A critical first step towards improving non-motorist safety is to identify the problem. There are many different safety problems that pedestrians and bicyclist's experience, and a safety countermeasure that works at one location may not address the problem at another location. If the safety problem can be identified, it may be easier to recommend solutions. The FHWA's goal is to develop methods to make it easier to determine the true nature of a pedestrian or bicyclist safety problem and to focus in on the most appropriate countermeasures.

Tools:

Guide for Scalable Risk Assessment Methods for Pedestrians and Bicyclists
This guide describes scalable risk assessment methods for pedestrians and bicyclists, wherein risk is a measure of the probability of a crash to occur given exposure to potential crash events. This guide outlines eight sequential steps to develop risk values at various desired geographic scales, and describes the scope and nature of each step, including any guiding principles.

• The Areawide Exposure Tool is supplemental to the Guide for Scalable Risk Assessment Methods for Pedestrians and Bicyclists makes it easy for practitioners to obtain and summarize nationwide travel survey data to estimate pedestrian and bicyclist exposure to risk at Statewide and MPO area scales while providing functions for the user to supply local data when available.

Bikesafe 2014:  Bicycle Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System 
First developed in 2005, Bikesafe is an expert system that allows the user to select treatments (mainly engineering with some enforcement and education activities) that help mitigate a known crash problem or help achieve a specific performance objective.

Pedsafe 2013: Pedestrian Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System
First developed in 2003, Pedsafe is an expert system that allows the user to select treatments (mainly engineering with some enforcement and education activities) that help mitigate a known crash problem or help achieve a specific performance objective.

Pedestrian and Bicyclist Road Safety Audit Guide and Prompt List (FHWA-SA-20-042)
Provides information on how to conduct an RSA and effectively assess the safety of cyclists. These Guidelines provide an overview of the Road Safety Audit process, as well as an overview of basic safety principles and potential hazards affecting cyclists. Prompt lists are provided to assist RSA team members in considering general issues when performing a BRSA.

Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crash Analysis Tool is a software application intended to assist state and local pedestrian and bicycle coordinators, planners, and engineers in addressing pedestrian and bicyclist crash problems by allowing them to enter and analyze their crash data.

Sample Pedestrian Road Safety Audits
Road Safety Audit (RSA) is the formal safety performance examination of an existing or future road or intersection by an independent, multidisciplinary team. Road safety audits can be used in any phase of project development from planning and preliminary engineering, design and construction. The pedestrian RSA materials provide more detail on pedestrian safety issues than the traditional RSA.

Resources:

Primer on Safe System Approach for Pedestrians and Bicyclists (FHWA-SA-21-065)
This publication provides transportation agencies a baseline understanding of the Safe System approach and how it relates to bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Bikeway Selection Guide
A resource to help transportation practitioners consider the trade-offs relating to the selection of bikeway types. The document builds upon other FHWA resources that promote design flexibility and support connected, safe, and comfortable bicycle networks. The Bikeway Selection Guide outlines a process for identifying the desired bikeway type and assessing and refining potential options based on real-world conditions and decision-making factors. This process is intended to accelerate the delivery of high-quality multimodal projects that improve safety for everyone and meet the transportation needs of people of all ages and abilities.

• Traffic Analysis and Intersection Considerations to Inform Bikeway Selection: This resource supplements the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Bikeway Selection Guide and is intended to inform trade-off decisions associated with bikeway selection at intersections. It discusses common performance metrics, spatial needs of bikeways at intersections, safety and equity focused design principles, and operational traffic analysis trade-offs and assumptions.
• On Street Motor Vehicle Parking and the Bikeway Selection Process: This resource is intended to inform discussions about on-street parking and bikeway selection. It is a supplementary resource to the FHWA Bikeway Selection Guide. It begins with a discussion of on-street parking and bikeway types, with associated dimensional requirements and trade-off considerations. It then presents several strategies involving choices specifically relating to the overlap between general purpose on-street parking and passenger or commercial loading activities, design details, and bikeway selection.

Literature Review: Resource Guide for Separating Bicyclists from Traffic
The Bikeway Selection Guide is also based on this complementary Literature Review: Resource Guide for Separating Bicyclists from Traffic. The literature review summarizes safety research for common bikeway types and provides a brief history U.S. and international guidance for bikeway selection.

Toolbox of Countermeasures and Their Potential Effectiveness for Pedestrian Crashes
This "toolbox" documents estimates of the crash reduction that might be expected if a specific countermeasure or group of countermeasures is implemented with respect to pedestrian crashes. The crash reduction estimates are presented as Crash Reduction Factors (CRFs). Traffic engineers and other transportation professionals can use the information contained in this toolbox when trying to figure out which countermeasures would be effective in improving safety at a certain type of locations (such as a signalized intersection).

