TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Is the safety-in-numbers effect still observed in areas with low pedestrian activities? A case study of a suburban area in the United States
JO  - Accident analysis and prevention
A1  - Lee, Jaeyoung
A1  - Abdel-Aty, Mohamed Ahmed
A1  - Xu, Pengpeng
A1  - Gong, Yaobang
SP  - 116
EP  - 123
VL  - 125
IS  - 
N2  - In previous studies, the safety-in-numbers effect has been found, which is a phenomenon that when the number of pedestrians or cyclists increases, their crash rates decrease. The previous studies used data from highly populated areas. It is questionable that the safety-in-numbers effect is still observed in areas with a low population density and small number of pedestrians. Thus, this study aims at analyzing pedestrian crashes in a suburban area in the United States and exploring if the safety-in-numbers effect is also observed. We employ a Bayesian random-parameter Poisson-lognormal model to evaluate the safety-in-numbers effects of each intersection, which can account for the heterogeneity across the observations. The results show that the safety-in-numbers effect were found only at 32 intersections out of 219. The intersections with the safety-in-numbers effect have relatively larger pedestrian activities whereas those without the safety-in-numbers effect have extremely low pedestrian activities. It is concluded that just encouraging walking might result in serious pedestrian safety issues in a suburban area without sufficient pedestrian activities. Therefore, it is plausible to provide safe walking environment first with proven countermeasures and a people-oriented policy rather than motor-oriented. After safe walking environments are guaranteed and when people recognize that walking is safe, more people will consider walking for short-distance trips. Eventually, increased pedestrian activities will result in the safety-in-numbers effects and walking will be even further safer.<br><br>Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0001-4575
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2019.01.037
ID  - ref1
ER  -