Pedestrians Crashes And Fatalities Increase In Fall Months

Pedestrian crashes and fatalities increase in the fall months due to more hours of darkness, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

MnDOT warns that as the days get shorter, motorists and pedestrians should use increased caution when driving and walking. So far this year, 28 pedestrians have been killed. In 2017, 42 pedestrians were killed and 1,053 were injured.

“Pedestrians are more difficult to see when the sun rises later and sets earlier, increasing the risk of crashes,” said Ray Starr, who is MnDOT’s Acting State Traffic Engineer. “Motorists and pedestrians are equally at fault when we look at the crash data. Both groups need to know and obey the laws because basically we’re all pedestrians at some point in our day.”

According to a news release, about one-third of pedestrian crashed happen during the weekday rush hour, which is defined as 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.