NCHRP Web-Only Document 430

Improving Pedestrian Safety at Night

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. Tsu-Jae Liu is president.

The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.

The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.

Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.

The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major program divisions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to mobilize expertise, experience, and knowledge to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,500 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state departments of transportation, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation.

Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS

CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP WEB-ONLY DOCUMENT 430

Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs

Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program

Inam Jawed, Senior Program Officer

Kevin Padilla, Senior Program Assistant

Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications

Janet M. McNaughton, Senior Editor

Kathleen Mion, Assistant Editor

NCHRP PROJECT 17-97 PANEL
Field of Traffic—Area of Safety

Rebecca L. Mowry, California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, CA (Chair)

Patrick Adams, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Augusta, ME

Veronica O. Davis, AtkinsRéalis, Baltimore, MD

Joshua Harrouch, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Baton Rouge, LA

Christi McDaniel-Wilson, Oregon Department of Transportation, Salem, OR

Meghan Fehlig Mitman, Fehr & Peers, Walnut Creek, CA

Katherine Beckett Suter, Illinois Department of Transportation, Springfield, IL

Scott J. Windley, U.S. Access Board, Washington, DC

Yuanyuan Zhang, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS

Tamara A. Redmon, FHWA Liaison

Kelly K. Hardy, AASHTO Liaison

AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The research reported herein was performed under NCHRP Project 17-97 by the Toole Design Group (Toole Design), Safe Streets Research and Consulting (Safe Streets), the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW-M), and Oregon State University (OSU). Toole Design was the prime contractor for this study, while Safe Streets led the research design.

Michelle Danila, PE, PTOE, of Toole Design and Dr. Rebecca Sanders of Safe Streets were co-principal investigators for this project. In addition, Michelle Danila served as project manager and Dr. Sanders served as research director. The literature review and national level crash analysis were performed and written up by Dr. Robert Schneider of UW-M along with master’s students Bryan Walter, Natalie Marshall, and Will Henning. The multicity case-control analysis was performed by Dr. Sanders, with data preparation help from Brian Almdale and Dr. Jessica Schoner. The driver simulation work was performed and written up by Dr. David Hurwitz of OSU, along with Dr. Hisham Jashami and master’s student Kezia Suwandhaputra. The practitioner survey, focus groups, and interviews were performed by Dr. Stefanie Brodie and Sara Schooley of Toole Design. The work was reviewed at multiple stages by the following experts: Dr. Frank Proulx of Frank Proulx Consulting, Dr. Nick Ferenchak of the University of New Mexico, Dr. Tara Goddard of Texas A&M University, Charles T. Brown of Equitable Cities, LLC, and Bill Schultheiss of Toole Design.

Photo credits to Toole Design unless otherwise noted.

CONTENTS

SUMMARY

Literature Review

State of the Practice Practitioner Survey

Macro-Level Pedestrian Fatality Analysis

Micro-Level Case Control Analysis

Driver Simulation

Focus Groups

Practitioner Interviews

Triangulated Findings Across Studies

CHAPTER 1

Background

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Literature Review

1.3 State of the Practice Practitioner Survey

CHAPTER 2

Data Collection and Analysis

2.1 Macro-Level Analysis

2.2 Micro-Level Analysis

2.3 Driving Simulator Study

2.4 Focus Groups

2.5 Practitioner Interviews

CHAPTER 3

Findings and Applications

3.1 Triangulation of Phase II Research Findings

CHAPTER 4

Conclusions and Suggested Research

4.1 Commitment to Improving Pedestrian Safety in the U.S.

4.2 Literature Gaps and Future Research

REFERENCES

APPENDIX A.

Exposure Context for Pedestrian Fatalities

APPENDIX B.

Detailed Summary of Descriptive Statistics

APPENDIX C.

Comparison of Pedestrian Fatalities Between the Early and Late 2010s

APPENDIX D.

Focus Group Scripts

Driver Focus Group Script

Pedestrian Focus Group Script

APPENDIX E.

Practitioner Interview Script

APPENDIX F.

Infographics