Virginia Pedestrian-Involved Crash Statistics 2007

There were 1,771 pedestrian / motor vehicle crashes in Virginia in 2007. Collisions with pedestrians made up 1.2 percent of all crashes. In 2007, 88 pedestrians died in motor vehicle crashes. Pedestrians represented 8.6 percent of all traffic fatalities.

Crossing the road outside of a crosswalk was a factor in 19.8 percent of pedestrian crashes.

Other common pedestrian actions at the time of the crash included crossing with the signal (8.9 percent), standing or lying on the road (7.1 percent), and walking with traffic (6.9 percent).

A significantly higher percentage of crashes involved pedestrians who were walking with traffic, rather than against it (6.9 versus 2.6 percent). Oddly, a higher percentage of pedestrians were struck while crossing with the signal, rather than against it.

At the time that the crash occurred, the largest percentages of vehicles were either going straight (52.4 percent) or turning left (10.1 percent).

Backing into a pedestrian accounted for 7.7 percent of pedestrian collisions in 2007.

In 3.1 percent of collisions with pedestrians, the vehicle involved had defective lights. Defective lights were involved in only 0.1 percent of crashes overall.

Collisions with pedestrians occurred in daylight 57.8 percent of the time, at dawn or dusk 5.9 percent of the time, and at night 36.2 percent of the time.

Approximately 7 percent of pedestrian collisions occurred when it was raining.

In 14.9 percent of crashes involving a pedestrian, the pedestrian had been drinking prior to the accident. Pedestrians who had been drinking prior to the crash made up 30.7 percent of fatalities and 14.1 percent of injuries.

Source: http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/pdf/vacrashfacts_07.pdf