WORLDWIDE, THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED 300,000 TRAFFIC FATALITIES EACH YEAR; ABOUT 50 PERCENT ARE PEDESTRIANS. IN GREAT BRITAIN PEDESTRIANS ACCOUNT FOR 23 PERCENT OF ALL ROAD ACCIDENT CASUALTIES IN 1973 AND 40 PERCENT OF FATALITIES. MOST OF THE INJURIES OCCUR AMONG CHILDREN UNDER 9 YEARS OF AGE; 50 PERCENT OF ALL PEDESTRIAN CASUALTIES AND 25 PERCENT OF FATALITIES ARE UNDER 16 YEARS OF AGE. PERSONS OVER AGE 60 ACCOUNT FOR 15 PERCENT OF THE CASUALTIES AND 50 PERCENT OF THE DEATHS. MOST PEDESTRIAN DEATHS INVOLVE A SINGLE PERSON AND A SINGLE VEHICLE. THE CHANCES OF A DEATH OCCURRING INCREASES DRAMATICALLY AS THE SIZE OF THE VEHICLE INCREASES. WHILE 74 PERCENT OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVE CARS AND TAXIS, ONLY 3.2 PERCENT OF THESE INVOLVE FATALITIES. TRUCKS WEIGHING MORE THAN 4.5 TONS ARE INVOLVED IN 1.5 PERCENT OF THE ACCIDENTS AND 12.7 PERCENT OF THE FATALITIES. LOCATIONS OF THE INJURIES SUSTAINED IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF ACCIDENT SITUATIONS ARE ANALYZED IN DETAIL. DRAWINGS AND GRAPHS ILLUSTRATE THE VARIOUS TYPES OF IMPACT, THE TYPES OF INJURY SUSTAINED UNDER DIFFEREING CONDITIONS, AND THE EFFECTS OF IMPACT SPEED ON INJURY. THE NUMBER OF INJURIES AND THEIR SEVERITY INCREASES WITH SPEED OF VEHICLE. HEAD INJURIES ARE THE MOST FREQUENT CAUSE OF DEATH, THORACIC INJURIES ARE SECOND, AND COMPLICATIONS SUCH AS PNEUMONIA ARE THIRD. AMONG OLDER PATIENTS SUCH COMPLICATIONS ARE MOST SIGNIFICANT. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VEHICLE DESIGN AND PEDESTRIAN INJURY IS BRIEFLY CONSIDERED. REFERENCES ARE APPENDED. (GLR)