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Pedestrian and Bicyclist Intersection Safety Indices

Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-06-125
Date: November 2006

The Pedestrian and Bicyclist Intersection Safety Indices (ISI) Calculators that accompany this user manual are available in a Microsoft® Excel® spreadsheet format. Full functionality is only available in the Excel download. [Download pedestrian calculator HTML , Excel] [Download bicycle calculator calculator HTML , Excel]

Pedestrian and Bicyclist Intersection Safety Indices

Final Report

PDF Version (2.25)

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Research, Development, and Technology
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike
McLean, VA 22101-2296

Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety

FOREWORD

The primary objective of this study was to develop safety indices to allow engineers, planners, and other practitioners to proactively prioritize intersection crosswalks and intersection approaches with respect to pedestrian and bicycle safety. The models in this study use easilycollected, observable characteristics of an intersection to produce safety index values. Practitioners will be able to use these models on a small or large scale to determine where best to focus efforts to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

Michael Trentacoste, Director
Director, Office of Safety
Research and Development

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE

1. Report No. FHWA-HRT-06-125	2. Government Accession No.	3. Recipient’s Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle Pedestrian and Bicyclist Intersection Safety Indices: Final Report		5. Report Date November 2006
		6. Performing Organization Code
7.Author(s) Daniel L. Carter, William W. Hunter, Charles V. Zegeer, J. Richard Stewart, and Herman F. Huang		8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center Highway Safety Research Center University of North Carolina 730 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, CB #3430 Chapel Hill, NC 27599		10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)
		11. Contract or Grant No. DTFH61-02-C-00007
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center Federal Highway Administration 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101		13. Type of Report and Period Covered Final Report, 2001–2005
		14. Sponsoring Agency’s Code
15. Supplementary Notes Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR): Ann Do, HRDS-06
16. Abstract The primary objective of this study was to develop safety indices to allow engineers, planners, and other practitioners to proactively prioritize intersection crosswalks and intersection approaches with respect to pedestrian and bicycle safety. The study involved collecting data on pedestrian and bicycle crashes, conflicts, avoidance maneuvers, and subjective ratings of intersection video clips by pedestrian and bicycle experts. There were a total of 68 intersection crosswalks selected for the pedestrian analysis from the cities of Philadelphia, PA; San Jose, CA; and Miami-Dade County, FL. The bicycle analysis included 67 intersection approaches from Gainesville, FL; Philadelphia, PA; and Portland and Eugene, OR. Prioritization models were developed based on expert safety ratings and behavioral data. Indicative variables included in the pedestrian safety index model included type of intersection control (signal or stop sign), number of through lanes, 85th percentile vehicle speed, main street traffic volume, and area type. Indicative variables in the bicycle safety models (for through, right-turn, and left-turn bike movements) included various combinations of: presence of bicycle lane, main and cross street traffic volumes, number of through lanes, presence of on-street parking, main street speed limit, presence of traffic signal, number of turn lanes, and others. Through a user-friendly guide, practitioners will be able to use the safety indices to identify which crosswalks and intersection approaches have the highest priority for in-depth pedestrian and bicycle safety evaluations and subsequently use other tools to identify and address potential safety problems.
17. Key Words Pedestrian safety, bicyclist safety, safety index, safety rating, crosswalk safety, intersection prioritization.		18. Distribution Statement No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161.
19. Security Classif. (of this report) Unclassified	20. Security Classif. (of this page) Unclassified	21. No. of Pages 96	22. Price

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Reproduction of completed page authorized

SI* (Modern Metric) Conversion Factors

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER 3. APPROACH METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER 4. SITE SELECTION

CHAPTER 5. DATA COLLECTION

CHAPTER 6. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND MODEL DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION

APPENDIX A: DATA COLLECTION INSTRUCTIONS AND FORMS

APPENDIX B. CONFLICTS INVOLVING BICYCLISTS

APPENDIX C. WEB SITES FOR SAFETY RATINGS SURVEY

APPENDIX D. LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT ONLINE VIDEO-BASED SURVEYS

