One hope for reversing the growing death toll among pedestrians and cyclists lies in technology that senses crashes before they happen and avoids them. About half the new cars sold have automated emergency braking technology, and these systems have the potential to prevent thousands of crashes each year. But AEB in some cars is far from perfect, as a recent AAA report shows. Even under ideal conditions, the cars tested often hit pedestrian dummies.
pedestrians
It’s not distracted walking that is killing NYC pedestrians
“[NYC]DOT found little concrete evidence that device-induced distracted walking contributes significantly to pedestrian fatalities and injuries.” So concludes a recent report examining whether device-distracted walkers are killing themselves by stepping out in front of motor vehicles. It’s dangerous driver behavior—speeding and failure to yield—that is killing pedestrians.
People weigh risk versus convenience in whether to use pedestrian bridges
Pedestrian bridges may help keep people away from heavy traffic, but only if people are willing to use them. And that often isn’t the case, according to a new study in Accident Analysis & Prevention. People will cross at street level to avoid tall or narrow, constrained bridges, according to the study, and they usually take extra precautions when crossing at street level.
AAA: Red light running is killing us
The AAA Foundation reports that fatalities due to red light running is at a 10-year high, and more than half of the deaths were outside the offending car, including pedestrians, bicyclists, and those in other cars.
Connectivity is good for walkability, but social factors also matter
Most efforts to increase bike and walk accessibility focus on physical access. But the built environment is not the full story. A new study finds that certain attributes of the social environment also greatly affect the perception of walkability, especially among people of color.
Active transportation fatalities spike again
Although cars are getting safer, saving drivers and passengers from dying on our roads and highways, the number of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths are increasing dramatically. The latest numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Traffic Safety Facts show that while overall 2018 traffic fatalities decreased about one percent compared to 2017, pedestrian and bicyclist deaths increased four and ten percent, respectively.
Los Angeles and San Francisco using data to target Vision Zero efforts
As cities commit to Vision Zero, they have started to examine intersections and roadway segments with high crash rates, serious injuries, and fatalities to pedestrians. What they have found is that a small percent of roadways account for a large portion of serious crashes. And crashes disproportionately affect certain populations.
Maryland designs for calmer traffic on urban highway
As suburban and urban areas infill, more bicyclists and pedestrians may use arterial corridors, and conflict with motor vehicles and resulting crashes can increase. When residents demand protection from traffic dangers to create more walkable, livable neighborhoods, state DOTs are increasingly called on to shift their focus from exclusively measuring the level of service provided to drivers, to designing for the safety and accessibility of pedestrians and cyclists.
Dangerous by Design 2019: Roads aren’t getting safer for pedestrians
Last week, Smart Growth America released the latest edition of Dangerous by Design, a biennial report examining trends in pedestrian fatalities. The report looks at changes in the occurrence of pedestrian deaths nationwide overall and ranks states and metropolitan regions according to how dangerous they are for pedestrians. At the same time, a national committee of traffic engineers called on their colleagues to consider pedestrian and bicyclist safety when setting speed limits, and a researcher reports on why pedestrians break the rules, blaming poor roadway design.
Reopening of Quincy Station MBTA gate provides area households with access to hundreds of thousands of additional jobs
After sitting shuttered for more than 30 years, the city of Quincy, MA recently reopened a pedestrian gate that allows residents of the town’s Penn’s Hill neighborhood to connect directly to the Quincy Adams MBTA station. Previous to the gate reopening, residents were forced to walk more than a mile to cross the Red Line train tracks and access the station. We measured how much this improved the accessibility of the adjacent neighborhoods.