3. Emergency Medical Response

An emergency medical response (EMR) is frequently needed to manage pedestrian crash victim trauma. Occasionally, the driver and-or an occupant also experiences trauma. One of the objectives of the work of Utah CODES is to assess the post-EMR outcomes of motor vehicle collisions. A review of the pedestrian-vehicle cases would be useful. Suggestions for improvements in EMR might result from this effort. Relative to the preceding recommendation, research has shown that particular attention must be paid to head, abdominal and chest injuries, as these can be quite severe. An evaluation of the medical response and outcome for pedestrians who experience these types of injuries might be useful. The findings may serve to improve the EMR for pedestrians with these types of injuries.

Elderly pedestrians must be treated carefully, since pre-existing debilities can combine with vehicle collision injuries to produce outcomes that are of greater severity than injuries of a similar nature in younger pedestrians. An evaluation of the health outcomes of elderly pedestrian crash victims would be useful. The findings might indicate needs for post-traumatic care.

In contrast to some of the preceding recommendations, several authors have suggested that improved medical treatment will not necessarily improve pedestrian mortality. That is, the emphasis must be placed on preventing crashes. Despite the potential ineffectiveness of enhanced medical treatment in improving pedestrian mortality, however, Sklar et al. (1989) states that improved response and treatment for elderly pedestrians might indeed decrease the mortality rate.

4. Implementation

The following agencies and organizations would be among those responsible for implementing the recommendations offered in this report:

State Agencies

Utah Department of Environmental Quality: Air Quality Division (www.eq.state.ut.us/eqair)

Utah Department of Natural Resources: Parks and Recreation Division (www.nr.utah.gov/recreation.html)

Utah Department of Health: Division of Family Health Services, Child Injury Prevention Program (hlunix.hl.state.ut.us)

Utah Department of Public Safety: Driver License Division, Utah Highway Safety Office, and Utah Highway Patrol (www.dps.state.ut.us)

Utah Department of Transportation (www.dot.state.ut.us)

Utah Labor Commission: Utah Division of Occupational Safety and Health (www.labor.state.ut.us/Utah_Occupational_Safety__Hea)

Utah State Council for Health and Physical Activity (www.utahfitness.org)

Utah Office of Education (www.usoe.k12.ut.us)

State Organizations

Utah Chapter of Operation Lifesaver (www.co.utah.ut.us/org/utol/)

Utah Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (www.utcodes.org)

Utah Parent Teachers Association (www.pta.k12.ut.us)

Utah Safety Council (www.utahsafetycouncil.org)

Regional Planning Organizations

Cache Metropolitan Planning Organization (www.n1.net/~cachempo)

Wasatch Front Regional Council (www.wfrc.org)

Mountainlands Association of Governments (www.mountainland.org)

Public Transportation

Utah Transit Authority (www.utabus.com)

Local Agencies

City and county parks and recreation departments

City and county planning and engineering departments

City and county police and sheriff's departments

County health departments

Local school districts

The development of an implementation plan was beyond the scope of this research study.

5. Further Research

The issues and recommendations discussed in this report indicate needs for further research in the following areas. The findings should be of use in pedestrian-related policy development and in the formulation of safety enhancement strategies.

• Develop a pedestrian safety brochure to be included among the documents that are transferred at the time of purchase of a motor vehicle.
• Determine the number of citations that are issued to pedestrians, recognizing that the number varies by jurisdiction; also, ascertain the effects that driver and pedestrian enforcement have on pedestrian safety.
• Identify the relationships between pedestrian facilities, safety and demand. It is expected that pedestrian safety and demand are positively correlated with improved facilities; the converse is also expected.
• Evaluate the various pedestrian indexes that are currently in use and propose new ones, as needed. Such indexes have the potential to quantify "walkability."
• Perform field studies of intersections and corridors that have experienced recurring pedestrian-vehicle collisions. Examine pedestrian volumes, behavior, and facilities, measure traffic volumes and vehicle speeds, and develop site-specific mitigating strategies, including lighting improvements.
• Examine pedestrian safety in the vicinity of public transit stops; a national study, sponsored by the TCRP, is under development.
• Collect data on the amount of walking that people do, including walk trip distances, purposes and frequencies. Compare pedestrian-vehicle crash numbers to walking amounts.
• Study child pedestrian safety near schools, paying particular attention to the ages of the children and the level of motor vehicle activity.
• Determine the extent to which child pedestrian safety on Halloween is a problem. Develop mitigating strategies.
• Examine area-wide pedestrian-vehicle crash data, looking for correlations with income levels, household sizes, and other demographic measures.
• Examine wintertime pedestrian safety data. Work toward establishing correlations with wintertime pedestrian volumes and snow clearance policies.
• Review the effectiveness of the Pedestrian Safety and Facilities Act. For example, how many pedestrian safety devices have been introduced as a result of the Act? Has pedestrian safety improved?
• Determine the impact of freeway crossing pedestrian warning signs on pedestrian safety.
• Study pedestrian behavior at various types of crossings in Utah; consider the ages and abilities of the pedestrians.
• Study vehicle speeds and driver behavior near marked crossings at unsignalized locations.
• Determine the level of usage and safety impacts of pedestrian crossing flags.
• Develop alternative, pedestrian-oriented signal phasing strategies for intersections featuring wide street crossings.