Pedestrian Safety at Signalized Intersections

Nationwide, more than 47,000 pedestrians were killed between 2000 and 2009, representing about 12% of the total highway traffic fatalities. In addition, nearly 700,000 pedestrians were injured over the same period. In Florida, one in every five traffic-related fatalities is a pedestrian, making pedestrian safety a top priority for safety improvements. This paper focuses on the analysis of pedestrian safety at signalized intersections. Since pedestrian crashes are rare and often severe, mere analysis of pedestrian crash summary records is not adequate. The underlying pedestrian crash patterns and causes were identified by reviewing police reports. During 2008-2010, police reports of a total of 2,951 pedestrian crashes that occurred at signalized intersections on state roads in Florida were reviewed. The review focused on collecting detailed crash specific information, such as identifying at-fault road user, presence and type of crosswalk at crash location, etc.