Pedestrians and bicyclists traveling along roads and highways represent one of the most vulnerable subsets of people involved in accidents. Due to their lack of protection, they experience a higher rate of serious accidents and fatalities in most areas of the country.
In Oklahoma, pedestrian fatalities continue to be a high-risk priority area, though recent years show an improving trend.
Pedestrian fatalities
The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office prints annual crash statistics that cover pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities. The most recent report included data from 2018 and showed that deaths for non-motorists decreased for the second consecutive year. Pedestrians who died in a traffic accident fell to 64 in 2018, down from 83 in 2017 and 91 from 2016. However, all three of those years saw more pedestrian fatalities than the average number of deaths over a 10-year period. In 2018, 691 pedestrians incurred injuries while on Oklahoma roadways, with the vast majority of those occurring on city streets. November saw the largest number of pedestrian crashes, while December recorded the highest number of pedestrian fatalities at 11.
Bicyclist fatalities
The 2018 Oklahoma Crash Facts report reveals that bicyclist deaths also remained high, with 2018 seeing a large increase in fatalities with 16. This number rose to its highest level since at least 2009. Neither weather conditions nor bad lighting conditions appeared to increase bicycle accidents, as most accidents occurred during the day in clear weather. By far the majority of bicycle crashes and fatalities occurred in urban areas of the state. The information for bicyclists includes three-wheeled non-powered bikes as well as skate boarders.