TP 2436 E
Fact Sheet #RS 2001-01 E
February 2001

This document presents pedestrian fatalities and injuries resulting from collisions with motor vehicles on a roadway. The report reviews the number of pedestrian fatalities and injuries by age group and gender, by jurisdiction, time of day and month. The report also presents tables and charts showing the fatality and injury rates per 100,000 population, the distribution of fatalities and injuries by type of vehicle, vehicle manoeuvre, pedestrian action and the number and percentages of fatally injured pedestrians who had been drinking.

In the tables relating to age group and gender, the sum of males and females do not always add to total fatalities and injuries for two reasons. First, Manitoba data for 1989 were not available by gender and by age group; and second, for a number of fatalities and injuries, the gender was not specified in the collision report resulting in the gender being coded as unknown in the database.

SUMMARY FINDINGS

Over the 10-year period, 1988-1997:

• Pedestrian fatalities averaged 486 per year with an average of 15,358 pedestrians injured. 
• Overall males represented 61.5 percent of pedestrian fatalities while females accounted for 38.5 percent of fatalities. 
• The 65+ age group accounted for 25 percent and 38 percent of male and female pedestrian fatalities, respectively. Over the period, male fatalities over 64 years old decreased 29.9 percent and over 64 year old female fatalities decreased 38.8 percent. 
• Pedestrian fatalities decreased 31 percent compared to a decrease of 26 percent for all road users including pedestrians. Male pedestrian fatalities were down 34 percent and down 27 percent for female pedestrians. 
• Pedestrian fatalities in urban areas represented 70 percent of all pedestrian fatalities over the 10 years. 
• For pedestrians over 64, 85 percent of the fatalities occurred in an urban area. 
• Pedestrian injuries dropped 17 percent – 20 percent in male injuries and 14 percent in female injuries, while all road user injuries decreased 21 percent. 
• An average of 94 percent of pedestrian injuries occurred in urban areas. 

In 1997:

• Pedestrian fatalities (402) decreased 14 percent from 1996 and represented 13 percent of all road user fatalities, while injuries (14,090) decreased 3 percent from 1996 and accounted for 6 percent of all road user injuries. 
• Fatalities and injuries in 1997 were at their lowest level during the 10-year period. On average, 1 pedestrian fatality and 39 injuries occurred each day in Canada. 
• Males accounted for 61 percent of pedestrian fatalities, and females accounted for 39 percent.
• Pedestrian injuries were more evenly distributed between the genders with males accounting for 53 percent of injuries and females at 47 percent. 
• Of the 295 fatally injured pedestrians who were tested for alcohol use, 45 percent had been drinking. The majority of those who had been drinking had Blood Alcohol Concentrations (BAC) over the legal driving limit (80 mg %). In fact, the average BAC among fatally injured pedestrians who had been drinking was 210 mg %, considerably higher than the average BAC of fatally injured drivers who had been drinking at 167 mg %. 

You may download the full report Pedestrian Fatalities and Injuries, 1988-1997 in Portable Document Format (PDF) (81 KB).  To view PDF documents you must use Adobe® Acrobat Reader. Visit the Adobe site to download the latest, free version.

If you need an alternative format or for more information, please contact us by e-mail at RoadSafetyWebMail@tc.gc.ca or call toll free 1-800-333-0371 (Ottawa area (613) 998-8616).