Youth Bike and Pedestrian Crashes Near Schools
ODOT Crash Data, 2007–2024; NCES School Location Data, 2024
Josh Roll, ODOT Research Services
June 01, 2026
Introduction
This report summarizes illustrative investment scenarios for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) related budget concepts as well as providing background crash analysis to help inform the existing traffic safety conditions for children near schools.
The illustrative investment analysis utilizes information about the number of schools and a simplified set of planning-level infrastructure assumptions. The illustrative scenarios estimate the potential cost of providing one enhanced crossing and one mile of sidewalk improvements at different proportions of schools (25%, 50%, and 75%). These estimates are intended only as high-level conceptual planning scenarios and do not represent detailed engineering cost estimates. Actual implementation costs would vary substantially based on roadway conditions, right-of-way constraints, drainage, utilities, design requirements, ADA improvements, traffic control needs, and local construction conditions.
The existing traffic safety conditions summary information includes bicycle and pedestrian-related crashes involving people ages 1–17 occurring near schools using Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) crash data from 2007–2024 and 2024 school location data from the Oregon Department of Human Services & Oregon Health Authority Office of Forecasting, Research and Analysis.
The crash analysis uses half-mile buffers around school locations to identify crashes occurring within walking and bicycling distance of schools. The report includes interactive mapping and exploratory analysis of crash timing, severity, participant type, and age distributions. The purpose of the crash analysis is to help inform conversations around potential school-area pedestrian and bicycle safety investments that could improve conditions for youth. By examining where and when crashes involving youth occur near schools, the analysis can help identify patterns that may support future infrastructure planning, Safe Routes to School strategies, and safety investment prioritization.
Illustrative Investment Scenario Development
This section details the potential investment scenario for streets near schools by looking across Oregon and using various proportions of schools that get investments in roadway safety interventions assuming base costs for those interventions. We are currently assuming….
| Illustrative School-Area Infrastructure Cost Scenarios | |||||
| Assumes $500,000 per crossing and $1,000,000 per mile of sidewalk across 1,304 schools | |||||
| Scenario | Share of Schools | Number of Schools | Cost for 1 Crossing per School | Cost for 1 Mile Sidewalk per School | Total Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25% of schools | 25% | 326 | $163,000,000 | $326,000,000 | $489,000,000 |
| 50% of schools | 50% | 652 | $326,000,000 | $652,000,000 | $978,000,000 |
| 75% of schools | 75% | 978 | $489,000,000 | $978,000,000 | $1,467,000,000 |
Safe Systems Supplementary Analysis
The analysis below provides descriptive summaries of youth bicycle- and pedestrian-related crashes occurring near schools to help inform transportation safety decision making and school-area investment discussions. The analysis is framed using the FHWA Safe System Approach, which recognizes that people make mistakes, that human bodies are vulnerable to crash forces, and that roadway systems should be designed to reduce the likelihood that mistakes result in fatal or serious injuries. The Safe System Approach organizes roadway safety around five complementary elements: safer people, safer roads, safer speeds, safer vehicles, and post-crash care.
The summaries in this report are intended to help organize youth crash patterns near schools through several of these Safe System lenses. The analysis includes descriptive summaries related to 2 of the 5 SSA elements including:
- Safer Roads — roadway functional classification
- Safer People — age, temporal crash patterns
A Safer Speeds element of the crash analysis was considered but ODOT crash data was missing information in crash records about the posted speed for 43% of the crash records involving a youth and 45% of crash records involving youths within 0.5 miles of a school so accurate information was not available to clearly understand the crash outcomes related to posted speed. Similarly, no information on the characteristics of passenger vehicles exists in the ODOT crash data so no analysis can be presented here on the role of vehicle design and youth injuries. ODOT Research completed work on light-duty vehicle characteristics’ impact on pedestrian injury severity finding that larger vehicles, especially those with heavier curb weights and higher overall height increase the odds that pedestrians are fatally injured during crashes (Roll 2024).
The SSA framing helps shift the discussion beyond individual crashes and toward a more systemic understanding of how roadway design, operating speeds, travel patterns, and infrastructure conditions interact to influence youth transportation safety near schools. The analysis could be expanded by using additional information about roadway conditions but is currently only using data elements available in ODOT crash data. The current analysis is intended to support discussions around Safe Routes to School investments, school-area infrastructure prioritization, and broader systemic safety planning approaches.
Following the crash analysis a interactive map is provided that allows readers to explore the crash data and school buffer areas.
Youth Crash Analysis Overview
Using all years of crash data from 2007–2024, youth bicycle- and pedestrian-related crashes occurring within one-half mile of a school included 37 fatal injuries and 344 suspected serious injuries. Fatal and serious injury crashes are particularly important within the Safe System Approach because they represent crashes where roadway conditions, vehicle speeds, impact forces, and exposure conditions exceeded the level of human tolerance for severe injury outcomes.
