Stay Safe: Halloween is “Deadliest Day” for Child Pedestrian Deaths
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
According to a study conducted by State Farm, the nation's largest auto insurer, and research expert Bert Sperling, children are more likely to be injured by a car on Halloween than any other day of the year, including the Fourth of July and New Year's Day.
Sperling and State Farm's research analyzed more than four million records in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) from 1990-2010 for children up to the age of 18, and discovered that:
-Halloween was the deadliest day of the year for child pedestrian accidents
-115 child pedestrian fatalities occurred on Halloween over the 21 years of the study, an average of 5.5 each year. That is more than double the average of 2.6 such fatalities for other days of the year through that time span.
-The "deadliest hour" occurred between 6 and 7 pm, where nearly one-fourth of all fatalities occurred. Over 60 percent of accidents occurred between 5 and 9 pm.
-Stay away from the middle of the block: Over 70 percent of accidents occurred away from an intersection or crosswalk.
-Most at risk ages: The most fatalities occurred in children between the ages of 12-15 (32 percent), followed by the ages of 5-8 (23 percent).
“State Farm wants children to be safe every day of the year whether they are inside or outside of a car,” says Kellie Clapper, assistant vice president of Public Affairs at State Farm. “The analysis of this data highlights the particular need for parents to be especially alert during Halloween.”
State Farm and Sperling encourage responsible driving every day of the year, and especially this Halloween as costumed children fill the streets. If you must drive, avoid all distractions, turn off the radio, put down the smart phone and be alert for the unexpected. Fully engaged drivers can make 2012 the year of zero child pedestrian fatalities.
Methodology
Data from all fatal accidents was analyzed in the FARS systems for the most recent 21 years – 1990 to 2010. More than four million records were analyzed during that period, tallying the number of pedestrian incidents (including bicycles, tricycles, and other conveyances) for children 0-18 years of age, on the day of October 31st.
The primary source of our data for the analysis is the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). FARS is a data system conceived, designed, and developed by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) to assist the traffic safety community in identifying traffic safety problems and evaluating both motor vehicle safety standards and highway safety initiatives.
Fatality information derived from FARS includes motor vehicle traffic crashes that result in the death of an occupant of a vehicle or a non-motorist within 30 days of the crash. FARS contains data on all fatal traffic crashes within the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
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