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Pedestrian, Cyclist Fatality Data By Lighting Conditions

Metro area and county statistics on numbers of pedestrian deaths in dark, daylight and other lighting conditions.

A total of 4,440 pedestrians and 364 cyclists were killed at night in dark conditions in 2017.

They account for the vast majority -- about 71 percent -- of all such fatalities each year. Roughly a third occur in dark, unlighted conditions, while the other approximately 40 percent are reported near streetlights or other dark, lighted conditions.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration records lighting conditions in its traffic fatality database. We compiled data on cyclist and pedestrian fatalities occurring between 2015 and 2017 showing how totals for different lighting conditions vary across jurisdictions.

This table shows total pedestrian/cyclist deaths and per capita fatality rates for metro areas with populations exceeding 200,000:



Metro Area Average Annual Fatalities in Dark Conditions Per 100K Total Dark Dark Not Lighted Dark Lighted Dark Unknown Lighting
Lake Charles, LA 4.3 26 19 7 0
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL 3.1 54 30 23 1
Chico, CA 2.9 20 10 9 1
Florence, SC 3.6 22 17 2 3
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 3.7 30 11 19 0
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, FL 3.2 61 44 17 0
Ocala, FL 3.3 35 25 10 0
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL 3.6 29 18 11 0
Bakersfield, CA 3.3 88 43 43 2
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 3.4 49 40 9 0
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, FL 2.8 67 28 38 1
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 3.2 291 85 206 0
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC-NC 3.1 42 27 8 7
Jacksonville, FL 3.2 143 50 90 3
Macon-Bibb County, GA 2.7 16 11 4 1
Monroe, LA 3.4 21 8 12 1
Tyler, TX 3.1 21 19 2 0
Visalia, CA 2.7 38 15 22 1
Tuscaloosa, AL 3.3 23 14 9 0
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL 3.1 226 102 122 2
Houma-Thibodaux, LA 3.0 19 10 9 0
Stockton, CA 2.5 56 23 32 1
Wilmington, NC 2.7 23 13 10 0
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 2.9 35 27 8 0
Salisbury, MD-DE 2.8 31 22 9 0
Columbus, GA-AL 2.6 20 6 14 0
Lubbock, TX 3.3 30 17 13 0
Albuquerque, NM 2.7 73 30 42 1
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL 2.4 430 91 335 4
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton, SC 2.4 15 12 3 0
Merced, CA 2.6 21 9 12 0
Corpus Christi, TX 2.7 35 15 20 0
Charleston-North Charleston, SC 2.8 65 29 26 10
Modesto, CA 2.5 40 18 22 0
Waco, TX 3.1 23 14 7 2
Gulfport-Biloxi, MS 3.2 37 28 8 1
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ 2.3 322 50 227 45
Mobile, AL 2.7 33 13 20 0
Gainesville, FL 2.3 21 7 14 0
Memphis, TN-MS-AR 2.5 99 24 73 2
Tallahassee, FL 2.4 25 15 10 0
Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 2.4 52 33 19 0
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV 2.2 144 13 129 2
Baton Rouge, LA 2.2 54 30 23 1
Flint, MI 2.4 30 10 20 0
Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL 2.2 44 26 16 2
Greenville-Anderson, SC 2.6 69 45 19 5
Savannah, GA 2.3 26 18 8 0
Fresno, CA 2.4 70 29 38 3
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA 2.2 151 54 96 1
Spartanburg, SC 2.2 20 11 1 8
Fayetteville, NC 2.2 34 27 7 0
Yakima, WA 2.3 17 9 6 2
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 2.3 168 58 105 5
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 2.3 308 152 152 4
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA 2.2 26 10 15 1
Port St. Lucie, FL 2.0 28 11 16 1
Charleston, WV 2.1 16 10 6 0
Amarillo, TX 2.0 16 10 6 0
Columbia, SC 2.3 56 34 13 9
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 1.7 61 23 36 2
Tucson, AZ 1.8 56 28 26 2
Longview, TX 2.2 19 14 5 0
Reno, NV 2.1 29 6 23 0
Lafayette, LA 2.0 29 16 11 2
Jackson, MS 2.3 40 22 18 0
Salinas, CA 1.9 25 15 10 0
Vallejo, CA 2.1 28 7 21 0
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 1.8 731 123 598 10