Focusing on the more recent 2020–2024 period, youth crashes occurring within one-half mile of a school included 12 fatal injuries and 75 suspected serious injuries. These more recent severe crash outcomes highlight the continued importance of understanding roadway environments, operating speeds, and youth travel exposure patterns both near schools and across the broader transportation system.
Youth Crashes by Injury Severity
The table below summarizes youth bicycle- and pedestrian-related crashes occurring within one-half mile of schools by injury severity for both the full study period and the more recent 2020–2024 period.
| Youth Bike/Ped Crashes within 0.5 Miles of Schools by Injury Severity | ||
| Counts and percentages shown within each time period | ||
| Injury Severity | 2020–2024 | All years (2007-2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Fatal | 12 (2.1%) | 37 (1.1%) |
| Injury A - Suspected Serious Injury | 75 (13.2%) | 344 (10.4%) |
| Injury B - Suspected Minor Injury | 325 (57.0%) | 1,898 (57.4%) |
| Injury C - Possible Injury | 158 (27.7%) | 986 (29.8%) |
| No Apparent Injury | 0 (0.0%) | 34 (1.0%) |
| No Injury / Under Age 5 | 0 (0.0%) | 5 (0.2%) |
| Total Crashes | 570 | 3,304 |
Across the full 2007–2024 study period, the dataset includes 4,615 bicycle- and pedestrian-related crashes involving youth ages 1–17. Of these crashes, 3,304 (71.6%) occurred within one-half mile of a school. Within those school-area crashes, 1,180 (35.7%) occurred during defined school commute periods, 7–9 AM and 2–4 PM. An additional 1,311 (28.4%) occurred outside the half-mile school buffers.
Focusing on the more recent 2020–2024 period, the dataset includes 809 total youth bicycle- and pedestrian-related crashes. Of these, 570 (70.5%) occurred within one-half mile of schools, including 198 (34.7%) that occurred during school commute periods. An additional 239 (29.5%) occurred outside the half-mile school buffers.
Safer Roads
The chart below summarizes youth bicycle- and pedestrian-related crashes occurring within one-half mile of schools by roadway functional classification. Functional classification is a roadway classification system that generally reflects the balance between roadway mobility and local access. Higher-order roadway classifications, such as interstates, freeways, and principal arterials, are typically designed to carry larger volumes of vehicle traffic at higher operating speeds and over longer distances. Lower-order classifications, such as collectors and local streets, generally prioritize local access, lower traffic volumes, and lower speeds.
The crash patterns shown in the chart help illustrate the roadway environments where youth bicycle- and pedestrian-related crashes near schools are occurring. The majority of youth crashes occur on principal and arterial roads in both periods with over 55% of crashes occurring on these roadways. a small number of youth crashes were recorded as occurring on interstate and freeway roads but upon closer examination many of these principal arterial roadways that were mis-classified
Safer People
The information presented below highlights the age distribution of youth involved in bicycle- and pedestrian-related traffic crashes near schools while also examining the times of day when these crashes occur. Understanding the age patterns associated with youth crashes can help identify which age groups may face elevated transportation safety risks and may also reflect differences in independent mobility, travel behavior, school travel patterns, and exposure to roadway environments.
The temporal analysis provides additional context by identifying the hours of day when youth crashes are most concentrated, particularly during typical school commute periods in the morning and afternoon. These patterns can help illustrate how school travel activity intersects with roadway operations, traffic volumes, and vehicle speeds. Together, the age and temporal analyses help provide a clearer understanding of when and for whom youth active transportation crashes are occurring near schools and can help inform Safe Routes to School planning, school-area infrastructure investments, crossing improvements, and broader Safe System transportation safety strategies.
Distribution of Youth Bike and Pedestrian Crashes by Age
The chart below shows the the distribution of youth bicycle and pedestrian crashes by participant age. Each bar represents the count of youth crash victims and the percentage of the total for all youth crash victim represented by that age.
Hourly Distribution of Youth Bike and Pedestrian Crashes
The chart below shows the hourly distribution of youth bicycle and pedestrian crashes by participant type. Each line represents the proportion of that participant type’s crashes occurring during each hour of the day. The shaded periods identify common school commute periods: 7–9 AM and 2–4 PM.
Interactive Map of Youth Bicycle and Pedestrian Injuries Near Schools
The map below shows school locations, one-half mile school buffers, and youth bicycle and pedestrian crash points. Crash points are organized into separate toggle layers for crashes within one-half mile of a school and crashes outside one-half mile of a school. The map also includes school buffer popups showing the number of youth bicycle and pedestrian crashes located within each school buffer.
Useful interpretation notes:
- The school buffer layer can be toggled on and off.
- Crash points within school buffers and outside school buffers are separate layers.
- Marker symbols distinguish crash participant type, such as bicycle, pedestrian, or conveyance users.
- Marker colors represent injury severity.
- If school buffers overlap, a crash may be counted within more than one school buffer.