PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE CRASH TYPES OF THE EARLY 1990'S

The purpose of this research was to apply the basic National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) pedestrian and bicyclist typologies to a sample of recent crashes and to refine and update the crash type distributions with particular attention to roadway and locational factors. Five thousand pedestrian-motor vehicle crashes and 3,000 bicycle-motor vehicle crashes were coded in a population-based sample drawn from the states of California, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Utah. Nearly a third of the pedestrians were struck at or near [within 16 m (50 ft) of] an intersection. Midblock events were the second major pedestrian crash type grouping, representing over a fourth (26%) of all crashes. The bicycle-motor vehicle crash types distributed as: (1) parallel paths - 36%, (2) crossing paths - 57%, and (3) specific circumstances - 6%. Most frequent parallel path crashes were motorist turn/merge into bicyclist's path (34.4% of all parallel path crashes), motorist overtaking (24.2%), and bicyclist turn/merge into motorist's path (20.6%). Most frequent crossing path crashes were motorist failed to yield (37.7% of crossing path crashes), bicyclist failed to yield at an intersection (29.1%), and bicyclist failed to yield midblock (20.5%). Future safety considerations should be systemwide and include an examination of intersections and other junctions, well designed facilities, and increased awareness of pedestrians and bicyclists by motor vehicle drivers.