Connecticut pedestrians are at appreciable risk of severe harm whenever they are in the presence of an automobile. However, national statistics indicate that pedestrian fatalities are decreasing in frequency, and the injury rate is dropping as well.
Almost 5,000 pedestrians were killed by contact with automobiles in 2001. By 2012, that number had dropped to 4,743. Over the same period, the number of injuries dropped from 78,000 to about 76,000. That number is necessarily an approximation because only a fraction of all the pedestrian injuries that occur every year are reported to a hospital or the police. Experts estimate that the national cost of automobile injuries to children younger than 15 years old amounts to $5.2 billion dollars every year. Pedestrians account for 14 percent of all automobile-related fatalities every year.
No hard data exists on how much pedestrian travel takes place in the average year. Data suggests that pedestrians account for only 10.9 percent of all trips outside the home. Although that would seem to suggest that walking is slightly more dangerous than driving, the health benefits that come with regular walking and an active lifestyle more than outweigh the slight statistical increase in accident risk.
Any pedestrian accident where the person on foot has been hit is far more likely to result in injuries to the pedestrian than the driver. It is similarly more probable that the driver will be protected by insurance than the person on foot. An injured pedestrian should consider consulting with an attorney and filing a personal injury lawsuit against the driver that was responsible for the harm done to them. Their medical care would be eligible for compensation as would their lost wages and other economic harm done by their convalescence or permanent debility.
Source: Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center , “Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crash Statistics“, November 18, 2014
