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How
many people walk?
Why
DO people walk?
Why
DON'T people walk?
How
many pedestrians are killed and injured each year?
Who
is involved in pedestrian crashes?
What
is the economic cost of crashes involving pedestrians?
How
safe do people feel walking?
FHWA
Obligations for Bicycle and Pedestrian projects
Support for Bicycling and Walking
*To
read more about putting these numbers and statistics in perspective,
click here.
How many people walk?
In an estimation for the 2000 United States Census, the percentage
of journeys to work by foot was reported at 2.93 percent, or 3,758,982
workers 16 years and over, walking to work.*
http://factfinder.census.gov/
*
Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability.
These
numbers are lower than those for the 1990 census when 3.90 percent
of workers 16 years and over, or 4,488,886 people, walked to work:
http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/journey/usmode90.txt
The
1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, which covers trips
of all kinds, 5.4 percent of trips were by walking. This represents
56 million daily walk trips covering 20 billion miles for the
year.�
http://www-cta.ornl.gov/npts/1995/Doc/trends_report.pdf
Note -
Data from the 2001 National Household Travel survey is available
at
http://www.bts.gov/nhts/index.html
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Why do people walk?
The
Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey in 1995 reports the
following trip purposes:
Personal/Family
business: 43%
compared to 45.9% for all modes
Social/Recreational: 34%
compared to 24.9% for all modes
School/church/civic: 14%
compared to 8.8% for all modes
Earning a living: 7%
compared to 20.3% for all modes |
Note -
Data from the 2001 National Household Travel survey is available
at
http://www.bts.gov/nhts/index.html
The Omnibus Survey
completed for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in February
2003 http://www.bts.gov/omnibus/household/2003/february/index.html
asked all respondents for what purpose they walk, run, or jog.
| Primarily
for what purpose did you walk, run, or jog? |
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Why don't people walk?
According to
the 2002 National Survey of Pedestrian & Bicyclist Attitudes
and Behaviors
Reports one in five adults age 16 or older have either never walked
or had not walked during a thirty-day period in the summer of 2002.
The Survey sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics reported that the number one reason for
not walking is that respondents were either too busy or did not
have the opportunity to walk.
http://www.walkinginfo.org/survey2002.htm
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How many pedestrians are killed and injured each year?
In
2001, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/ncsa/tsf2001/2001pedfacts.pdf
reported that 4882 pedestrians were killed in crashes with motor
vehicles and 78,000 were injured. These numbers represent almost
12 percent of the total number of people killed and 3 percent of
those injured in traffic crashes.
The
number of fatalities and injuries in recent years has been:
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Fatalities
Injuries
1990 - -
- 6,482 -
- - -
1991 - -
- 5,801
-
- - -
1992 - -
- 5,549
-
- - -
1993 - -
- 5,649
-
- - -
1994 - -
- 5,489
-
- - -
1995 - -
- 5,584
84,000
1996 - -
- 5,449 82,000
1997 - -
- 5,321
77,000
1998 - -
- 5,228 69,000
1999 - -
- 4,906
85,000
2000 - -
- 4,739
78,000
2001 - -
- 4,882
78,000
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|
�
Note
- a significant number of pedestrian crashes requiring emergency
room treatment are not included in these reported fatalities and
injuries.
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Who is involved in pedestrian crashes?
In
2001, more than two-thirds (68 percent) of pedestrians killed
in crashes with motor vehicles were male. Most fatalities occurred
in urban areas (69%) at nonintersection locations (79%), in normal
weather conditions (90%), and at night (64%). More than one fifth
of all traffic fatalities for the 5-9 age group (22%) and almost
one fifth for the the 0-4 age group (19%) were pedestrians.
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/ncsa/tsf2001/2001pedestrian.pdf
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What is the economic cost of crashes involving pedestrians?
Pedestrian
Fatality
The Federal Highway Administration estimates that the comprehensive
cost of each person killed in a traffic crash is $2,900,000
(2000 dollars). Multiplying this number by the 4882 pedestrians
killed in 2001 totals $14.6 billion. (explanation
of calculation)
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov//////legsregs/directives/techadvs/t75702.htm
Pedestrian
Injury
A 1991
study, The Costs of Highway Crashes by the Urban Institute
and Federal Highway Administration,
calculated the average nonfatal injury cost per person involved
in a motor vehicle crash. In 2000 dollars, the average nonfatal
injury cost per person involved in a motor vehicle crash is $61,375.
Multiplying this number by the 78,000 reported injury crashes
in 2001 totals $4.8 billion. (explanation
of calculation)
(important
note)
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How safe do people feel walking?
The Omnibus
Survey completed for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics in
February 2003 http://www.bts.gov/omnibus/household/2003/february/index.html
asked all respondents how safe they felt using different modes
of transport. When asked how safe they felt...
How satisfied are you with how your local community is designed for making walking safe?
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How
much has been spent by the Federal Government on improving conditions
for walking?
In
the years before passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act of 1991, Federal spending on bicycling and walking
facilities was approximately $4-6 million per annum. Since then,
spending of Federal funds by States has grown to more than $416
million in FY 2002.
FHWA
Obligations for Bicycle and Pedestrian projects, millions of dollars
In
Millions of Dollars
1989 - -
- $4.9
1990 - -
- $5.4
1990 - -
- $6.6
1991 - -
- $17.1
1992 - -
- $22.9
1993 - -
- $33.6
1994 - -
- $112.6
1995 - -
- $178.6
1996 - -
- $197.2
1997 - -
- $238.7
1998 - -
- $217
1999 - -
- $204
2000 - -
- $296
2001 - -
- $339
2002 - -
- $416
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Support for Bicycling and Walking
A
national survey released on April 1, 2021 commissioned by the
Surface Transportation Policy Project shows that many Americans
are in favor of walking more places, and are willing to invest
what is necessary to make it possible. The poll found that 55
percent of the adults would rather walk than drive if given the
choice. The survey shows that 68 percent of adults favors investing
more federal money into improving walkability in order to make
walking safer for people of all ages, but in particularly children.
Seventy-four percent of those polled are in favor of using state
transportation money to help fund Safe Routes to School initiatives.
An overwhelming 84% of those polled are in favor of designing
streets for slower traffic speeds using state transportation money
even if it means that they would have to drive slower themselves.
http://www.transact.org/report.asp?id=205
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