Acknowledgements

The research presented in this paper was supported by finding from the Mountain-Plains Consortium (U.S. Department of Transportation) and the Utah Department of Transportation through the Utah Transportation Center.

Disclaimer

The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the information presented. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program, in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof.

Executive Summary

The essential findings and issues regarding pedestrian safety in Utah are:

• There were 687 pedestrian-vehicle crashes reported in Utah in 2000, representing a reduction of 11.1 percent since 1997.
• There were 33 pedestrian fatalities reported in Utah in 2000. This value represented the reversal of a trend that had seen the number of fatalities increase from 25 in 1993 to 35 in 1999.
• The portion of pedestrians injured in pedestrian-vehicle collisions increased from 69 percent in 1993 to 94 percent in 2000.
• One conjecture is that larger vehicles in Utah's traffic stream are contributing to the increasing pedestrian injury rate.
• Based on 1997-1998 data, Utah had the third-highest child pedestrian fatality rate (1.7 fatalities per 100,000 children) in the United States.
• Also, based on 1997-1998 data, Salt Lake City-Ogden was the 12th "most dangerous" metropolitan area in the United States for pedestrians. This information, published in the annual Mean Streets report, is awarded national attention including publication in USA Today.
• Of the 1998-1999 pedestrian-vehicle crashes in Utah, 92.6 percent occurred in six heavily urbanized counties: Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Washington, and Weber. These counties were home to 84.4 percent of Utah's population in 2000.
• Based on 1997-1999 pedestrian-vehicle crash data, 15 cities featured one or more sites or corridors with multiple incidents: Kaysville, Logan, Murray, Ogden, Orem, Provo, Riverdale, Roy, St. George, Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Springville, Taylorsville, West Jordan, and West Valley City.
• Also, based on 1997-1999 data, 117 sites located along federal-aid roads experienced one or more pedestrian-vehicle crashes per year.
• In 2000, 31.7 percent of the drivers involved in pedestrian-vehicle collisions were between the ages of 15 and 24; one driver was under age 15. The drivers in the 15-24 age group represented 23.2 percent of all drivers in Utah in 1999.
• In 2000, persons under age 20 and over age 65 represented 54 percent of all pedestrians involved in motor vehicle collisions. In Utah and nationally, these age groups are the most vulnerable to pedestrian-vehicle crashes.
• Utah has the highest ratio of persons under age 20 and over age 64 to persons between ages 20 and 64 in the United States, at 90.1 per 100; the ratio is expected to increase to 97.7 by 2025.

Numerous additional findings and issues are presented in the report. This report also presents a number of recommendations in multiple areas. The No. 1 recommendation is that multiple interventions be implemented to improve and maintain pedestrian safety. To rectify the issues and concerns, a combination of education, engineering, enforcement, monitoring, medical response and policy is required. The following represent the key recommendations:

• An effort should be made in driver education courses to enhance the level of pedestrian awareness.
• Pedestrian safety should be expanded on in the Utah Driver Handbook.
• Pedestrian safety questions should be included on the state driver licensing examination.
• A pedestrian safety brochure or pamphlet should be included with the documents that are transferred at the time of purchase of a vehicle, particularly large private vehicles (sport utility vehicles, vans and full-size pickups). Research has shown that pedestrians are more susceptible to severe injuries and fatalities in collisions with large private vehicles than with small vehicles.
• Pedestrian safety training should be instituted for the elderly, particularly to reevaluate cognitive skills and reiterate street-crossing fundamentals.
• Child pedestrian safety training should involve parents.
• Pedestrian safety training should emphasize aspects such as the effects of alcohol, how to select an appropriate time to cross, looking behavior, the visibility of pedestrians to motorists, and the need for increased alertness after the changeover from daylight savings to standard time.
• Specialized pedestrian safety efforts are needed adjacent to high school and college campuses, and in residential areas on Halloween.
• Pedestrian-vehicle collision data should be monitored and studied on an ongoing basis. Utah CODES prepares annual summaries of Utah's traffic safety statistics, but additional, ongoing work is needed to identify site-specific problems and assess the impacts of improvements.
• Gather data on the amount that people walk. Research suggests that the amount of walking has been declining since the 1970s. Basing pedestrian crash statistics on pedestrian-miles traveled rather than population or vehicle-miles traveled would clarify pedestrian safety trends.
• A statewide policy for grade-separated pedestrian crossings should be developed.
• Innovative traffic signal phasing strategies should be employed to enhance pedestrian safety and minimize pedestrian-vehicle conflicts.
• New pedestrian safety measures such as crossing flags and countdown pedestrian indicators appear to be successful, but need to be formally evaluated.
• Safe walk-to-school routes should be evaluated; alternative routes may be suggested, and guidelines for future school sites may be developed.
• Lengthened green phases should be considered at intersections near senior living centers and where there is a large number of elderly pedestrians. Elderly pedestrians require, on average, 50 percent more time to cross a street than younger pedestrians.
• The economics of pedestrian-vehicle collisions should be studied, including liability issues, the costs of injuries and fatalities, and the benefits of improvements.
• Freeway pedestrian crossing warning signs should be installed at freeway sites and along freeway corridors that have recurring pedestrian incidents.
• Innovative funding mechanisms are needed to finance pedestrian safety improvements. Existing programs, such as Transportation Enhancements, Safe Sidewalks, and Community Development Block Grants, while indispensable, are somewhat restrictive on the projects that can be supported.
• Because the risks to pedestrian safety increase at night, illumination should be considered as a mitigating strategy.