Stark number of NI pedestrian road deaths or serious injuries in past four years involving children

A quarter of pedestrian road deaths or serious injuries in Northern Ireland over the past four years were children, new figures reveal.

The annual report on Pedestrian Killed and Seriously Injured (KSI) Casualties in Northern Ireland 2019-2023 has been produced by Analysis, Statistics and Research Branch (ASRB), commissioned by the Department for Infrastructure.

The new statistics show that between 2019 and 2023, there were 831 pedestrians killed or seriously injured in collisions in Northern Ireland. Of these, there were 67 (8%) people killed, and 764 (92%) people seriously injured.

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Males accounted for over three-fifths (61%) of pedestrian KSI casualties in this time period, while children (aged under 16) accounted for nearly a quarter (24%) of pedestrian KSI casualties.

Nearly a third (32%) of pedestrian KSI casualties occurred between 3pm and 7pm, with children accounting for 40% of KSI casualties in this time period. Over three-fifths (61%) of pedestrian KSI casualties occurred during daylight.

Throughout the four year time period, December had the most pedestrian KSI casualties with 103, while July had the fewest with 49.

The statistics also show pedestrians were responsible for over half (58%) of the collisions in which they were killed or seriously injured.

As for the area with the highest rate of such instances, the Belfast Local Government District had the highest at 75.6 pedestrian KSI casualties per 100,000 resident population, while Mid Ulster had the lowest (22.5).

The majority of the data within the report comes from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Road Traffic Collision Statistics and is typically based on the period 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2023

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