Pedestrian injury biomechanics and protection

Pedestrians account for about one third of road accident fatalities worldwide, but there are large regional variations. In general, in highly motorized countries pedestrians account for around 10–20 % of fatalities, but in less motorized countries, pedestrians can account for over 50 % of fatalities. Pedestrians are frequently classed as vulnerable road users as they have a higher fatality rate than vehicle occupants. Protecting pedestrians from vehicle collisions requires a combination of road engineering, vehicle design, legislation/enforcement and accident avoidance technology. The separation of pedestrians from fast-moving motorized vehicles is preferable and pre-crash sensing methods combined with autonomous braking technology can greatly reduce the occurrence and severity of pedestrian accidents. However, these approaches cannot prevent all accidents, and vehicle/pedestrian collisions remain a real and frequent problem.