Pedestrians and bicyclists (non-motorists), 2021

Georgia Traffic Safety Facts
2021 Data

August 2023
In this fact sheet, information is presented as follows.
Non-Motorist Fatalities and Serious Injuries
Crash Characteristics - Urban vs. Rural - Environmental Characteristics
Contributing Circumstances - School Bus-Related Fatal Crashes
Demographics - Older Pedestrian Population - Vulnerable Populations
Safety Equipment & Protective Gear
Personal Conveyances

Pedestrians and Bicyclists
(Non-Motorists)
Non-motorists, as defined in this fact sheet, include pedestrians and bicyclists using the 2021 FARS data. In some of the following discussions of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries both traffic and nontraffic (i.e., occurring on any place other than a traffic way including trails, driveways, parking lots, or sidewalks) are included in aggregate reporting. This fact sheet provides a preliminary overview of traffic fatalities, serious injuries, and crashes on Georgia roadways.
2021 Key Findings Although pedestrians and bicyclists accounted for 18 percent of all traffic fatalities, they represented less than one percent of all individuals involved in motor vehicle crashes (0.86 percent).
Pedestrians

This fact sheet contains information from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) crash data modified by Crash Outcomes Data Evaluation System (CODES) at the Department of Public Health (DPH), Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) Numetric roadway data, Georgia Emergency Medical Services Information System (GEMSIS), Hospital Discharge Data, Emergency Room Data. Refer to the Data Considerations section at the end of this publication regarding the data and information presented.

In 2021, there were 306 pedestrians fatally injured in traffic crashes, a 10 percent increase from the 279 pedestrian fatalities in 2020.
Similar to previous years, more than half of all pedestrian crashes occurred within the Atlanta region (58 percent).
In 2021, more than three-quarters of pedestrian fatalities (76 percent) and more than half (57 percent) of pedestrian injuries occurred on roadways with posted speed limits at or above 40 mph.
Forty-nine percent of pedestrian crashes on two-way, undivided principal arterials resulted in a pedestrian serious injury or fatality.
The hospitalization and emergency room visit charges totaled $188 million for the 2,356 pedestrians injured in motor vehicle traffic-related crashes.

Governor's Office of Highway Safety
7 MLK Jr Dr SE Suite #643 Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-6996 www.gahighwaysafety.org

Bicyclists
There was an average of 23 bicyclist fatalities in traffic crashes each year between 2017-2021. In 2021, there were 15 bicyclist fatalities on Georgia roadways--a reduction of nearly half from the 31 bicyclist fatalities in 2019.
The bicyclist crash rate is highest in urban counties outside of the Atlanta region.
Sixty-one percent of bicyclist crashes occur at intersections. The hospitalization and emergency room visit charges totaled $55
million for the 413 bicyclists injured in motor vehicle traffic-related crashes.
Page 1

Non-Motorist Fatalities and Serious Injuries
Non-Motorist Fatalities
According to FARS data, there were 306 pedestrians and 15 bicyclists fatally injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2021 (Table 1). The number of pedestrian fatalities in traffic crashes has nearly doubled in the past decade and increased by 10 percent, from 279 pedestrian fatalities in 2020 to 306 in 2021. There was an average of 23 bicyclist fatalities in traffic crashes per year between 2017-2021.

Although non-motorists represented less than one percent of all persons involved in motor vehicle crashes (0.86 percent), they accounted for 18 percent of all traffic fatalities--a net one percent decrease from the previous year. There were approximately three pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities for every 100,000 population in 2021. Figure 1 shows the rate and percentage of non-motorist traffic fatalities for the past decade.

Figure 1. Rate and Percent of Non-Motorist Traffic Fatalities, 2012-2021

Rate per 100,000 Population Percent of All Traffic Fatalities

19%
17%
15% 15%
13%
1.85 11%
9%

17% 2.04

16% 1.80

15% 2.12

17% 2.53

17% 2.57

19% 2.78

17% 2.42

19% 2.90

4.0 0
18% 3.50
3.0 0
2.97 2.50
2.0 0
1.5 0
1.0 0

7%

0.5 0

5%

0.0 0

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Source: FARS 2012-2021; OASIS 2012-2021

Table 1 presents the total number of traffic fatalities, Georgia population, and non-motorist fatalities (pedestrians and bicyclists) from 2012 to 2021.
The number of total traffic fatalities increased by 8 percent, from 1,664 in 2020 to 1,1797 in 2021.
The number of non-motorist fatalities increased by 3 percent, from 311 in 2020 to 321 in 2021.
The rate of non-motorist fatalities increased by 2 percent, from 2.90 to 2.97 fatalities per 100,000 population--the highest rate in the past decade.

