Effectiveness and Efficiencies in Pedestrian Safety

Pedestrian fatalities constitute 16 percent of total highway - related fatalities. Excluding motor vehicle occupants, pedestrians comprise the target single category of fatalities on the nation's streets and highways. A total of 85 percent of ! all pedestrian accidents and 60 percent of all pedestrian deaths occur on urban street In some large urban areas, 40 to 50 percent of the traffic deaths are pedestrians. Alcohol has been implicated with estimates of one of every three adult pedestrian accidents involving alcohol in urban areas. Poor visibility, or lack of conspicuity, has been identified as a contributing causal factor in a large number of nighttime and daytime pedestrian accidents. Pedestrian deaths have numbered about 8,000 annually and pedestrian injuries almost 150,000 annually.] NHTSA's countermeasure focus has been on planning, design, construction and use of pedestrian facilities t such as sidewalks, pathways, bridges and underpasses. Selected countermeasures include education, safety messages, model regulation, traffic engineering, and enforcement.. Also included are programs for the elderly and handicapped, parents and pre-school children, and improved visibility.