REFERENCES

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. Hierarchical order of safety measures

Figure 2. Video camera position for pedestrian data collection

Figure 3. Video camera positions for bicyclist data collection

Figure 4. Illustration for pedestrian survey

Figure 5. Video clip for pedestrian survey

Figure 6. Illustration for bicyclist survey

Figure 7. Video clip for bicyclist survey

Figure 8. Ratings distribution at pedestrian sites

Figure 9. Ratings distribution for through movements at bicycle sites

Figure 10. Ratings distribution for right turns at bicycle sites

Figure 11. Ratings distribution for left turns at bicycle sites

Figure 12. Bicycle facility types

Figure 13. Matrix of pedestrian safety countermeasures associated with various objectives

Figure 14. Matrix of pedestrian safety countermeasures associated with various objectives (continued)

Figure 15. Matrix of bicyclist safety countermeasures associated with various objectives

Figure 16. Matrix of bicyclist safety countermeasures associated with various objectives (continued)

Figure 17. Intersection Leg Labels

Figure 18. Camera Position #1

Figure 19. Camera Position #2

Figure 20. Camera Position #3

Figure 21. Camera Position #4

Figure 22. Pedestrian survey introduction page

Figure 23. Bicycle survey introduction page

Figure 24. Preliminary pedestrian user questions

Figure 25. Preliminary bicyclist user questions

Figure 26. Pedestrian survey instructions

Figure 27. Bicycle survey instructions

Figure 28. Sample pedestrian video clips page

Figure 29. Sample bicycle video clips page

Figure 30. Top of pedestrian rating page

Figure 31. Top of bicycle rating page

Figure 32. Bottom of pedestrian rating page

Figure 33. Bottom of bicycle rating page

Figure 34. Edit answers page for pedestrian survey

Figure 35. Edit answers page for bicycle survey

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Summary of Crash Data

Table 2. Pedestrian conflicts and avoidance maneuvers

Table 3. Motorist conflicts and avoidance maneuvers at pedestrian events

Table 4. Bicyclist avoidance maneuvers

Table 5. Motorist avoidance maneuvers at bicyclist events

Table 6. Pedestrian survey participants

Table 7. Bicyclist survey participants

Table 8. Summary of site average ratings

Table 9. Variables used in bicycle analysis

Table 10. Through-movement bicycle ratings model

Table 11. Right-turn bicycle ratings model

Table 12. Left-turn bicycle ratings model

Table 13. Behavioral model for through bicyclists

Table 14. Behavioral model for right-turning bicyclists

Table 15. Behavioral model for left-turning bicyclists

Table 16. Final bike ISI models

Table 17. Variables used in bike ISI models

Table 18. Variables used in pedestrian analysis

Table 19. Pedestrian rating model

Table 20. Pedestrian behavioral model

Table 21. Final Ped ISI model

Table 22. Variables used in Ped ISI model

Table 23. Characteristics of pedestrian and bicyclist safety measures

Table 24. Comparison of pedestrian safety measures

Table 25. Comparison of bicycle safety measures

Table 26. Field versus video ratings for pedestrian local study

Table 27. Field versus video ratings for bicycle local study

Table 28. Bicycle intersection safety index (Bike ISI)

Table 29. Pedestrian intersection safety index (Ped ISI)

FHWA-HRT-06-125

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Page Owner: Office of Research, Development, and Technology, Office of Safety, RDT

Topics: research, safety, pedestrian & bicycle safety, intersection safety
Keywords: research, safety, pedestrian safety, bicyclist safety, safety index, safety rating, crosswalk safety, intersection prioritization
TRT Terms: pedestrian safety, bicycle travel, intersections
Scheduled Update: Archive - No Update needed

This page last modified on 03/08/2016