Table 1. Rate and Percent of Non-Motorist Traffic Fatalities, 2012-2021

Year

Total Traffic Fatalities

Georgia Population

2012 1,192

9,919,945

2013 1,180

9,992,167

2014 1,164 10,097,343

2015 1,432 10,214,860

2016 1,556 10,310,371

2017 1,540 10,429,379

2018 1,504 10,519,475

2019 1,491 10,617,423

2020 1,664 10,710,017

2021 1,797 10,799,566

Source: FARS 2012-2021, OASIS 2012-2021

Pedestrian

Number

Percent of All
Traffic Fatalities

167

14%

176

15%

163

14%

194

14%

232

15%

253

16%

262

17%

236

16%

279

17%

306

17%

Bicyclist

Number

Percent of All
Traffic Fatalities

17

1.4%

28

2.4%

19

1.6%

23

1.6%

29

1.9%

15

1.0%

30

2.0%

21

1.4%

32

1.9%

15

0.8%

Non-Motorists Fatalities

Number 184

Percent of
All Traffic Fatalities
15%

Rate
per 100,000 Population
1.85

204

17%

2.04

182

16%

1.80

217

15%

2.12

261

17%

2.53

268

17%

2.57

292

19%

2.78

257

17%

2.42

311

19%

2.90

321

18%

2.97

Page 2

Non-Motorist Injuries
The following section describes various responses to serious injuries experienced by pedestrians and bicyclists involved in motor vehicle traffic crashes and non-traffic crash incidents. Injured pedestrians and bicyclists can be counted multiple times for each response (e.g., an injured person may be counted as an emergency room visit, hospitalization, and/or trauma center patient). The 2021 Georgia Trauma Registry injury data was unavailable at the time of this reporting.

Table 2. Description of Traffic Injury Surveillance Data Sources
Traffic Injury Surveillance Data Sources
Suspected Serious Crash Injuries are reported by law enforcement responding to a motor vehicle crash scene.
Emergency Medical Services include all ground and air transports to an emergency facility for patients who are injured and require medical care in the state of Georgia. Trauma Center patients are identified as those with serious injuries that meet specific criteria. The State of Georgia follows the identification and treatment guidelines established by the American College of Surgeons along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Field Triage Criteria.
Emergency Room and Hospitalizations include Georgia resident discharges from Georgia non-federal acute care hospitals. Emergency room (ER) visits include individuals who were discharged directly from the ER. Hospitalizations include individuals who may have visited the emergency room.

Table 3 shows the number and percent change of non-motorist, motor vehicle traffic-related serious injuries for each injury surveillance source. Between 2019 and 2020, all surveillance sources show a decrease in non-motorist serious injuries, and all but one source (Emergency Medical Services EMS) show a decrease in bicyclist serious injuries. However, between 2020 and 2021, all surveillance sources showed an increase in non-motorist serious injuries--pedestrian injuries reported in crash reports increased by 60 percent, pedestrians transported to a hospital facility by EMS increased by 37 percent, pedestrians receiving patient care in the emergency department increased by 54 percent.

Table 3. Non-Motorist Motor Vehicle Traffic-Related Serious Injuries by Injury Surveillance Source, 2019-2021

Injury Surveillance Source

2019 Pedestrians Bicyclists

2020 Pedestrians Bicyclists

2021 Pedestrians Bicyclists

Crash Reports

395

88

358

71

572

95

Emergency Medical Services*

2,102

510

1,877

716

2,579

++

Trauma

1,141

519

826

148

++

++

Emergency Department**

2,682

543

1,529

349

2,356

413

Hospital**

758

92

654

68

701

63

* EMS arrivals to motor vehicle traffic crashes with reported serious injuries and fatalities may or may not have resulted in transport to a medical facility. ** All persons involved in a Georgia crash receive care in a Georgia Emergency Department or Hospital, regardless of their state residency. ++ 2021 Georgia Trauma Registry data and 2021 Emergency Medical Services data or bicyclists were unavailable at the time of reporting. Source: CODES 2020-2021, DPH Hospital Inpatient Discharge and Emergency Room Visit Data 2020-2021, GEMSIS 2020-2021, Georgia Trauma Registry 2020

Page 3

Table 4 shows the number, proportion, and rate (per population) of non-motorist serious injuries by age group and surveillance system. In 2021, non-motorists in the 21-to-24 age group represented the highest rate and proportion of police-reported suspected serious injuries, EMS transports, emergency room visits, and hospitalizations compared to other age groups. This age group represented nearly 9 percent of all serious injuries across all surveillance systems.

Table 4. Non-Motorist Traffic-Related Serious Injuries, Percent of Total Serious Injuries, and Rate per 100,000 Population by Age Group and Injury Surveillance Source, 2021++

Age Group

Police-Reported Suspected Serious
Crash Injuries

Emergency Medical Services

Emergency Room

Number Percent Rate Number Percent Rate Number Percent Rate

<10 10-14 15-24
15-20

20 25 128
68

3% 4%
19%
10%

1.51 3.34 8.63
7.49

118 91
456
233

5% 4%
18%
9%

8.9 12.2 30.8
25.7

73 62
395
221

4% 3%
20%
11%

5.5 8.3 26.6
24.3

21-24

60

9% 10.45

223

9%

38.8

174

9%

30.3

25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

133 20% 8.90 526 20% 35.2 440 22% 29.4

108 16% 7.56 420 16% 29.4 315 16% 22.0

92

14% 6.58 372 14% 26.6 258 13% 18.4

85

13% 6.33 359 14% 26.7 294 15% 21.9

56

8%

3.54 243

9%

15.3 168

8%

10.6

Total

667* 100%* 6.18 2,585 100% 23.9

2,005 100% 18.6

++ 2021 Georgia Trauma Registry data was unavailable at the time of reporting. * Includes 20 suspected serious injuries with unknown age Source: CODES 2021, DPH-OHIP Hospital Inpatient Discharge and Emergency Room Visit Only Data 2021, GEMSIS 2021

