01:52 PM PDT on Wednesday, June 16, 2004

KING5.com

Pedestrian injuries make up 13 percent of traffic fatalities in the U.S., despite a decrease in recent years.

The study analyzed 542 pedestrian injuries from 1994 to 1998 in six cities: Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, San Antonio and Seattle.

It suggests the need to consider vehicle front-end design, especially for light trucks, in motor vehicle safety standards.

The research by investigators at the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center and the

Center for Applied Biomechanics at the University of Virginia was published in the June issue of Injury Prevention.