 4 wheeled vehicle drivers Light 4 wheeled vehicle passengers Pedestrians Bus passengers Mode of travel Time series Figure 2: Pedestrian fatalities (1995 213) Fatalities 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Year 4
Table 1: Pedestrian deaths and injuries (1986 213, police-reported crashes) Deaths Injuries Year Number % of all fatalities Number % of all injuries 1986 112 14.6% 1,268 6.7% 1987 11 13.8% 1,261 6.7% 1988 83 11.4% 1,122 6.5% 1989 81 1.7% 1,44 6.3% 199 14 14.3% 1,161 6.6% 1991 88 13.5% 1,15 6.% 1992 76 11.8% 1,7 6.2% 1993 74 12.3% 949 6.3% 1994 54 9.3% 1,63 6.4% 1995 71 12.2% 1,53 6.2% 1996 63 12.3% 969 6.5% 1997 54 1.% 925 6.9% 1998 71 14.2% 93 7.5% 1999 63 12.4% 895 7.5% 2 35 7.6% 958 8.7% 21 52 11.4% 994 8.% 22 45 11.1% 1,73 7.6% 23 59 12.8% 1,71 7.4% 24 38 8.7% 1,21 7.3% 25 31 7.7% 957 6.5% 26 45 11.5% 97 6.3% 27 45 1.7% 886 5.5% 28 31 8.5% 946 6.2% 29 31 8.1% 925 6.3% 21 35 9.3% 972 6.9% 211 31 1.9% 887 7.% 212 33 1.7% 923 7.6% 213 3 11.8% 839 7.1% 5
Who gets injured? The following graph shows the annual average number of deaths and injuries by age group. The greatest numbers of people killed and injured are between the ages of 5 and 24 years. (The 5 year period July 28 to June 213 is used to match the travel survey data used in the later risk curve.) Figure 3: Pedestrian deaths and injuries in motor vehicle crashes Pedestrian deaths and injuries - annual average July 28 - June 213 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Age group (years) If the number of hours spent walking (based on the New Zealand Household Travel Survey) for different age groups is taken into account, children aged 5 9 years and pedestrians aged 8 years and above are the most at-risk groups. Figure 4: Pedestrian deaths and injuries in motor vehicle crashes per million hours spent walking Pedestrian deaths/injuries per million hours walked 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Age group (years) Source: Crash Analysis System, New Zealand Household Travel Survey (July 28 June 213) Note: This data does not take fragility into account; that is the differing ability of different age groups to withstand the same degree of force in a crash 6
When do injuries occur? The graph below shows the number of pedestrians injured in crashes involving motor vehicles for 29-213, by time of day. The highest numbers of child pedestrians are injured between 2pm and 4pm, followed by 4pm to 6pm and 8am to 1am. Adult pedestrians are injured in relatively steady numbers from 8am until 8pm, after which the numbers begin to drop off. Figure 5: Pedestrian deaths/injuries in motor vehicle crashes by time of day (29 213) Children (under 18 years) Adults (18 years and over) Pedestrian deaths/injuries 6 5 4 3 2 1 Time of day If the number of reported pedestrian injuries is adjusted by the time spent walking (based on the New Zealand Household Travel Survey), children (under 18 years) are found to be at the highest risk in the late afternoon and evening. For adults, the risk of injury per hour spent walking is spread more evenly across different hours of the day, with an increase towards the later part of the evening. 7
Figure 6: Pedestrian deaths/injuries in motor vehicle crashes per million hours walked (July 28 June 213) Pedestrian deaths/injuries per million hours walked 18 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Children (under 18 years) Adults (18 years and over) ( y ) Hour of day Note: Values have not been calculated for adults between 1 pm and 6 am and for children between 8 pm and 6 am as the number of trips was too small to provide reliable estimates. Where do injuries occur? More than nine in every 1 reported pedestrian casualties occurred on urban roads (those with a speed limit of 7km/h or less). Over half of all pedestrian casualties occurred on major urban roads (typically busy arterials). Forty-one percent happened on minor urban roads and 6 percent on roads with speed limits of 8km/h and above. Figure 7: Police-reported pedestrian casualties by road type Major urban road and urban State highway, 52% Minor urban road, 41% Open road, 6% The majority (88 percent) of reported pedestrian casualties on urban roads occurred when the pedestrian involved was crossing the road. Over two-thirds (69 percent) of these casualties occurred when the pedestrian was crossing the road in an uncontrolled area (for example, not at a pedestrian crossing or traffic lights). 8
