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The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of research studies on pedestrian safety in the United States;some foreign research also is included. Readers will find details of pedestrian crash characteristics, measures of pedestrian exposure and hazard, and specific roadway features and their effects on pedestrian safety.
A road safety audit (RSA) is a formal safety examination of a future roadway plan or project or an in-service facility that is conducted by an independent, experienced multidisciplinary RSA team. All RSAs should include a review of pedestrian safety;however, some RSAs may be conducted to improve an identified pedestrian safety problem. The Pedestrian Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Prompt Lists provides transportation agencies and teams conducting an RSA with a better understanding of the needs of pedestrians of all abilities.
In recent years, “Personal Transportation Devices” (PTDs) have exploded onto streets and sidewalks. These small devices transport individual persons at slow speeds and are either human-powered or motorized. Examples include electric (kick) scooters, skateboards, e-skateboards, roller blades, and Segways. One key to successfully integrating PTDs into community streets will be the implementation of consistent and suitable regulations over user behavior: “rules of the road” for PTD riders.
Provides context on pedestrian safety issues, crash patterns and contributing factors, and resulting impacts that may help orient readers from diverse sectors—including advocates, roadway owners and operators, legislators and law makers, real estate developers, businesses and private industries, public health practitioners, researchers, educators, enforcement officers, and others—to identify shared concerns and opportunities to make a difference.
This guide is intended to support agencies that are interested in conducting pedestrian- and bicycle-focused RSAs and includes information on safety risks for both modes, the RSA process, necessary data, and the roles and responsibilities of the RSA Team. Also included are updated prompt lists for pedestrians and bicyclists to use in the field.
Provides context on pedestrian safety issues, crash patterns and contributing factors, and resulting impacts that may help orient readers from diverse sectors—including advocates, roadway owners and operators, legislators and law makers, real estate developers, businesses and private industries, public health practitioners, researchers, educators, enforcement officers, and others—to identify shared concerns and opportunities to make a difference.
Approximately one out of six highway fatalities in the United States is a bicyclist or pedestrian each year. Estimates for 1995 indicate that 61,000 bicyclists were injured and 830 were killed in traffic crashes. These crashes can be classified or "typed" by their precipitating actions, predisposing factors, and characteristic populations and/or location that can be targeted for intervention.
Approximately one out of six highway fatalities in the United States is a bicyclist or pedestrian each year. Estimates for 1995 indicate that 61,000 bicyclists were injured and 830 were killed in traffic crashes. These crashes can be classified or "typed" by their precipitating actions, predisposing factors, and characteristic populations and/or location that can be targeted for intervention.
FHWA awarded three cooperative agreements to Las Vegas, NV;Miami-Dade, FL;and San Francisco, CA to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of a combined pedestrian safety engineering and intelligent transportation systems (ITS)-based areawide countermeasures program for reducing pedestrian fatalities, injuries, conflicts, and other surrogate measures of safety.
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 600: Human Factors Guidelines for Road Systems: Second Edition provides data and insights of the extent to which road users’ needs, capabilities, and limitations are influenced by the effects of age, visual demands, cognition, and influence of expectancies. NCHRP Report 600 provides guidance for roadway location elements and traffic engineering elements. The report also provides tutorials on special design topics, an index, and a glossary of technical terms.