Pedestrian safety - Global Road Safety Partnership

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BOX 4.10: Pedestrians with disabilities People with disabilities make up 15% of the world population (60) but it is unclear what proportion of these are the consequence of pedestrian collisions. What is known is that, in general, injury rates are higher among disabled children and adults (61–64). For example: • A United States study found that children with disabilities were more than five times as likely to have been hit by a motor vehicle as a pedestrian or cyclist than children without disabilities (64). • A New Zealand study found that children with abnormal vision were four times as likely as other children to have a pedestrian injury, and that children with abnormal hearing were twice as likely to have a pedestrian injury (65). Pedestrian safety: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners 4: Implementing pedestrian safety interventions In addition, people with disabilities, like other road users, may experience anxiety and stress when travelling on roads without adequate crossings or when using personal assistive devices (66, 67). The risk for pedestrians with disabilities is elevated because of the following reasons (64): • People with mobility impairments may cross roads more slowly and may be more at risk for falls if sidewalks or road surfaces are uneven. • Wheelchair users will be disadvantaged if kerb cuts are lacking or if accessible routes are lacking, and may find it harder to dodge traffic. • People who have sight or hearing loss may not be able to anticipate and avoid other road users. • People with intellectual disabilities may be unable to make good judgements about safety – knowing when it is safe to cross the road – or may behave in unpredictable ways. Environmental changes are likely to reduce vulnerability of people with disabilities to road traffic injury (64). For example, tactile paving can alert visually impaired people to the edges of steps and pavements, and indicate safe crossing places. Emerging research has shown some ways to better provide road safety facilities for pedestrians with disabilities. Participative research in Papua New Guinea, for example, explored the views of local road decision-makers and people with disabilities about road planning in rural and urban areas, with the aim of promoting inclusion of people with disabilities in road planning. This action research has led to a greater awareness and partnership (68). Research in the UK has investigated road safety experiences of deaf people – including drivers and pedestrians – and recommended measures to improve their safety and the police response to their needs (69, 70). However, more research is needed on the risk of injury to people with disabilities and appropriate prevention strategies. The World report on disability highlighted the importance of accessibility. The basic features of access should include (61): • provision of kerb cuts or ramps; • safe crossings across the street, with signalling that can be detected by people with sight or hearing loss, and crossing periods that enable people with mobility impairments to cross; • accessible entries to buildings; • an accessible path of travel to all spaces; and • access to public amenities, such as toilets. © Virot, WHO 89
Implementing pedestrian safety interventions 4.3 Summary The content of this module can be summarized as follows: • Effective interventions to improve pedestrian safety are available. Implementation should utilize a comprehensive approach that focuses on engineering, enforcement and education measures. Taking a single approach will usually be less effective. A combination of measures is needed in order to comprehensively address the range of risks to pedestrians in different settings. • Interventions that have been found effective are reducing vehicle speeds, separating pedestrians from other traffic, increasing the visibility of pedestrians, changing pedestrian and motorist behaviour through public education and law enforcement, improving vehicle design and improving care for the injured. • Pedestrians should be seen as a group with diverse needs and capabilities. The needs of special pedestrian groups such as children, the elderly and disabled people need to be prioritized when designing and implementing measures. • The case studies provided highlight several key elements for success: ▷▷the importance of political leadership at multiple administrative levels; ▷▷the involvement and contribution of multiple stakeholders; ▷▷the need to plan and allocate resources; ▷▷the necessity of setting targets; ▷▷the role of sustaining efforts over a long period of time; ▷▷the importance of implementing effective interventions; and ▷▷the need for evaluation (see Module 5). References 1. Lonero LP, Clinton KM, Sleet D. Behavior change interventions in road safety. In: Gielen AC, Sleet DA, DiClemente RJ, eds. Injury and violence prevention: behavioral science theories, methods and applications. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2006: 213–233. 2. Zeeger CV et al. Guidance for implementation of AASHTO strategic highway safety plan: Volume 10: A guide for reducing collisions involving pedestrians. Washington, DC, Transportation Research Board, 2004. 3. Retting R, Ferguson S, McCartt A. A review of evidence-based traffic engineering measures designed to reduce pedestrian–motor vehicle crashes. American Journal of Public Health, 2003, 93: 1456–1463. 4. Peden M et al. World report on road traffic injury prevention. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2004. 5. Elvik R et al. The handbook of road safety measures, 2nd ed. Bingley, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2009. 6. Sleet DA. Naumann RB, Rudd RA. Injuries and the built environment. In: Dannenberg AL, Frumkin H, Jackson RJ. eds. Making healthy places: designing and building for health, well-being and sustainability. Washington, DC, Island Press, 2011: 77–90. 7. Zegeer CV, Bushell M. Pedestrian crash trends and potential countermeasures from around the world. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 2012, 44: 3–11. 8. Job RFS et al. Pedestrians at traffic light controlled intersections: crossing behaviour in the elderly and nonelderly. In: Smith K, Aitken BG, R.H. Grzebieta RH, eds. Proceedings of the conference on pedestrian safety. Canberra: Australian College of Road Safety & Federal Office of Road Safety, 1998:3–11. 9. Ryus P et al. Highway capacity manual 2010. Washington, DC, Transportation Research Board, 2011. 90
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Pedestrian safety A ROAD SAFETY MAN
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WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publicat
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Table of contents 2.1.1 Traffic mix
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vi Preface
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Preface Contributors and acknowledg
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x Executive summary
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Pedestrian safety: a road safety ma
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1 Why is addressing pedestrian safe
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2 Pedestrian safety in roadway desi
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• About 80% of bus commuters and
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area, for example, narrowing from a
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Figure 2.1 A comprehensive framewor
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