Hospitalizations

Number 3 5
114
55 59
149 144 117 136 95 763

Percent 0% 1% 15%
7% 8%
20% 19% 15% 18% 12% 100%

Rate 0.2 0.7 7.7
6.1 10.3
10.0 10.1 8.4 10.1 6.0
7.1

Suspected Serious Crash Injuries
Table 5 shows the percent and rate of serious injuries and fatalities among pedestrians and bicyclists involved in traffic-related crashes by age group. In 2021, there were:
12.89 pedestrians in the 21-to-24 age group with traffic-related serious or fatal injuries for every 100,000 population in that age group.
1.40 bicyclists in the 35-to-44 age group with traffic-related serious or fatal injuries for every 100,000 population in that age group.

Table 5. Traffic-Related Non-Motorist Suspected Serious Injury and Fatality Rate by Age Group, 2021

Age Group
<10 10-14 15-24
15-20 21-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

Pedestrian Serious Injuries and Fatalities

Number Percent Rate

17

2%

1.29

25

3%

3.34

145

17%

9.78

71

8%

7.82

74

8%

12.89

192

22% 12.85

148

17%

10.36

103

12%

7.36

129

15%

9.60

94

11%

5.93

Bicyclist Serious Injuries and Fatalities

Number Percent

Rate

5

5%

0.38

6

5%

0.80

14

13%

0.94

6

5%

0.66

8

7%

1.39

16

15%

1.07

20

18%

1.40

18

17%

1.36

17

15%

1.27

13

11%

0.76

Total*

878 100% 7.15

110 100%

1.02

*Total includes 20 serious injuries and 3 fatalities of unknown age Source: CODES 2021, FARS 2021

Page 4

Emergency Medical Services In 2021, four percent of all motor vehicle traffic-related Emergency Medical Services (EMS) transports involved non-motorists. EMS transported 2,586 pedestrians and bicyclists involved in motor vehicle traffic-related crashes to a hospital facility. The number of EMS pedestrian transports increased by 37 percent from the 1,877 transports in 2020.
Emergency Room Visits & Hospitalizations In 2021, the total motor vehicle-related (traffic and non-traffic) hospitalization and emergency room charges among Georgia residents were $188 million for pedestrians and $55 million for bicyclists. Traffic-related pedestrian emergency room visits and hospitalizations increased by 8 percent, and
bicyclist emergency room visits and hospitalizations increased by 7 percent between 2020 and 2021. In 2021, there were 2,356 traffic-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations1 involving pedestrians and 413 traffic-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations involving bicyclists-- 456 fewer non-motorist injuries than in 2019. Non-traffic-related pedestrian hospitalizations increased by 17 percent, and bicyclist emergency room visits and hospitalizations decreased by 25 percent between 2020 and 2021, after the substantial annual increase in 2020. There were an additional 1,149 pedestrian and 3,657 bicyclist non-traffic-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
1 Hospitalizations may include individuals that visited the emergency room. Emergency room visits include individuals who were discharged directly from the ER. Hospitalizations and emergency room visits are for Georgia residents only, while fatalities can be a person from out of state.
Page 5

Crash Characteristics

According to police crash reports, 32 percent of all pedestrian crashes in Georgia (845 out of 2,615) resulted in at least one pedestrian that was seriously or fatally injured in 2021. In the same year, 15 percent of all bicyclist crashes (109 out of 731) resulted in at least one bicyclist that was seriously or fatally injured. Table 6 shows the number of non-motorist crashes, persons involved in crashes, and suspected serious injuries between 2017-2021.

Table 6. Non-Motorist Crashes and Serious Injury and Fatal Crashes, 2017-2021

Year 2017

Pedestrian

Crashes

Serious Injury and Fatal Crashes

3,681

909

Bicyclist

Crashes

Serious Injury and Fatal Crashes

686

75

2018 2,172

581

550

69

2019 2,986

613

793

108

2020 2,332+

625

654+

100

2021 2,615

845

731

109

Urban vs. Rural2
There were 24.21 pedestrians per 100,000 population and 6.77 bicyclists per 100,000 population involved in a motor vehicle traffic crash across the state of Georgia (Figure 2). In Georgia, non-motorist crashes are more frequent in the urban areas (the Atlanta region and other urban regions) compared to rural areas where the residential population is less than 50,000 people. However, the proportion of non-motorist serious injury and fatal crashes are higher in rural areas than in urban areas-- 48 percent of pedestrian rural crashes and 23 percent of rural bicyclist crashes result in a non-motorist fatal or serious injury. Pedestrian crashes and crash rates were
highest within the ten counties of the Atlanta Region3 31.87 pedestrians per 100,000 population.
The Atlanta Region accounted for 44 percent of the state population. However, 58 percent (1,508 out of 2,615) of all pedestrian crashes, 56 percent (306 out of 545) of all pedestrian serious injuries, and 48 percent (151 out of 312) of all pedestrian fatal injuries occurred within this area.