Synthesis of Methods for Estimating Pedestrian and Bicyclist Exposure to Risk at Areawide Levels and on Specific Transportation Facilities (FHWA-SA-17-041)

Noteworthy Local Polices That Support Safe and Complete Pedestrian and Bicycle Networks (FHWA-SA-17-006)

Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon Guide–Recommendations and Case Study (FHWA-SA-14-014):
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) strongly encourages the use of pedestrian hybrid beacons (also known as the High intensity Activated crossWalK (or HAWK)–a pedestrian-activated warning device located on the roadside or on mast arms over midblock pedestrian crossings.  This document expands on the FHWA guidance memo detailed here: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safety/other/proven-safety-countermeasures/ and offers a case study of a location that successfully used PHB to solve a safety problem.

The Guide for Maintaining Active Transportation Infrastructure for Enhanced Safety (FHWA-SA-23-005):
The guide addresses maintenance of active transportation facilities for achieving mobility, accessibility, safety, and equity goals. The Guide presents a case for maintaining active transportation facilities as an integral component of a Complete Streets approach and discusses common maintenance issues impacting pedestrians, bicyclists, and micromobility users; temporary, short-term, and long-term maintenance measures and construction techniques to lessen maintenance. The Guide also discusses maintenance planning, prioritization, inspection, compliance, and funding

Guide for Maintaining Pedestrian Facilities for Enhanced Safety Research Report
The research report includes a literature review, review of local maintenance programs including discussions with 50 municipalities and state agencies, and an overall assessment of the current practice of pedestrian facility maintenance.

Evaluation of Pedestrian Countermeasures in Three Cities: San Francisco, Las Vegas and Miami
FHWA awarded grants to the cities of San Francisco, Las Vegas and Miami in 2003 to develop plans for deploying and evaluating various pedestrian safety countermeasures in high crash "zones" and locations. The purpose of the project was to demonstrate how a city could improve pedestrian safety by performing a detailed analysis of its pedestrian crash problem, identifying and evaluating high crash locations, observing factors such as driver and pedestrian behavior, and deploying various lower cost countermeasures tailored to the site. An independent evaluation was also conducted to compare the countermeasure deployment across the three cities.

Pedestrian Countermeasure Policy Best Practice Report (FHWA-SA-11-017)
This report highlights State departments of transportation (DOTs) that have developed policies related to medians, walkways, and shoulders.

Proven Countermeasures for Pedestrian Safety
This article documenting FHWA's promotion of medians/pedestrian refuge areas, sidewalks, and shoulders to increase pedestrian safety was published in the March/April 2012 Edition of Public Roads Magazine.

Safety Benefits of Raised Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Areas–Booklet (FHWA-SA-10-020)
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) strongly encourages the use of raised medians (or refuge areas) in curbed sections of multi-lane roadways in urban and suburban areas, particularly in areas where there are mixtures of a significant number of pedestrians, high volumes of traffic (more than 12,000 vehicles per day) and intermediate or high travel speeds. This document expands on the FHWA guidance memo detailed here: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safety/pedestrian-bicyclist/safety-tools/memorandum-january-12-2012/. Hard copies can be ordered here.

Safety Benefits of Raised Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Areas–Tri-Fold Brochure (FHWA-SA-10-031)
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) strongly encourages the use of raised medians (or refuge areas) in curbed sections of multi-lane roadways in urban and suburban areas, particularly in areas where there are mixtures of a significant number of pedestrians, high volumes of traffic (more than 12,000 vehicles per day) and intermediate or high travel speeds. This document expands on the FHWA guidance memo detailed here: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov//safety/pedestrian-bicyclist/safety-tools/memorandum-january-12-2012/. Hard copies can be ordered here.

Safety Benefits of Walkways, Sidewalks, and Paved Shoulders–Booklet (FHWA-SA-10-022)
Annually, around 4,500 pedestrians are killed in traffic crashes with motor vehicles in the United States. Pedestrians killed while "walking along the roadway" account for almost 8 percent of these deaths. Many of these tragedies are preventable. Providing walkways separated from the travel lanes could help to prevent up to 88 percent of these "walking along roadway crashes. This document expands on the FHWA guidance memo detailed here: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safety/pedestrian-bicyclist/safety-tools/memorandum-january-12-2012/. Hard copies can be ordered here.

Safety Benefits of Walkways, Sidewalks, and Paved Shoulders–Tri-Fold Brochure (FHWA-SA-10-021): Annually, around 4,500 pedestrians are killed in traffic crashes with motor vehicles in the United States. Pedestrians killed while "walking along the roadway" account for almost 8 percent of these deaths. Many of these tragedies are preventable. Providing walkways separated from the travel lanes could help to prevent up to 88 percent of these "walking along roadway crashes. This document expands on the FHWA guidance memo detailed here: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safety/pedestrian-bicyclist/safety-tools/memorandum-january-12-2012/. Hard copies can be ordered here.

State Best Practice Policy for Medians (FHWA-SA-11-019)
This flyer highlights three agencies that have implemented policies and plans that promote the inclusion of raised medians.

State Best Practice Policy for Shoulders and Walkways (FHWA-SA-11-018)
This flyer highlights three agencies that have implemented policies and plans that promote the inclusion of paved shoulders and walkways.