Moving Walks
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Building Materials & Home Structures · CPSC Code 1891
Up 130% over 5 years
The verdict
Moving Walks carry a danger score of 42/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 184 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 130% over the last five years.
- 42/100
- danger score (moderate risk)
- 184
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 10.4%
- end in hospital admission
- 75+
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1891 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 42/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for moving walks - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume184 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)10.4%
- Fatality rate0.31%
- 5-year trend+130%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Moving Walks (CPSC product code 1891, in the Building Materials & Home Structures category) generate an estimated 184 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 3,674 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 42/100 for this category (moderate risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are rising by about 130% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2023 (347 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2005 (21 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for moving walks is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 482 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (383 cases). The 75+ age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1,243 cases over the NEISS window, and females appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 10.4% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.31%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how moving walks fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 417 | 159 | |
| 5-14 | 91 | 97 | |
| 15-24 | 48 | 17 | |
| 35-44 | 87 | 91 | |
| 45-54 | 102 | 31 | |
| 55-64 | 168 | 449 | |
| 65-74 | 80 | 593 | |
| 75+ | 449 | 794 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Wrist | Fracture | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Arm | Fracture | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Knee | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Wrist | Other | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Elbow | Fracture | |
| Foot | Fracture |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
67 YOF WAS EXITING THE PLANE ONTO THE WALKWAY, SHE SOMEHOW FELL BETWEEN THE PLANE AND THE WALKWAY ABOUT 10 FEET LANDING ON HER HEAD. BAL 267. DX: FALL, ALCOHOLIC INTOXICATION.
83 YOM PRESENTS FOR EVALUATION AFTER A MECHANICAL FALL AT THE AIRPORT TODAY. PATIENT STATES THAT HE WAS CARRYING HIS LUGGAGE ON THE PEOPLE MOVER AND FELL BACKWARD STRIKING HIS HEAD AND SUFFERING A LACERATION. HE ALSO HAS ABRASIONS TO HIS BILATERAL ELBOWS. TAKES *** FOR UNSTATED REASON DX 4CM POSTERIOR SCALP LAC, BILATERAL ELBOW ABRASIONS
60 YOF WAS AT THE AIRPORT ON THE MOVING SIDEWALK AND FELL WHEN THE MOVING SIDEWALK ENDED. SHE STUCK HER RIGHT HEAD AND SHOULDER. C/O HEADACHE AND RIGHT SHOULDER PAIN +HEMATOMA TO RIGHT LATERAL FOREHEAD DX CHI, CLAVICLE FX
82YOF PRESENTS AFTER A FALL WITH HEAD STRIKE WHILE STEPPING OFF THE MOVING SIDEWALK AT THE AIRPORT. DX: INJURY OF HEAD, LACERATION TO FOREHEAD
16YOM RIDING ON A MOVING WALKWAY AT AIRPORT AND FELL. DX KNEE DISLOCATION AND FX
22MOM FINGER CAUGHT IN MOVING WALKWAY AT AIRPORT. DX FINGER FX AND FINGER LACERATION
14YOF WAS WALKING ON PEOPLE MOVER AT AIRPORT SLIPPED AND FELL WHILE GETTING OFF OF THE PEOPLE MOVER DX: RTR ANKLE INJURY, RT WRIST INJURY
2YOF ON A MOVING WALKWAY AT THE AIRPORT, HOLDING MOMS HANDS, AND JUMPED OFF. DX: NURSEMAIDS ELBOW
13 YOM INJURED FOOT, STEPPED ON NAIL ON DECK AT HOME, YESTERDAY. DX- PUNCTURE WOUND LEFT FOOT
75YOF AT AIRPORT WAS ON THE MOVING SIDEWALK CALLED PEOPLE MOVER WHEN SHE FELL AT THE END OF THE MOVING SIDEWALK ON OUTSTRETCHED RIGHT HAND DX: CONTUSION TO RIGHT HAND AND CONTUSION TO RIGHT KNEE
62YOF WAS WALKING ON THE MOVING SIDEWALK AT THE AIRPORT WHEN SHE CAUGHT HER FOOT ON THE SIDE OF THE MOVING WALKWAY AND TWISTED RIGHT ANKLE DX: STRAINED RIGHT ANKLE
74YOF AT AIRPORT ON MOVING SIDEWALK WHEN LOOKED TO THE LEFT AND THEN DID NOT REALIZE SIDEWALK WAS AT THE END, CAUGHT THE EDGE FELL FORWARD LANDED ON L SIDE C/O L SIDED HIP PAIN DX ACUTE MECHANICAL FALL ACUTE L FEMORAL NECK FRACTURE CLOSED
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to moving walks on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are moving walks?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, moving walks have a danger score of 42/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 184 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from moving walks?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 482 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from moving walks increasing or decreasing?
Up 130% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for moving walks injuries?
The 75+ age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1,243 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by moving walks?
Of all ER visits involving moving walks, approximately 10.4% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (89.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with moving walks?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Building Materials & Home Structures
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 42/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 75+ age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
