Abstract: Background and Aim: Traffic accidents rank among the top ten leading causes of death worldwide in 2021. Of all traffic fatalities, pedestrians accounted for 17% and everyday approximately 854 pedestrians worldwide will never make it back to their homes because they would have died in traffic accidents. The aim of this retrospective study is to ascertain the pattern and characteristics of pedestrian traffic accidents as well as the impact of age on crash outcomes in the United States during a five-year period (2017-2021).
Methods: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System online database provided secondary data for this cross-sectional study. Using the specified variables, pedestrian characteristics frequencies and percentages were calculated. Statistically significant relationships between variables were identified using the Chi-Square test.
Results: The findings revealed that the age range of 31–40 years accounted for a large percentage (18.5%), that men made up 70% of the population, and that pedestrian fatalities were common (94.8%). A statistically significant association (p<0.05) was found between the age of the pedestrian and the crash results.
Conclusion: The 31 to 40 years age group constitutes part of the economically active age group hence, any public health issue affecting them may have an impact on the economic wellbeing of a nation. Morbidity or mortality from pedestrian road traffic accidents disproportionately affecting this age group should spur policy formulation to reduce this menace.