Non-white pedestrians more often end up in the ER for vehicle-related injuries, report shows

Pedestrians who are not white ended up in the emergency room for traffic-related injuries at higher rates than white people, according to a new federal report published Thursday.

There were more than 137,000 emergency room visits involving a pedestrian injury between January 2021 and December 2023. Asian pedestrians went to the ER 2.23 times more than white people, while Black people went 1.93 times more and Hispanic people 1.7 times more. Multiracial people or people of another race had the highest rate compared to white people: 2.47.

The findings were released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report also pointed to higher rates of ER visits for vehicle-related injuries in the 15-24 and 25-34 age groups, and men were nearly twice as likely than women to get treatment.

CDC researchers said unsafe walking environments can be attributed to development that prioritizes cars over pedestrians and disinvestment in certain neighborhoods based on race and income. This also can lead to poor investment in pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, like sidewalks, crosswalks and streetlights, they said.

New cars have been designed to be safer, but pedestrian deaths have been ticking upwards. In 2021, pedestrian-motor vehicle crashes killed 7,000 people, the most in 40 years.

Last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said new vehicles must have automatic emergency braking. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that could save more than 300 lives per year and prevent about 24,000 injuries.

Researchers in the CDC report also said things like narrowing roads and reducing speed limits can help with pedestrian safety.