Introduction:​ The question:​ “Are Wisconsin Pedestrian Crashes Representative of National Trends?” was asked in the context of how to estimate the denominator of pedestrians using public traffic-ways. Data from the Federal Highway Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the United States Census Bureau, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and other organizations was used to try and answer it.

Method:​ Comparisons between national and state level data were made relative to:​ The number of miles of urban and rural roads in Wisconsin relative to the number of miles nationally, the trends in the frequency of fatal pedestrian crashes, the proportion of these crashes in rural and urban areas and factors that may contribute to them. Demographics at the county level were reviewed to assess which counties may be representative of the state.

Results:​ In all categories of rural roadway classification, Wisconsin is within one standard deviation of the national mean and median. The median number of miles of the total miles of rural roadways nationally is 64,672 miles. In most categories of urban roadway classification, Wisconsin is within one standard deviation of the mean and median for the nation. The median number of miles of the total miles of urban roadways nationally is 17,568 miles. With 23,578 total miles of urban roadways, it is closest to the national average of the total number of miles urban roadways 23,530.

NHTSA analysis of 2015 pedestrian crash data reported 26% of pedestrian fatalities occurred from 6 to 8:​59 p.m. In Wisconsin data from 2011 to 2013, 23% of fatal pedestrian crashes occurred 6 to 8:​59 p.m. NHTSA reported the split between fatal urban and fatal rural crashes as:​ 76% in urban areas and 24% in rural areas. In Wisconsin, the split was 64% urban and 36% rural. Per NHTSA data, 19% of fatally injured pedestrians were 55-years-old or older. A query for fatal pedestrian crashes in Wisconsin for 2017 found that the average pedestrian age was 54 and 43.6% of fatally injured pedestrians were 55-years-old or older.

Discussion:​ U.S. Department of Transportation data collection programs are amenable to using state government documents, which can be transcribed to compile national level data sets. State level traffic crash data can be disaggregated to the county or municipal levels. Both data sets can be linked to U.S. Census Bureau data for each county, down to the level of the census tract, to characterize the relationship of vulnerable populations such as children and older adults and to features in the environment affecting mobility.

Conclusion:​ What is lacking are actual counts of pedestrians at a weighted sample of locations to base a statistical inference of the denominator of pedestrian using trafficways on. With the appropriate statistical technique and accurate counts, a nationally representative estimate of vulnerable road users is possible. In-depth local studies involving agreements with law enforcement and county road department would be advantageous.