+ During the COVID-19 public emeregency response, traffic crashes (including non-motorist crashes) with low injury severity were underreported in the police crash reports. Source: CODES 2017-2021, FARS 2017-2021

Table 7. Number of Non-Motorist Crashes and Percent of Fatal or Serious Injury Crashes by Region, 2021

Region
Atlanta Region (10 counties) Other Urban (31 counties) Rural Counties (118 counties)
Statewide
Source: CODES 2021

Pedestrian Crashes

Number

Percent of Fatal or Serious Injury Crashes

1,508

31%

828

34%

278 2,615

48% 34%

Bicyclist Crashes

Number

Percent of Fatal or Serious Injury Crashes

298

14%

333

14%

100

23%

731

15%

Figure 2. Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crash Rate per 100,000 Population by Region Type, 2021

Pedestrian Crash Rate 31.87
24.21

Bicyclist Crash Rate 21.68

12.37

6.77

6.30

8.72

4.45

STATEWIDE Atlanta Region Other Urban Rural Counties

Bicyclist crashes and crash rates were highest within the 31 other urban counties 8.72 bicyclists per 100,000 population.

Source: CODES 2021, OASIS 2021

2 Rural counties are counties that have a residential population less than 50,000 persons. This is different than roadway classifications where urban road systems can be located in urban clusters (or metropolitan areas) of at least 2,500 persons within the rural counties. 3 The Atlanta Region includes the ten counties that are defined by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC): Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale counties.
Page 6

Table 8 shows the percent of pedestrian and bicyclist crashes by region and roadway classification in 2021. Statewide, most pedestrian crashes occurred on minor arterial roadways (34 percent), and most bicyclist crashes occurred on local and minor arterial roadways (32 percent each roadway).
In the Atlanta region, more pedestrian crashes occurred on minor arterial roadways (23 percent)--whereas most pedestrian crashes in other urban counties occur on principal and minor arterial roadways (9 percent).
Within the Atlanta region, 34 percent of pedestrian fatalities (52 out of 154) occurred on the interstate (not shown).

Table 8. Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes Involving Non-Motorists by Region and Roadway Classification, 2021

Non-Motorist Type Roadway Classification

Atlanta Region

Other Urban Counties

Rural Counties

Total

Interstate

3%

1%

-

Pedestrian Principal Arterial

11%

9%

3%

Minor Arterial

23%

9%

2%

Collectors

6%

5%

2%

Local

13%

8%

3%

Other

1%

-

-

Total

57%

32%

11%

Interstate

-

-

-

Bicyclist Principal Arterial

7%

11%

4%

Minor Arterial

16%

13%

3%

Collectors

5%

6%

3%

Local

11%

17%

4%

Other

-

-

-

Total

40%

47%

14%

Source: Roadway data obtained for Numetric, 2021 Note: The sum of the individual cells may not equal row or column totals due to rounding error.

5% 23% 34% 13% 24% 1% 100%
22% 32% 14% 32%
100%

In 2021, 83 out of 159 Georgia counties experienced at least one non-motorist traffic fatality. The counties with the highest number of pedestrian fatalities were DeKalb (51 pedestrian fatalities), Fulton (45), and Clayton (20). While most pedestrian fatalities occurred in the Atlanta region, other urban counties and rural counties have higher rates of pedestrian serious and fatal injury per population and pedestrian crashes for every 1,000 motor vehicle crashes. Most bicyclist fatalities occurred in the Atlanta region and other urban counties like Glynn County. In 2021, these urban areas also had higher rates of bicyclist serious and fatal injuries per population and bicyclist crashes for every 1,000 motor vehicle crashes compared to rural areas.

Table 9. Top Counties with the Highest Non-Motorist Serious Injury and Fatal Crashes, 2021

Non-Motorist Type and Rank

Serious Injuries and Fatalities Count

County

Number

Serious and Fatal Injury Rate
per 100,000 Population

County

Rate

Non-Motorists Crash Rate
per 100,000 MV Crashes

County

Rate

Pedestrian

1 Fulton 2 DeKalb

156 Chattooga 130 Clayton

24.07 22.89

Sumter Chattooga

1,631.12 1,152.07

3 Clayton

68

Spalding

17.67 DeKalb

1,081.59

4 Chatham

43

DeKalb

17.29 Clarke

1,037.10

5 Cobb

37

Sumter

17.07 Carroll

967.44

Bicyclist

1 Fulton 2 Chatham

20

Glynn

9

Chatham

5.90 Glynn 3.04 Chatham

868.58 577.99

3 Gwinnett

5

Fulton

1.88 Fulton

208.24

4 Glynn

5

Gwinnett

0.52 Gwinnett

95.06

5 **

**

**

**

**

**

**Counties with less than five pedestrian or bicyclist serious injuries or fatalities were excluded from the county rankings Source: CODES 2021, FARS 2021

Page 7

Environmental Characteristics
Table 10 shows the information on environmental characteristics (location of crash, light condition, day, and season) describing where and when pedestrian and bicyclist crashes occurred in 2021.
More than half (52 percent) of the pedestrian crashes occurred at locations that were not intersections, whereas 61 percent of bicyclist crashes occurred at intersections. According to Numetric, 67 percent of pedestrian fatal crashes and 62 percent of bicyclist fatal crashes did not occur at an intersection.
One-fourth (25 percent) of all pedestrian crashes and 26 percent of all bicyclist crashes were hit-and-runs (not shown).
More than half (52 percent) of the pedestrian crashes occurred in dark conditions, whereas 71 percent of bicyclist crashes occurred during daylight conditions. On average, 81 percent of all fatal pedestrian crashes occurred in dark environmental conditions within the past five years (2017-2021).
Nearly one-third of pedestrian crashes (29 percent) and bicyclist crashes (30 percent) occurred in the fall months.

