Disparities in road crash mortality among pedestrians using wheelchairs in the USA: results of a capture–recapture analysis by John D Kraemer and Connor S Benton, 20 November 2015, BMJ Open

“36% higher than the overall population pedestrian mortality rate”

Conclusions: Persons who use wheelchairs experience substantial pedestrian mortality disparities calling for behavioural and built environment interventions.

“That crashes frequently were attributed by police to a driver’s failure to yield right-of-way underscores the challenges faced by pedestrians who use wheelchairs as they seek to safely using existing pedestrian infrastructure.”

Modern approaches to disability conceive of it as an interaction between physical limitation and social or environmental factors. This approach is reflected in the U.S. through the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires public settings to be accessible to persons with disabilities — including through safe pedestrian infrastructure — and which favours full community integration for people with disabilities. Prior research has shown that pedestrian safety concerns limit the ability of wheelchair users to fully access their communities, in violation of these norms, underscoring a substantial justice dimension to the disparities identified in this research.