Types of crash Two specific crash movements accounted for about 6 percent of all motor vehicle crashes involving a pedestrian reported to the police between 29 and 213: Pedestrian crossing road 38% This type of crash involves the pedestrian being struck while crossing from the left side of the road. Pedestrian crossing road 22% This type of crash involves the pedestrian being struck while crossing from the right side of the road. Who was at fault? Pedestrians had the primary responsibility 2 for about half of all crashes resulting in the injury of pedestrians. Fault is assigned to a pedestrian only if the driver of the vehicle involved was not found to have the primary responsibility for the crash. When the driver is found to have primary responsibility in a crash involving a pedestrian, multiple causes are possible, but the most common contributing factors are did not see other party (41 percent of at-fault drivers in fatal or serious injury crashes) and inattention or attention diverted (32 percent of at-fault drivers in fatal or serious injury crashes). Failing to give way (23 percent of at-fault drivers in fatal or serious injury crashes) and alcohol/drugs (1 percent of at-fault drivers in fatal or serious injury crashes) are also common contributing factors. 2 The determination of primary responsibility for a crash is based on the crash movements and crash cause factors assigned in the Crash Analysis System. It is not based on legal liability or court conviction. 9
Pedestrian factors The most frequent pedestrian factors associated with fatal crashes are being visibly intoxicated, crossing the road heedless of traffic, and/or wearing dark clothing. Running into the road heedless of traffic and stepping out from behind parked vehicles are also common pedestrian factors for those under the age of 18. Figure 8: Ten most frequent pedestrian factors contributing to a fatal crash Pedestrian attention diverted eg cigarette, cell phone, music player Pedestrian unsupervised child Children (under 18 years) Adults (18 years and over) Stepping out from behind parked vehicle Pedestrian playing on road or unnecessarily on road Walking along road not keeping to side of road Pedestrian sitting/lying on road Crossing road running heedless of traffic Pedestrian wearing dark clothing Crossing heedless of traffic Visibly intoxicated non-driver 1 2 3 4 5 Fatalities Note: more than one of these factors could be attributed to any individual crash. Approximately 8 percent of all police-reported pedestrian casualties between 29 and 213 were reported as being visibly intoxicated, and this rose to 12 percent for pedestrians aged over 18. These intoxicated pedestrians accounted for 49 fatalities (3 percent of all pedestrian fatalities), 113 serious injuries (1 percent), and 211 minor injuries (6 percent). Skateboarders and wheeled pedestrians Other road users with similar fragility characteristics to pedestrians are skateboarders and wheeled pedestrians, such as mobility scooter users, wheelchair users and people on push scooters. Between 29 and 213, 1 skateboarder and 4 wheeled pedestrians died in motor vehicle crashes, and 12 skateboarders and 148 wheeled pedestrians were injured in police-reported motor vehicle crashes. 1
Terminology Fatal injuries: injuries that result in death within 3 days of the crash. Serious injuries: fractures, concussions, internal injuries, crushings, severe cuts and lacerations, severe general shock necessitating medical treatment and any other injury involving removal to and detention in hospital. Minor injuries: injuries of a minor nature such as sprains and bruises. Social cost: a measure of the total cost of road crashes to the nation. It includes: loss of life and life quality; loss of productivity; and medical, legal, court, and property damage costs. Casualty: person who sustained fatal, serious or minor injuries. 11