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 2.1 73 39 31 3
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 2.0 409 224 180 5
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA 2.0 347 231 114 2
Oklahoma City, OK 1.8 76 41 34 1
Killeen-Temple, TX 1.9 24 21 3 0
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI 1.1 9 4 5 0
Trenton-Princeton, NJ 1.7 19 9 9 1
Lexington-Fayette, KY 2.0 28 11 17 0
Naples-Marco Island, FL 1.2 13 5 7 1
Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX 1.7 107 49 55 3
El Paso, TX 1.5 39 17 22 0
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA 1.6 163 59 100 4
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 1.8 31 23 8 0
Greensboro-High Point, NC 1.5 33 18 15 0
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 1.8 231 75 156 0
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 1.5 9 7 1 1
Springfield, MO 1.7 19 6 13 0
Tulsa, OK 1.8 49 36 13 0
Montgomery, AL 1.7 18 6 12 0
Birmingham-Hoover, AL 1.6 53 30 23 0
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 1.3 11 4 7 0
Medford, OR 1.6 10 7 3 0
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX 1.7 44 29 15 0
College Station-Bryan, TX 1.4 10 4 5 1
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 1.7 356 152 198 6
Anchorage, AK 1.5 18 5 13 0
Huntsville, AL 1.7 23 11 12 0
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN 1.6 95 60 34 1
St. Louis, MO-IL 1.5 126 57 69 0
Asheville, NC 1.5 18 9 9 0
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1.3 79 19 58 2
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 1.6 13 8 4 1
Salt Lake City, UT 1.5 52 27 24 1
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC 1.5 16 11 5 0
Ann Arbor, MI 1.5 16 13 3 0
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 1.4 258 96 160 2
Roanoke, VA 1.3 11 6 4 1
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 1.3 112 53 59 0
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC 1.5 108 48 59 1
Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 1.3 17 9 8 0
Richmond, VA 1.4 52 39 12 1
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL 1.3 8 6 2 0
San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA 1.2 164 56 108 0
Eugene-Springfield, OR 1.0 11 9 2 0
Knoxville, TN 1.3 31 16 15 0
Barnstable Town, MA 1.4 9 5 4 0
Boulder, CO 0.8 8 4 4 0
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA 1.3 95 35 58 2
Las Cruces, NM 1.7 11 8 3 0
Wichita, KS 0.9 14 5 9 0
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 1.4 73 30 43 0
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 1.1 670 110 558 2
Laredo, TX 1.3 11 5 6 0
New Haven-Milford, CT 1.2 32 10 22 0
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 1.3 112 27 85 0
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 1.0 15 8 7 0
Rockford, IL 1.5 15 9 6 0
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI 1.4 13 8 5 0
Urban Honolulu, HI 1.1 34 6 28 0
Dayton-Kettering, OH 1.4 34 14 20 0
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN 1.4 73 25 47 1
Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI 1.1 36 14 22 0
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 1.1 27 12 15 0
Salem, OR 1.4 17 7 10 0
Fort Collins, CO 1.1 11 5 6 0
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 1.0 45 13 32 0
Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA 1.0 16 5 11 0
Toledo, OH 1.2 20 6 13 1
Winston-Salem, NC 1.2 22 13 9 0
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 1.0 10 7 3 0
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR 1.3 29 19 9 1
Elkhart-Goshen, IN 1.1 7 3 4 0
Champaign-Urbana, IL 1.0 7 2 5 0
Syracuse, NY 1.0 19 9 10 0
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 0.9 27 5 22 0
Springfield, MA 1.1 23 7 16 0
Raleigh-Cary, NC 1.2 47 35 12 0
Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA 1.4 24 15 9 0
Columbus, OH 1.2 66 31 35 0
Bellingham, WA 0.5 3 1 2 0
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 1.1 9 5 4 0
Chattanooga, TN-GA 1.0 16 11 5 0
Portland-South Portland, ME 0.8 13 6 7 0
Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 1.1 21 17 4 0
Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA 0.7 12 3 9 0
Kansas City, MO-KS 1.1 66 35 31 0
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 0.9 258 117 139 2
Fort Smith, AR-OK 1.3 10 8 1 1
Evansville, IN-KY 1.2 8 5 3 0
Erie, PA 0.7 6 4 2 0
Duluth, MN-WI 0.7 6 2 3 1
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 0.9 103 22 81 0
York-Hanover, PA 0.9 12 8 4 0
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA 0.8 40 17 23 0
Worcester, MA-CT 0.8 22 8 13 1
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 1.0 177 68 100 9
Colorado Springs, CO 0.9 19 2 17 0
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA 1.0 9 6 3 0
Binghamton, NY 1.0 7 5 2 0
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN 0.9 60 32 27 1
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 0.9 12 6 6 0
Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ 0.1 1 1 0 0
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY 0.9 18 11 7 0
Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY 1.0 34 9 25 0
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ 1.0 25 11 14 0
Rochester, NY 0.7 21 6 15 0
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA 0.5 4 2 2 0
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR 0.9 14 8 5 1
Green Bay, WI 0.3 3 3 0 0
Madison, WI 0.5 9 5 4 0
Ogden-Clearfield, UT 0.7 13 8 5 0
Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT 0.7 26 5 21 0
Lancaster, PA 0.8 13 7 5 1
Lansing-East Lansing, MI 0.7 12 6 6 0
Cleveland-Elyria, OH 0.8 47 11 36 0
Clarksville, TN-KY 1.1 9 4 5 0
Akron, OH 0.6 13 4 9 0
Kennewick-Richland, WA 1.1 9 4 5 0
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 0.7 98 31 64 3
Manchester-Nashua, NH 0.7 9 4 5 0
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA 0.8 21 4 17 0
Greeley, CO 0.9 8 5 3 0
Pittsburgh, PA 0.7 46 15 31 0
Norwich-New London, CT 0.6 5 3 2 0
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA 0.7 11 5 6 0
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 0.6 15 8 6 1
Peoria, IL 0.9 10 9 1 0
Canton-Massillon, OH 0.9 10 7 3 0
Provo-Orem, UT 0.3 6 2 4 0
Reading, PA 0.6 8 7 1 0
Boise City, ID 0.7 15 8 7 0
Utica-Rome, NY 0.6 5 2 3 0
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA 0.5 9 1 8 0
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL 0.6 7 6 1 0
Fort Wayne, IN 0.7 8 5 3 0
Charlottesville, VA 0.6 4 4 0 0
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 0.6 57 9 45 3
Lincoln, NE 0.6 6 2 4 0
Yuma, AZ 0.6 4 1 3 0
Burlington-South Burlington, VT 0.2 1 1 0 0
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA 0.2 2 0 2 0
Cedar Rapids, IA 0.1 1 1 0 0
Governing calculations of 2015-17 NHTSA FARS data. (See note)

County, Metro Area Fatalities By Lighting Condition


Pedestrian and cyclist fatalities occurring in all lighting conditions have generally climbed in recent years, but the largest increases are occurring after sunset. Between 2010 and 2017, annual fatalities in dark conditions (both lighted and unlighted) jumped by 46 percent. Over the same period, they rose only 15 percent in daylight. Totals for dawn (+33 percent) and dusk (+43 percent) lighting conditions also increased significantly, although they accounted for just a few hundred such traffic deaths.

Accordingly, the share of all fatalities occurring in dark conditions is slowly rising, climbing from to nearly 72 percent in 2017 from 67 percent in 2010 and 65 percent in 2007.

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About the Data

Data reflect approximately 20,000 pedestrian and cyclist fatalities nationally occurring from 2015 to 2017, as reported in NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System. The federal Office of Management and Budget’s latest definitions for metro areas, current as of September 2018, were used. Numbers do not reflect a few hundred fatalities classified as “persons on personal conveyances,” such as scooters, wheelchairs, roller skates, etc. Counties not shown recorded no fatalities over the three-year period.

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