Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2024 Preliminary Data (January-December)

GHSA's analysis of preliminary data provided by State Highway Safety Offices (SHSOs) found that U.S. drivers struck and killed 7,148 pedestrians in 2024, enough to fill more than 30 Boeing 737 jets at maximum capacity. Year-over-year, pedestrian deaths were down 4.3%, the second consecutive annual decline. However, pedestrian fatalities remain nearly 20% above the 2016 level and reached a 40-year high in 2022.

The new report also includes an in-depth analysis of 2023 data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that reaffirms troubling trends regarding deaths of people on foot happening in hit-and-runs, at night, in crashes with SUVs and pickups, and where there are no sidewalks.

To help address this pedestrian safety crisis, GHSA supports a holistic solution that establishes a multi-layered safety net that can protect everyone on the road. A key part of this safety net is traffic enforcement focused on dangerous driving behaviors – like speeding, and impaired or distracted driving – that put people on foot in danger across the country.

GHSA will hold a webinar on July 31, 2025, to share an overview of the data and highlight unique approaches states are taking to pedestrian safety.

• Pedestrian deaths are increasing at a rate far faster than overall traffic fatalities. Between 2009 and 2023, pedestrian deaths rose a staggering 80%, while all other traffic fatalities increased 13%.
• One in four pedestrian deaths (25%) is the result of a hit-and-run crash. In these fatal hit-and-runs, the vehicle that struck the pedestrian was the fleeing vehicle the vast majority (94%) of the time.
• The share of pedestrian deaths caused by SUVs and pickups has surged in recent years. Light trucks accounted for 54% of pedestrian fatalities where a vehicle type was known in 2023, compared to 37% for passenger cars.
• More than three-quarters of pedestrian fatalities occur after dark. The share of nighttime deaths has skyrocketed recently. Fatal pedestrian crashes at night rose 84% between 2010 and 2023, compared to a 28% increase in daytime fatalities.
• Nearly two-thirds (65%) of pedestrian deaths occurred in locations without a sidewalk in 2023. Sidewalks can help protect people walking by providing a physical separation between them and motor vehicle traffic, but they are missing or in poor condition in many parts of the country.