Emergency Department Visits for Pedestrians Injured in Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes - United States, January 2021-December 2023

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2024 May 2;73(17):387-392. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7317a1.

Abstract

Traffic-related pedestrian deaths in the United States reached a 40-year high in 2021. Each year, pedestrians also suffer nonfatal traffic-related injuries requiring medical treatment. Near real-time emergency department visit data from CDC's National Syndromic Surveillance Program during January 2021-December 2023 indicated that among approximately 301 million visits identified, 137,325 involved a pedestrian injury (overall visit proportion = 45.62 per 100,000 visits). The proportions of visits for pedestrian injury were 1.53-2.47 times as high among six racial and ethnic minority groups as that among non-Hispanic White persons. Compared with persons aged ≥65 years, proportions among those aged 15-24 and 25-34 years were 2.83 and 2.61 times as high, respectively. The visit proportion was 1.93 times as high among males as among females, and 1.21 times as high during September-November as during June-August. Timely pedestrian injury data can help collaborating federal, state, and local partners rapidly monitor trends, identify disparities, and implement strategies supporting the Safe System approach, a framework for preventing traffic injuries among all road users.

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Traffic* / statistics & numerical data
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Distribution
  • Aged
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Emergency Room Visits
  • Emergency Service, Hospital* / statistics & numerical data
  • Ethnicity / statistics & numerical data
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pedestrians* / statistics & numerical data
  • Racial Groups / statistics & numerical data
  • United States / epidemiology
  • Wounds and Injuries* / epidemiology
  • Young Adult