Table 10. Motor Vehicle Crashes Involving Pedestrians and Bicyclists by

Environmental Characteristics, 2021

Environmental Characteristics

All Pedestrian Crashes

All Bicyclist Crashes

Number Percent Number Percent

Location *

Not at Intersection

1,352

52%

253

35%

At Intersection

1,039

40%

444

61%

Roadway Intersection

599

23%

304

42%

In Crosswalk

261

10%

66

9%

Driveway Intersection

83

3%

41

6%

Sidewalk

48

2%

12

2%

Managed Lane / Bike Lane

18

1%

13

2%

Other Intersection**

14

1%

4

1%

Other Location

273

10%

34

5%

On Shoulder

97

4%

15

2%

Off Roadway

83

3%

14

2%

Entrance/Exit Ramp

27

1%

4

1%

Other**

33

1%

1

0%

Light Conditions

Dark

1,352

52%

182

25%

Daylight

1,170

45%

520

71%

Dawn

39

1%

7

1%

Dusk

46

2%

18

2%

Time of Day

Daytime (6:00a.m. 5:59p.m.)

1,172

45%

470

64%

Nighttime (6:00p.m. 5:59a.m.)

1,443

55%

261

36%

Day of Week / Time of Day

Weekday (6:00a.m. Mon - 5:59p.m. Fri) 12:00 a.m. -5:59 a.m. 6:00 a.m. -11:59 a.m. 12:00 p.m. - 5:59 p.m. 6:00 p.m. - 11:59 p.m.

1,673 171 417 540 545

64% 7%
16% 21% 21%

487 25
104 240 118

67% 3%
14% 33% 16%

Weekend (6:00p.m. Fri - 5:59a.m. Mon) 12:00 a.m. -5:59 a.m. 6:00 a.m. - 11:59 a.m. 12:00 p.m. - 5:59 p.m. 6:00 p.m. - 11:59 p.m.
Season / Time of Day

942 188 69 146 539

36% 7% 3% 6%
21%

244 26 49 77 92

33% 4% 7%
11% 13%

Winter (Jan-Feb, Dec) Daytime
Nighttime

685 283 402

26% 11% 15%

119 76 43

16% 10% 6%

Spring (Mar-May) Daytime
Nighttime

612 267 345

23% 10% 13%

200 132 68

27% 18% 9%

Summer (Jun-Aug) Daytime
Nighttime

567 255 312

22% 10% 12%

196 117 79

27% 16% 11%

Fall (Sep-Nov)

751

29%

216

30%

Daytime

367

14%

145

20%

Nighttime

384

15%

71

10%

*Location does not include crashes with unknown location or those less than 0.5 percent of total pedestrian or bike
crashes. **Other intersections include roundabouts, railroad crossings, and manage lanes (i.e., HOV lanes). ***
Nighttime and daytime groupings are based on the time of day in hours. The time-groupings do not consider the change
in lighting conditions associated with the seasons (i.e., longer daylight hours in the summer). Source: CODES 2020 Page 8

Another important environmental factor that impacts the severity of traffic-related crash injuries is roadway characteristics. According to an AAA study, as vehicle speeds increase, the risk of pedestrian severe or fatal injuries also increases. At low vehicle impact speeds, 15 miles per hour (mph) or below, most pedestrians (91 percent) that are struck do not sustain severe or fatal injuries--8 percent will have a severe injury, and 2 percent will have a fatal injury. Pedestrians' risk of injury increases greatly when the vehicle impact speed increases at 25 mph or above. According to this 2011 AAA national study4, a vehicle impact speed at:
25 mph, resulted in 30% of struck pedestrians sustaining severe injuries and 12% sustaining fatal injuries 35 mph, resulted in 47% of struck pedestrians sustaining severe injuries and 20% sustaining fatal injuries 40 mph, resulted in 79% of struck pedestrians sustaining severe injuries and 45% sustaining fatal injuries

The national findings are similar to the patterns experienced in Georgia--the risk of pedestrian serious and fatal injuries increased significantly on roadways with posted speed limits at or above 40 mph. Among the pedestrian crashes on roadways with a posted speed limit of 40 mph, 13 percent of struck pedestrians sustained serious injuries, and 24 percent of struck pedestrians sustained fatal injuries (Figure 3). In 2021, more than threequarters of pedestrian fatalities (76 percent) and more than half (57 percent) of pedestrian injuries occurred on roadways with posted speed limits at or above 40 mph.
According to Numetric, a greater proportion of all pedestrian serious injury or fatal crashes occurred on roadways with speed limits between 45-55 mph. Among all crashes where pedestrians were severely injured, 60 percent (577 out of 960) occurred on two-way, notdivided roadways.
46 percent of severe pedestrian crashes that occurred on two-way undivided roadways had a posted speed limit of 45-55 mph.
65 percent of severe pedestrian crashes that occurred on two-way divided roadways had a posted speed limit of 45-55 mph.

