Analysis of Factors Contributing to "Walking Along Roadway" Crashes

There are a variety of factors widely acknowledged to have an impact on the risk of pedestrian motor-vehicle injuries. The factors that have been most extensively researched are geometric characteristics of the road, including the presence of sidewalks. In relevant epidemiological research, however, factors relating to demographics and neighborhood characteristics have been alluded to but not sufficiently researched. A case-control methodology has been used and conditional and binary logistic models have been applied to determine the effects of cross-sectional roadway design attributes and socioeconomic and other census block-group data on the likelihood that a site is a crash site. Analyzed were 47 crash sites and 94 comparison sites. Physical design factors found to be associated with a significantly higher likelihood of being a crash site are a higher speed limit; the lack of wide, grassy walkable areas; and the absence of sidewalks. When these roadway factors are controlled for, nongeometric factors associated with a significantly higher likelihood of being a crash site are high levels of unemployment, older housing stock, lower proportions of families within households, and more single parents. This information suggests that some neighborhoods may, due to increased exposure or specific types of exposure, be especially appropriate sites for pedestrian safety measures such as sidewalks, lower-speed roadway designs, and the addition of wide, grassy shoulders.