7,522 pedestrians were killed in traffic collisions in 2022, the highest number since 1981. On average, a pedestrian was killed every 70 minutes and injured every 8 (source). These statistics are surprising given the increasing prevalence of AEB and pedestrian detection systems. As recons, we’re tasked with figuring out how these crashes occurred, and estimating walking speed is often part of that process.

Frank Carson recently published some valuable new data [1]. He’s been teaching pedestrian reconstruction courses for about 15 years, and as part of the class, students observed unaware pedestrians traversing crosswalks and timed their travel. He’s collected nearly 1,300 samples so far.

The students, mostly experienced police officers, estimated the pedestrian’s age and sex, allowing Frank to determine how walking speed changes with age. I recreated the data presented in the paper, below:

 
 

The total average walking speed was 4.3 fps, with males at 4.6 fps and females at 4.1 fps. Pedestrians on cell phones (texting or talking) averaged 4.2 fps. Slower, but not much.

Hopefully we can figure out how to drastically reduce the number of pedestrian fatalities moving forward. For now, unfortunately, it’ll be a common collision scenario and these data can enhance our ability to analyze and understand the scenarios we encounter.

Keep exploring,

Lou Peck
​Lightpoint | Axiom

P.S. Speaking of pedestrians.

[1] Carson, F., "Pedestrian Age Versus Crosswalk Travel Speed: Findings of a New Study," Accident Reconstruction Journal, pp. 18-19, September/October 2024.