Figure 3. Percent of Pedestrian Crashes that Resulted in a Pedestrian Serious or Fatal Injury by Posted Speed Limit, 2021

% Serious Injury Crashes
60%

% Fatal Crashes

% of all Pedestrian Crashes

40%

20%

0%
15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60+ Posted Speed Limit (MPH)
Source: Numetric 2021

Figure 4. Percent of All Serious Injury or Fatal Pedestrian Crashes by Trafficway and Posted Speed Limit, 2021
Under 25 mph 30-40 mph 45-55 mph 60+ mph

Two-way, Not Divided (n=577) 9%

45%

Two-way, Divided (n=300) 5% 23%

One-way (n=65) 9% 35%

Continuous turning lane (n=18)

33%

Source: Numetric 2021

46%

65%

8%

48%

8%

67%

4 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2011, "Impact Speed and a Pedestrian's Risk of Severe Injury or Death." Available online: https://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2011PedestrianRiskVsSpeed.pdf

Page 9

Contributing Circumstances
Readers are encouraged to exercise caution when interpreting the contributing factors for pedestrianrelated traffic crashes. Contributing circumstances among individuals (drivers or pedestrians) involved in a pedestrian-related crash are underreported--59% of all pedestrian crashes had at least one contributing factor attributed to either the driver or pedestrian recorded in the crash report. Nearly onequarter (25 percent) of all pedestrian crashes were hit-and-runs; therefore, the driver contributing factors are unknown and unreported on the police crash reports. For fatal or serious injury pedestrian crashes, contributing factors were more likely to be included in the crash report--60% of all serious injury pedestrian crashes and 52% of all fatal pedestrian crashes have contributing factors listed.
Table 12 shows the top contributing factors among serious injury or fatal pedestrian crash by the person involved in the crash. The top factors among drivers involved in pedestrian serious injury or fatal crashes were confirmed or suspected distracted driving. The top contributing factor among pedestrians seriously or fatally injured in a crash was the failure to yield to oncoming traffic.

Table 12. Top Contributing Factors among Serious Injury or Fatal Pedestrian Crashes by Person Type, 2021

Drivers Contributing Factors Rank
Description

1 Confirmed or suspected distracted driver

2 Driver failed to yield

3 Speeding or aggressive driving

4 Under the influence of drugs and alcohol

5

Driver vision was obscured, or the pedestrian was not visible

Source: CODES 2021

Pedestrians Contributing Factors Description Pedestrian failed to yield Confirmed distracted pedestrian Under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol Disregard signage or traffic control
Pedestrian not visible

SCHOOL BUS-RELATED FATAL CRASHES
From 2017 to 2021, there were 29 fatal school-transportation-related crashes in Georgia, in which 31 people of all ages were fatally injured--7 of which were school-aged children under 18 years old. Among the 7 school-age fatalities, 2 were occupants of school transportation vehicles, 1 was an occupant of another passenger vehicle, 4 were pedestrians, and there were no bicyclist fatalities. There were no fatalities among school-aged children in 2019 and 2020--during the COVID-19 public health emergency response.

Page 10

Demographics
Sex & Age
The incident rates of male non-motorists involved in crashes were more than double the female incident rates. The male non-motorist crash rate per 100,000 population was 42.4 compared to 16.4 for females. The male non-motorist serious injury rate was 8.6 compared to 3.4 for females. Male non-motorists had a higher rate of involvement in crashes, serious injury crashes, and fatal crashes than women. The male non-motorist fatality rate was 4.7 compared to 1.3 for females males were 3.6 times more likely to be fatally injured compared to females.
See the serious injury section and the cross-cutting highlight below (Older Pedestrian Population) for more information on pedestrian serious injuries and fatalities by age group.

OLDER PEDESTRIAN POPULATION

In 2021, pedestrians aged 65+ years represented 8 percent of all pedestrians involved in crashes (230 out of 2,741), 8 percent of all pedestrian serious injuries (47 out of 572), and 15 percent of all pedestrian fatalities (47 out of 306). Persons aged 65+ years represented 15 percent of the Georgia population in 2021-- a 1 percent increase in population compared to the previous year. As shown in Table 12, the number of pedestrians 65+ years of age that were seriously or fatally injured increased by 18 percent (from 80 in 2020 to 94 in 2021), and the rate of seriously or fatally injured pedestrians 65+ years increased by 17 percent (from 5.08 in 2020 to 5.93 in 2021). Table 13 shows the number, percent, and rate of serious injuries reported for each injury surveillance source for the older pedestrian population aged 55 years and older.

