Road safety: the number of pedestrians killed in collisions is on the rise
Data from the ASAPS Sapidata Pedestrian Observatory, which records daily incidents on state, provincial and local roads, as well as on motorways
Key points
The phenomenon is on the rise and, compared with the same period last year, has increased by 10 per cent: this refers to pedestrians struck and killed on the road. These include people who were struck whilst walking on the pavement or by a car that veered off the carriageway, as well as those who were crossing at a zebra crossing. Against this backdrop, it is people aged over 65 who have paid the highest price. The region with the worst figures is Lombardy.
Data from the Asaps Observatory
The figure comes from monitoring carried out by the ASAPS Sapidata Pedestrian Observatory, which records daily incidents on national, provincial and local roads, as well as on motorways across Italia.
According to the association’s figures, 252 pedestrians have died since 1 January, comprising 168 men and 84 women. Of these, 114 were over 65 years old – just under half the total – ‘4 out of 7 this week’.
Highest figure in January
The peak was in January, with 47 fatalities; in February there were 30 deaths, ‘one additional death on 6 February, when an elderly woman died in Verona but was not included in the statistics. March saw 40 deaths’. In April, the final tally stood at 27 pedestrian fatalities. May ended with 32 deaths and June with 33. July, on the other hand, ended with 28 deaths. ‘There have already been 15 deaths in August,’ the report emphasises. ‘In the first seven months, compared with 2025, there has been a significant increase of 10.8 per cent in pedestrian deaths in Italia (236 in 2026 and 213 in 2025). Lombardy leads the way with 38 deaths, followed by Veneto with 27 and Lazio with 24.”
114 cases on pedestrian crossings
An analysis of the data reveals the significance of the issue concerning ‘protected’ areas. This is because fatal accidents occurring on pedestrian crossings ‘totalled 114 out of 245 since 1 January’. ‘There have been 23 hit-and-run incidents since the start of the year (around 10 per cent of the total) – the observatory continues – in which the driver fled the scene, leaving the pedestrian on the ground without providing assistance; two such incidents occurred this week, one in Castel Volturno in the province of Caserta and the other in Vicopisano in Tuscany.”
