Updated on: 4/26/2021
Davis Law Group’s investigation team analyzed all (weekday and weekend) pedestrian accidents (struck by vehicle) in King County for the second and third week of March 2017 thru 2020 in order to see the impact of reduced pedestrian traffic due to COVID-19.
Summary
- 55% decline in pedestrian accidents in King County
- 51% reduction in Seattle pedestrian accidents
- 82% decrease in pedestrian accidents in the City of Auburn
- 89% reduction in Bellevue pedestrian accidents
- 200% increase in pedestrian accidents in the City of Issaquah
To account for the possible influence that differing weather from year-to-year may have on overall pedestrian traffic and accidents, we averaged the data for 2017, 2018 and 2019.
On average, there were sixty (60) pedestrian accidents in King County during the 2nd and 3rd weeks of March 2017-2019. This year there were only twenty-seven (27) pedestrian accidents for the same two-week period representing a fifty-five percent (55%) decline.
In 2017 and 2019 there were no fatal pedestrian accidents in King County during the weeks analyzed. However, in both 2018 and 2020 there were 2 fatalities for the period examined. And pedestrian accidents that result in a serious injury are up thirty-five percent (35%) from the 3-year average.
In Seattle, there is typically an average of 26.6 accidents involving pedestrians each year during the 2nd and 3rd weeks of March. However this year, there were only thirteen (13) pedestrian accidents in Seattle representing a fifty-one percent (51%) reduction.
Both Aurora Avenue North and Rainier Avenue South typically experience at least one pedestrian accident per week, however both have been relatively incident free during the Coronavirus crisis.
The City of Auburn also saw a dramatic decrease in pedestrian accidents. On average there are 5.67 pedestrian accidents in Auburn during the second and third weeks in March. This year there was only 1, representing an eighty-two percent (82%) decline.
In 2017, Bellevue had nine (9) pedestrian accidents in mid-March. This year there was only one (1), representing an eighty-nine percent (89%) decline.
Where are pedestrian accidents on the rise? Issaquah. Last year there were no pedestrian accidents in Issaquah for the 2-week period that was examined. This year there were two (2) incidents, representing a 200% increase.