Factors associated with pedestrian-vehicle collision injuries and fatalities.

Data from Washington State police records of pedestrian-vehicle collisions were used to tabulate injury and fatality rates for 1981 to 1983 and to investigate event characteristics associated with the occurrence of fatalities. Case-fatality rates are seen to be relatively higher when there is decreased visibility due to fog, lack of lighting or dark color of pedestrian clothing. Fatality rates from death certificate data for the same time period were compared with the police-reported rates. For children younger than 5 years, fewer cases of pedestrian death are reported by police than by death certificate, because a large proportion of fatal injuries (27%) is not traffic related or occurs at home (46%) in the garage or driveway.