Table 12. Older Pedestrian (Aged 65+ Years) Serious Injuries, Fatalities, and Injury Rate, 2017-2021*

Year

Serious Injury

Fatalities

Total Serious

Injuries and

Fatalities

Number

Annual % Change

Population

Number

Annual % Change

Rate Per 100,000 Population

Rate

Annual % Change

2017

56

36

92

35%

1,407,810

4%

6.53

30%

2018

22

42

64

-30%

1,460,409

4%

4.38

-33%

2019

33

30

63

-2%

1,516,954

4%

4.15

-5%

2020

38

42

80

27%

1,574,667

4%

5.08

22%

2021*

47

47

94

18%

1,584,071

1%

5.93

17%

Source: CODES 2021, FARS 2021, OASIS 2021

Table 13. Older Pedestrian (Aged 65+ Years) Traffic-Related Serious Injuries, Percent of Total Serious Injuries, and Rate by Age Group and Injury Surveillance Source, 2021

Police-Reported

Age Suspected Serious Crash

Group

Injuries

Emergency Medical Services

Emergency Room

Hospitalizations

Less than 55
55-64

# 435 71

% 76% 12%

Rate 5.53 5.29

# 1,979
357

% 77% 14%

Rate 25.14 26.58

# 1,294
222

% 78% 13%

Rate 16.44 16.53

# 486 125

% 69% 18%

Rate 6.17 9.31

65-74 75-84

38

7% 3.85 157

6% 15.89

9

2% 1.98

73

3% 16.04

97

6% 9.82

36

2% 7.91

64

9% 6.48

22

3% 4.83

85+

-

-

-

13

1% 9.22

6

0% 4.25

3

0% 2.13

*Total

572 100% 5.30

2,579 100% 23.88 1,655 100% 15.32

700 100% 6.48

*Total includes 19 suspected serious injuries with unknown age. Source: CODES 2021, DPH-OHIP Hospital Inpatient Discharge and Emergency Room Visit Only Data 2021, GEMSIS 2021

Page 11

Vulnerable Populations
Vulnerable populations are communities within specific geographic areas that may be vulnerable in their ability to respond and prepare for public health emergencies and disasters. Demographic factors such as the proportion of community members without vehicles, with disabilities, older adults, minority status, and low-income/socioeconomic status are measures and attributes of socially vulnerable communities.
According to the Georgia Traffic Safety Facts study called "Examining Social Vulnerability and the Association with Pedestrian Crashes" (Georgia Crash Outcomes Data Evaluation System, 2022 ), there is a positive correlation between vulnerable census tracts in Georgia and the rates of pedestrian serious and fatal injury crashes across the Atlanta region, other urban regions, and rural regions. In other words, the more vulnerable a community is, the higher the rate of pedestrian serious and fatal injury crashes. This positive, significant relationship was present for overall social vulnerability (shown in Figure 4 for the Atlanta Region) as well as for socioeconomic status, household composition and disability, minority status and language, and housing type and transportation vulnerability themes.
Figure 4. Bivariate Map of Serious Injury and Fatal Pedestrian Crash Rates (per 100,000 census tract population) and Social Vulnerability Index in the Atlanta Region, by Overall Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and SVI Themes.
Dark purple census tracts are communities with high social vulnerability and high pedestrian serious and fatal injury crash rates.
Darker blue census tracts are communities with low social vulnerability and high pedestrian serious and fatal injury crash rates.
Source: Georgia Crash Outcomes Data Evaluation System. (2022, July). Examining Social Vulnerability and the Association with Pedestrian Crashes: 2016-2020 data. (Georgia Traffic Safety Facts). Atlanta, GA: Governor's Office of Highway Safety.
CDC's Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) data and other related sociodemographic variables can be leveraged to impartially assess roadway and public health concerns related to pedestrian safety. The findings from this research may encourage stakeholders to apply SVI assessments when implementing pedestrian safety efforts (i.e., engineering improvements, programmatic interventions, campaigning and education efforts, and other countermeasures to improve pedestrian safety).
Page 12

Safety Equipment & Protective Gear
Pedestrian Safety Equipment Use
Safety equipment for pedestrians includes clothing or materials that make the pedestrian more visible to others. This can include reflective gear and the use of lights at night or dusk when visibility is poor. Safety equipment use among pedestrians is a relatively new field in police crash reports, and in 2021 safety equipment use was recorded for 45 percent of all pedestrians involved in motor vehicle traffic crashes (1,233 out of 2,741 pedestrians). Of those pedestrians with known equipment use, 6 percent were using lighting or reflective clothing (71 out of 1,233).

Bicycle Helmet Use
In 2021, safety equipment use was recorded for 74 percent of all bicyclists involved in motor vehicle traffic crashes (555 out of 751 bicyclists). Of those bicyclists with known equipment use, 29 percent wore a helmet, reflective clothing, or lighting (163 out of 555). Among the 68 bicyclists fatally injured in traffic crashes between 2019 and 2021, 7 percent were helmeted, 63 percent were un-helmeted, and 29 percent had an unknown or unreported helmet use.

Personal Conveyances
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), people fatally injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes who were on "personal conveyances" are not classified as pedestrians. "Personal conveyances" are defined as roller skates, inline skates, skateboards, baby strollers, scooters, toy wagons, motorized skateboards, motorized toy cars, Segway-style devices, motorized and nonmotorized wheelchairs, and scooters for those with disabilities. Non-motorists on personal conveyances represent less than one percent of all traffic-related fatalities. Table 14 presents the distribution of people fatally injured on personal conveyances as a percentage of total traffic fatalities in 2017-2021.

