Pedestrian safety - Global Road Safety Partnership

More documents

Recommendations

Info

A road safety audit is a formal systematic road safety assessment or ‘checking’ of a road or a road scheme (4). The audit is generally conducted by an independent, multidisciplinary team. A pedestrian safety audit can be conducted as part of the broader road safety audit. It can also be conducted only for pedestrians. Whatever the scope, the essence of conducting a road safety or pedestrian safety audit is to examine the potential safety issues for any type of road, throughout the construction period, and on completed roads (5). A road safety audit seeks to ensure safety to all users, including pedestrians, by proactively and continuously identifying safety issues and making suggestions on measures and facilities to improve road safety. There is no standard method or approach for conducting pedestrian or road safety audits but the following questions are key for checking the safety of vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, on new projects and existing roads (6): • Have the requirements of pedestrians and cyclists been considered? • Have the needs of public transport and its users been taken into consideration? • Are public transport stops planned at intersections? • Are stops easily accessible by pedestrians? • Are further crossing aids required to reach the public transport stops? • Are public transport stops easily recognizable? • Are special measures required for particular groups, e.g. for young people, older people, sick people, physically handicapped, hearing-impaired or blind people? • Is lighting required and, if so, is it appropriately designed? • Is sight obstructed, for example, by safety barriers, fences, road equipment, parking areas, traffic signs, landscaping, greenery, bridge abutments, buildings? • Is cyclist routing safely designed in the area near public transport stops? Pedestrian safety: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners BOX 3.2: Assessing pedestrian risk using a road safety audit • Are vulnerable road users separated from motorized traffic? • Have pedestrian crossings been designated in such a way that collective use is guaranteed and pedestrians will not cross the road at other points? • Are crossings safe? • Are the pedestrian crossings located where they are most required by pedestrian traffic? • Is there a risk of pedestrian underpasses and bridges being bypassed? • Are crossings over special railway structures of a safe design? • Is two-way visual contact ensured between pedestrians and motorists? • Have cyclists’ requirements been considered (e.g. route across central refuges, bottlenecks)? • Is the transition safely designed if footpaths and cycle paths end on a road or are directed across the road? • Are further crossing aids required? • Are areas for pedestrians and cyclists sufficiently large and wide enough for them to stand and wait before crossing a street? • Are the islands clearly visible and of a suitable design? The following eight steps are generally followed in conducting a road safety audit (5): 1. Identify a project or an existing road for road safety audit. 2. Select a multidisciplinary road safety audit team. 3. Conduct a start-up meeting to exchange information. 4. Perform field reviews under various conditions. 5. Conduct a road safety analysis and prepare a report of findings. 6. Present road safety audit findings to project owner or design team. 7. Prepare a formal response. 8. Incorporate findings into project when appropriate. 3: Prioritizing pedestrian safety interventions and preparing a plan of action Continued… 47
Prioritizing pedestrian safety interventions and preparing a plan of action Continued from previous page A recent assessment of pedestrian facilities of a 24-kilometre road in the state of Kerala in India revealed a glaring absence of pedestrian facilities in road design (7). The picture below shows the situation at one of the sites that were assessed. No footpaths Without footpaths it is more likely that pedestrians will walk on the road, especially when it is raining Parked cars ‘Side friction’ means that pedestrians need to walk on the road to go around parked cars Street lights Pedestrians are more visible at night with street lighting Skid resistance In an emergency, vehicles can stop faster on skidresistant roads © iRAP No crossing facilities Pedestrians who need to cross the road have no choice but to share the space with motorized traffic Two lanes in each direction A pedestrian’s risk increases with each additional lane they must cross Narrow median Pedestrians are offered some opportunity to cross the road in two stages when there is a median 3.2.2 Assessing risk factors for pedestrian injury Several factors influence pedestrian traffic risk. In most cases it is impossible to identify and include every risk factor in the situational assessment. This section describes key questions about risk factors and suggested methods for obtaining answers to them. This process of assessment yields information on the role of roadway design, pedestrian facilities, speed, alcohol and visibility of pedestrians in the local travel environment. Further information on sources of data for analysing risk factors is available in Data systems: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners (2). What are the available pedestrian facilities and general road transport infrastructure? The influence of various roadway design elements on pedestrian risk was described in Module 2. While the situational assessment may not be able to cover all of these elements, it should at least address the following points (8–10): • Roadway design characteristics: For roads in the area under assessment, describe road classifications, design speeds, posted speed limits, and number and width of lanes. Describe the presence or lack of medians, traffic control devices, pedestrian crossings, kerb ramps, and pedestrian-directed signs and signals. Describe the presence or lack of streetlights, bicycle lanes, parked cars adjacent to the traffic lane, and other hazards to safe walking. 48
Page 1 and 2:
Pedestrian safety A ROAD SAFETY MAN
Page 3 and 4:
WHO Library Cataloguing-in-Publicat
Page 5 and 6:
Table of contents 2.1.1 Traffic mix
Page 7 and 8:
vi Preface
Page 9 and 10:
Preface Contributors and acknowledg
Page 11 and 12:
x Executive summary
Page 14 and 15: Pedestrian safety: a road safety ma
Page 18 and 19: 1 Why is addressing pedestrian safe
Page 42 and 43: 2 Pedestrian safety in roadway desi
Page 46 and 47: • About 80% of bus commuters and
Page 48 and 49: area, for example, narrowing from a
Page 54 and 55: Figure 2.1 A comprehensive framewor
Page 58 and 59: 3 Prioritizing pedestrian safety in
Page 62 and 63: Table 3.1 Pedestrian safety: a road
Page 76 and 77: References Pedestrian safety: a roa
Page 78 and 79: 4 Implementing pedestrian safety in
Page 86 and 87: The city of The Hague is located in
Page 92 and 93: 4.2.2 Reducing vehicle speeds Pedes
Page 94 and 95: Table 4.2 Pedestrian safety: a road
Page 106 and 107: BOX 4.10: Pedestrians with disabili
Page 112 and 113: 5 Evaluating pedestrian safety prog
Page 114 and 115:
Pedestrian safety: a road safety ma
Page 116 and 117:
Page 118 and 119:
• 79% of the crashes that killed
Page 120 and 121:
BOX 5.4: ‘Living End Roads’ The
Page 122 and 123:
Page 124 and 125:
AAppendices
Page 126 and 127:
Page 128 and 129:
Page 130 and 131:
Page 132:
World Health Organization 20 Avenue
show all

Pedestrian safety - Global Road Safety Partnership

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?