Fatal Pedestrian Accidents in Mississippi
Mississippi is known for its diverse culture among many other things, including the number of people who die in traffic crashes every year. As of 2015, the population of Mississippi was recorded at 2,992,333 people. Ten years earlier in 2005, the population was very similar at, 2,921,088 people. Lastly in 2010, the population of Mississippi was reported as 2,967,297 people. When you compare these numbers side by side you are able to see that the population is growing by about 20,000-30,000 people every five years.
The statistics below show the number of accidents, deaths, and deaths per 100,000 people over the past 10 years. When you compare these statistics, you can see that the number crashes and the people who die in those crashes have decreased in the past 10 years even though Mississippi’s population has been increasing in this time.
- 2005, 840 accidents caused 931 deaths, or 31.9 per 100,000
- 2007, 804 accidents caused 884 deaths, or 30.3 per 100,000
- 2009, 631 accidents caused 700 deaths, or 23.7 per 100,000
- 2010, 581 accidents caused 641 deaths, or 21.6 per 100,000
- 2011, 567 accidents caused 630 deaths, or 21.2 per 100,000
- 2013, 558 accidents caused 613 deaths, or 20.5 per 100,000
- 2015, 604 accidents caused 677 deaths, or 22.6 per 100,000
Pedestrians are especially vulnerable to traffic. In fact, in 2015, about 63 people were killed in crashes while they were standing, walking, sitting, and jogging near a roadway, accounting for nine percent of the total number of traffic fatalities that year. Five years’ prior, 50 pedestrians died, accounting for eight percent of the total number of people killed in traffic crashes in 2010. In 2005, there were 72 pedestrians killed, or eight percent of the total traffic related deaths. When you compare these statistics, it is difficult to see a pattern in the number of pedestrian deaths other than that far too many are killed in Mississippi each year.