Citation

Schneider RJ, Stefanich J. Transp. Res. Rec. 2016; 2601: 72-83.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.3141/2601-09

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Annual pedestrian and bicycle fatalities remained steady while motor vehicle fatalities declined in the United States during the past decade; this balance underscores the need for better methods of pedestrian and bicycle safety analysis. This study presents a new method for classifying pedestrian and bicycle crashes called the location-movement classification method (LMCM) and shows that the LMCM provides useful information that is not captured by a well-established NHTSA crash typology. Both typologies were applied to a sample of 296 pedestrian and 229 bicycle crashes reported in Wisconsin between 2011 and 2013. The LMCM revealed that pedestrian crashes of all injury severity levels were significantly more likely to be on the farside than the nearside of intersections. Pedestrian crashes were significantly more likely to be fatal than nonsevere when they involved motorists traveling straight, were along roadways between intersections, and involved pedestrians approaching from the motorist's left. Bicycle crashes were significantly more likely to be fatal than nonsevere when they involved motorists traveling straight, were along roadways between intersections, and involved motorists traveling in the same direction as the bicyclist. The LMCM can be used to support engineering, education, and enforcement treatments to reduce pedestrian and bicycle, crashes, injuries, and fatalities.

Language: en