Table 14. Total Traffic Fatalities and Personal Conveyance Fatalities, 20172021

Year

Total Traffic Fatalities

2017

1,540

2018

1,504

2019

1,491

2020

1,664

2021

1,797

Source: FARS 2017-2021

Personal Conveyance

Number Percent

6

0.4%

4

0.3%

11

0.7%

0

0%

12

0.7%

Page 13

Data Definitions and Considerations: This fact sheet defines a pedestrian as any person on foot, walking, running, jogging, hiking, sitting, or lying down who is involved in a motor vehicle traffic crash. These exclude people on personal conveyances like roller skates, inline skates, skateboards, baby strollers, scooters, toy wagons, motorized skateboards, motorized toy cars, Segway-style devices, motorized and non-motorized wheelchairs, and scooters for those with disabilities. Bicyclists and other cyclists include riders of two-wheel, non-motorized vehicles, tricycles, and unicycles powered solely by pedals. The 2021 Traffic Safety Research and Evaluation Group (TSREG) Preliminary Fatality Data includes all Georgia roadway fatalities for motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, and other road users. Data is derived from the Georgia Department of Transportation's (GDOT) daily fatality reports, cross-referenced with the Georgia Electronic Accident Reporting System's (GEARS) online database, and validated with GDOT's Fatal Crash Recording System (FCRS) database. Delays in data availability at the time of analysis are possible due to the inherent nature of reporting roadway fatalities. A traffic crash is defined as an incident that involves one or more motor vehicles where at least one vehicle was in transport, and the crash originated on a public trafficway, such as a road or highway. Crashes that occurred on private property, including parking lots and driveways, are excluded. However, in some cases where pedestrian and bicyclist injuries are discussed, traffic and non-traffic (i.e., occurring on any place other than a traffic way trail, driveway, parking lot, or sidewalk) incidences are included in the aggregate reporting. Fatal crashes are defined as crashes that involve a motor vehicle traveling on a trafficway customarily open to the public and that result in the death of a motorist or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash. Serious injuries are those suspected serious injuries reported by law enforcement and used when any injury, other than fatal injury, prevents the injured person from walking, driving, or normally continuing the activities the person was capable of before the injury occurred. "At Intersection" is used when a person is on a roadway either (1) in the intersection, (2) in the area between a crosswalk and the perimeter of the intersection, or (3) in a crosswalk (marked or unmarked) adjacent to an intersection. "Intersection-Related" is used when a person is within the trafficway 50 feet out from the perimeter of an intersection area or if the crash is related to the flow of traffic through an intersection. "Not at Intersection" is when the person is more than 50 feet out from the perimeter of an intersection, and the crash is not identified as related to the movement of vehicles through an intersection. "Non-Trafficway Locations" are crashes that occur outside the boundaries of the trafficway (i.e., driveways or parking lots). The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the Federal agency responsible for the use of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision (ICD-10) in the United States, has developed a clinical modification (CM) of the classification for morbidity (EMS, trauma, hospital, and ER data) purposes. ICD-10 Codes used were Pedestrian traffic - V02-V04 (.1,.9), V09.2, Pedestrian non-traffic - V02-V04 (.0),V01,V05,V06,V09 (.0,.1,.3,.9),Pedal cyclist traffic V12-V14 (.3-.9) V19 (.4-.6), Pedal cyclist non-traffic - V19(.4-.6),V10-V11,V12-V14(.0-.2),V15-V18,V19(.0-.3,.8,.9). Contributing circumstances capture the precrash elements or improper actions of persons (pedestrians, bicyclists, other cyclists, and motorists) that may have caused the crash. There is at least one record per person involved in a fatal crash (FARS Data) and some missing records for persons involved in motor vehicle traffic crashes (Crash Data). The Fatality Analytics Reporting System (FARS) and crash data expanded the safety equipment field to include new attributes related to non-motorist safety equipment (e.g., reflective equipment/clothing, protective pad, lighting, and other safety equipment). These new attributes were added after 2017 and may impact the trending and interpreting of safety equipment use over time. Additionally, FARS data allow the entry of multiple safety equipment being used in a single fatal crash event. Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) values are imputed to address the problem of missing blood alcohol test results in FARS data system. A multiple imputation methodology is employed to generate specific values of BAC for persons involved in fatal crashes. Rural counties have a population of less than 50,000 according to the United States decennial census of 2010 or any future such census (OCGA Section 31-6-2). This is different from roadway classifications, where urban road systems can be located in urban clusters (or metropolitan areas) of at least 2,500 persons within the rural counties.
Page 14

Additional Information:
The shorter Fact Sheet for non-motorists can be found on the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) website: https://www.dot.ga.gov/GDOT/Pages/BikePed.aspx
Other fact sheets and traffic safety topics are available on the Governor's Office of Highway Safety website: https://www.gahighwaysafety.org/georgia-traffic-safety-facts/
References:
Georgia Crash Outcomes Data Evaluation System. (2022, July). Examining Social Vulnerability and the Association with Pedestrian Crashes: 2016-2020 data. (Georgia Traffic Safety Facts). Atlanta, GA: Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

The suggested APA format citation for this document is:
Georgia Crash Outcomes Data Evaluation System. (2023, August). Pedestrians and Bicyclists: 2021 Data. (Georgia Traffic Safety Facts). Atlanta, GA: Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

Page 15