Always Look Both Ways Before Crossing the Street in Missouri

Home to both Kansas City — one of the country’s 50 most populous cities — and St. Louis — one of the top 100 — Missouri is a Midwestern transportation hub. Freight travels across the state, people commute into the city for work, and families pass through on road trips.

From 2013 to 2022, more than 1,000 pedestrians were struck and killed in Missouri. That’s about 100 each year.

Many of these people died because of reckless, intoxicated and distracted driving. They were struck by vehicles of all sizes: sedans, pickup trucks, tractor-trailers. Some were the victims of hit-and-run collisions.

Data from this 10-year period helps us answer the question: What are the biggest threats to pedestrians in Missouri?

How many pedestrians in Missouri die each year?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides the public with information regarding motor vehicle wrecks over several years. Between 2013 and 2022, 1,011 pedestrians died after being hit, with an average of 100 per year.

Since 2013, pedestrian deaths have increased. They stayed steady between 2016 and 2018 but reached a peak in 2020. If we compare the most recent number (128) with the first (73), we find that there has been a 75% increase in pedestrian deaths in Missouri over a span of 10 years.

What vehicle kills more pedestrians: semis or cars?

We know that passenger vehicles and heavy trucks each have their own sets of risks. Drivers who are drowsy, distracted or drunk cannot be trusted to make timely or wise decisions. However, a large truck has a weight several times greater than that of a car.

For example, a fully loaded semi-truck can weigh 80,000 pounds — 20 times heavier than a 4,000-pound sedan. It is unlikely that any pedestrian survives the impact of a semi tractor-trailer, especially if it is driving at a high speed.

But do commercial motor vehicles hit pedestrians more often than cars? According to the data, no.

We filtered NHTSA pedestrian fatality data by striking vehicles’ body types. In the decade we examined, neither passenger cars nor large trucks were guilty of killing the most pedestrians. Light trucks were.

Between 2013 and 2022, here’s how many people died after being struck by these vehicle types in Missouri:

Light truck: 416

Passenger car: 388

Large truck: 94

Motorcycle: 3

Bus: 9

About 100 remaining deaths were classified as “other.” The “light truck” category includes pickup trucks, utility trucks and vans. Missouri’s data matches that of the United States as a whole, with light trucks causing the most deaths, followed by passenger cars, then large trucks.

In which Missouri city do most fatal pedestrian accidents occur?

You might expect that most of these wrecks occur in the biggest city in Missouri: Kansas City. However, that’s not true.

Kansas City has a population size that is about 1.7 times greater than St. Louis, but St. Louis consistently has more pedestrian fatalities. At the end of the 10-year period we examined, St. Louis had 157 fatalities, and Kansas City had 136.

One factor in this is distracted driving. More St. Louis wrecks are reported to involved distracted driving, which includes any form of cell phone use. Drivers who are looking in the mirror, the backseat or passenger side, or using their mobile devices are some of the most dangerous. If your eyes aren’t on the road, you might not see someone on the side of the road, crossing the street or walking down the sidewalk.

But these two cities aren’t the only ones with tragic numbers. The top five Missouri cities in terms of population size and pedestrian wrecks are:

1. Kansas City
2. Louis
3. Springfield
4. Independence
5. Columbia

These five cities, when combined, comprise 37% of the state’s pedestrian deaths between 2013 and 2022. But their population makes up only 19% of the state’s total. Independence, Missouri, is a suburb of Kansas City’s metropolitan area. Urban and suburban areas in Missouri have more pedestrian deaths than rural towns.

How to make urban areas safer for pedestrians

Research shows that cities in the United States are significantly less “walkable” than comparable countries. One major factor is a phenomenon known as “urban sprawl.”

Urban sprawl occurs when a city rapidly expands into the area around it. Suburb size is growing, but not at the same rate as population. Areas affected by urban sprawl often lack adequate sidewalks and are more car-dependent than the cities themselves. This puts pedestrians at risk.

The three most walkable cities in the U.S. are San Fransisco, New York and Boston. These cities are jam-packed with amenities like shops, restaurants and parks, all close enough together that people can reach them on foot. They also all have robust public transportation systems, meaning there aren’t as many people driving.

All urban areas could be made more pedestrian friendly. There has been a nationwide push in recent years to raise speed limits — but slower vehicles are safer, both for other vehicles and for pedestrians. Building more crosswalks is also key to keeping pedestrians safe. Clear, visible and functioning signals should direct drivers and pedestrians.

Kansas City, for example, has a low walk score: 35. This is largely due to inadequate crosswalks and sidewalks. Some intersections don’t have crosswalks at all, which puts pedestrians in danger.

Investing in pedestrian infrastructure could make Missouri a safer state for pedestrians. It is also important that young children are taught about pedestrian safety. If looking both ways, paying attention to their surroundings, and sticking to sidewalks becomes muscle memory, these kids can become responsible adults.

Children should be taught how to stay safe around vehicles, but this doesn’t excuse drivers of motor vehicles from being extra careful around children. We know that young children often make the wrong choices. We must slow and become defensive drivers whenever we see children near a roadway or when we’re driving by playgrounds, school zones or through neighborhoods.

Every person — drivers and pedestrians alike — should exercise caution on roads in St. Louis, Kansas City and elsewhere in Missouri.

Final thoughts

As operators of heavy, fast-moving vehicles, drivers have an obligation to follow laws and keep others safe. If you’re behind the wheel, yield to pedestrians and follow traffic signals. Put your phone away and don’t drive while tired. Avoid road rage.

If sending a text takes your attention from the road and you strike a pedestrian, you’ll regret that decision for the rest of your life.

Here at Craig, Kelley & Faultless, we have seen the devastating impact of pedestrian collisions. If you or a loved one have suffered from serious personal injury or wrongful death as a pedestrian, reach out to us today.

Call Craig, Kelley & Faultless at (800) 746-0226 or with our online form.

David W. Craig sits on the Board of Regents of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (which requires the board certification in truck accident law). He is the managing partner and one of the founding partners of Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC. He is recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer and Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Indiana by the National Trial Lawyers, as well as a Top 50 Indiana lawyer by Super Lawyers. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families, written to help people navigate a terrible situation by answering questions that come after a tragic wreck. He also hosts the podcast After the Crash, where you can gain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks that do not follow Indiana law safety protocol regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.