Pedestrian Fatalities on Urban Arterial Roads at Night: An In-Depth Crash Analysis and Three Case Studies

An official website of the United States government. Here's how you know

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites always use a .gov or .mil domain. Before sharing sensitive information online, make sure you’re on a .gov or .mil site by inspecting your browser's address (or "location") bar.

This site is also protected by an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate that's been signed by the U.S. government. The https:// means all transmitted data is encrypted — in other words, any information or browsing history that you provide is transmitted securely.

May 2nd, 2025

The number of pedestrians killed on U.S. roads and streets has increased by more than 80% since reaching its modern-era record low in 2009. While the contributions of factors such as vehicle size and driver behavior have been the subject of extensive research, two additional factors also stand out: time of day and location. Virtually the entire increase in pedestrian fatalities since 2009 has taken place in darkness, and the vast majority of it has been on urban arterial roads. The purpose of this study was to investigate factors contributing to pedestrian fatalities in darkness on urban arterial roads, to increase awareness of the issue among transportation professionals as well as the public, and to build support for effective countermeasures to reverse the increasing trend.

Read the full study here.