Pedestrian accident data, recorded in general police accident procedure in new south wales, have been analyzed for the year 1968. While pedestrians were involved in only 5.5% of all reported accidents, they contributed 13.5% of those injured and 24% of the fatalities. An analysis of some of the factors involved has shown that when a pedestrian is struck by a car, he or she will receive on the average two injuries. These injuries will most likely be to the limbs, especially the legs, and to the head; in 1 out of 20 cases these injuries will prove fatal. It has also been shown that the incidence of fatality rises sharply with pedestrians above the age of 50 years, and that while some motor vehicles with different specific design features may be associated with different patterns of injury, the incidence of fatality appears to be related to general frontal styling, i.e., shape and height. Furthermore, the severity of trauma rises sharply above car speeds of 20 miles per hour.
Abstract