Pedestrian vs. Bicyclist Fatality Patterns of Geographic/Demographic Shift

Details

• Creators:
  Ferenchak, Nicholas N.
• Corporate Creators:
  Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety (CPBS) Tier-1 University Transportation Center (UTC) ; University of New Mexico. Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. University Transportation Centers (UTC) Program ; United States. Department of Transportation. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Bicycle Crashes Crash Characteristics Demographics Fatalities Injury Severity Pedestrian Vehicle Crashes Spatial Analysis Trend (Statistics)
• Publication/ Report Number:
  23UNM02
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Edition:
  Final Report – June 2023 to May 2024
• Corporate Publisher:
  Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety (CPBS) Tier-1 University Transportation Center (UTC)
• Abstract:
  Between 2009 and 2022 in the United States (U.S.), pedestrian fatalities increased 82.3% and bicyclist fatalities increased 70.8% according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Where are these fatalities occurring within our regions and what spatial characteristics of these locations could be influencing this trend? Are these issues focused around specific land uses? This project was divided into two main parts. We first analyzed bicyclist fatality data on the national level from the last two decades using NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) in relation to built-environment and socioeconomic characteristics. We then provided an in-depth exploration of pedestrian and bicyclist fatal and serious injury (KA) crashes for the city of Chicago, which allows us to account for more land use and roadway characteristics. The results of this study indicate that both pedestrian and bicyclist KA crashes have trended toward areas with lower population density, suggesting these pedestrian and bicyclist safety issues are migrating from urban to suburban areas, specifically collectors and arterials in post-war suburbs. Additionally, these fatalities are occurring near small-scale commercial land uses and in neighborhoods with high rates of poverty, high proportions of minority residents, and low levels of access to automobiles. A key implication of this work is the need to rethink our suburbs, for which we propose a village model of urbanity where development occurs in self-contained suburban units. In terms of infrastructure, this work identifies the need to better visualize, measure, and implement such VRU networks on a citywide and regional scale with enhanced bicycle level of traffic stress (BLTS) tool for road crossings and intersections and a pedestrian level of traffic stress (PLTS) tool.
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  69A3552348336
• Collection(s):
  University Transportation Centers
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d534b843889fc25456e0dad1a693ba13f2501a2cc09085dd592c4a5fddc471248fe096f7c8a92e8c254807acd124672a92f9cdb9b9a55359017b3be69c8ff9b0
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/86194/dot_86194_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.66 MB ]