Editing Pedestrian (section)

==Safety==
[[File:ZoSS.jpg|thumb|A crossing for school children in [[Jakarta]]]]
Safety is an important issue where cars can cross the pedestrian way. Drivers and pedestrians share some responsibility for improving safety of road users.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://exchange.aaa.com/safety/pedestrian-safety/tips-pedestrian-safety/|title=Tips for Pedestrian Safety|work=AAA Exchange|access-date=7 May 2018}}</ref> Road traffic crashes are not inevitable; they are both predictable and preventable.<ref name="who.int" />

Key risks for pedestrians are well known. Among the well-documented factors are driver behaviour (including speeding and drunk driving); infrastructure missing facilities (including pavements, crossings and [[Refuge island|islands]]); and vehicle designs which are not forgiving to pedestrians struck by a vehicle.<ref name="who.int" /> The Traffic Injury Research Foundation describes pedestrians as vulnerable road users because they are not protected in the same way as occupants of motor vehicles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tirf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/RSM_2008_Cyclists_Pedestrians_final.pdf|title=The Road Safety Monitor 2008. Pedestrians and Bicyclists|work=Traffic Injury Research Foundation|pages=37|access-date=13 April 2018}}</ref> There is an increasing focus on pedestrians versus motor vehicles in many countries.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Most pedestrian injuries occur while they are crossing a street.<ref name="who.int" /> In the United States, 20% of pedestrian crash fatalities are linked to jaywalking, defined as improper crossing of a roadway or intersection.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Team |first=Legal |date=2025-01-03 |title=Deadly Crossings: An Analysis of Fatal Pedestrian Crashes and Jaywalking |url=https://www.jacobyandmeyers.com/blog/fatal-pedestrian-crash-study/ |access-date=2025-02-20 |website=Jacoby & Meyers Law Offices |language=en}}</ref> Most crashes involving a pedestrian occur at night.<ref name="who.int" /> Most pedestrian fatalities are killed by a frontal impact. In such a situation, an adult pedestrian is struck by a car front (for instance, the bumper touches either the leg or knee-joint area), accelerating the lower part of the body forward while "the upper body is rotated and accelerated relative to the car," at which point the pelvis and thorax are hit.<ref name="who.int" /> Then the head hits the windscreen at the velocity of the striking car. Finally, the victim falls to the ground.<ref name="who.int" />

Research has shown that urban crimes, or the mere perception of crimes, severely affect the mental and physical health of pedestrians. Inter-pedestrian behaviour, without the involvement of vehicles, is also a key factor to pedestrian safety.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wu |first1=Yifei |last2=Li |first2=Hansong |title=Signalling security: An observational and game theory approach to inter-pedestrian psychology |journal=Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour |date=April 2022 |volume=86 |pages=238–251 |doi=10.1016/j.trf.2022.02.017 |bibcode=2022TRPF...86..238W |s2cid=247483300 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1369847822000419}}</ref>

Five states – Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Texas – are the site of 46% of all pedestrian deaths in the United States.<ref name="Aratani">{{cite news |last=Aratani |first=Lauren |date=12 March 2019 |title='Boulevards of death': why pedestrian road fatalities are surging in the US |url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/mar/12/boulevards-of-death-why-pedestrian-road-fatalities-are-surging-in-the-us |access-date=17 March 2019 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=[[Guardian News & Media Limited]]}}</ref>
The advent of [[SUV]]s is considered a leading cause;<ref name="Freep">{{cite news |last1=Eric D. Lawrence, Nathan Bomey and Kristi Tanner |title=Death on foot: America's love of SUVs is killing pedestrians |url=https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2018/06/28/suvs-killing-americas-pedestrians/646139002/ |access-date=24 December 2019 |work=www.freep.com |agency=[[Detroit Free Press]] |date=1 July 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214084336/https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2018/06/28/suvs-killing-americas-pedestrians/646139002/ |archive-date=14 December 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> speculation of other factors includes population growth, driver distraction with mobile phones, poor street lighting, alcohol and drugs and speeding.<ref name="Aratani" />

Cities have had mixed results in addressing pedestrian safety with [[Vision Zero]] plan: Los Angeles fails while NYC has had success. Nonetheless, in the US, some pedestrians have just 40 seconds to cross a street 10 lanes wide.<ref name="Aratani" />

Pedestrian fatalities are much more common in accident situations in the European Union than in the United States. In the European Union countries, more than 200,000 pedestrians and cyclists are injured annually.<ref name="safetyresearch.net">{{cite web|url=http://www.safetyresearch.net/blog/articles/european-pedestrian-crash-standards-will-make-global-changes-car-design-inevitable|title=European Pedestrian Crash Standards Will Make Global Changes in Car Design Inevitable|date=1 April 2005|work=Safety Research & Strategies, Inc.|access-date=7 May 2018}}</ref> Also, each year, more than 270 000 pedestrians lose their lives on the world's roads.<ref name="who.int" /> At a global level pedestrians constitute 22% of all road deaths,<ref name="who.int" /> but might be two-thirds in some countries.<ref name="who.int" />
Pedestrian fatalities, in 2016, were{{needs update|date=April 2024}} 2.6 per million population in the Netherlands, 4.3 in Sweden, 4.5 in Wales, 5.3 in New Zealand, 6.0 in Germany; 7.1 in the whole United Kingdom, 7.5 in Australia, 8.4 in France, 8.4 in Spain, 9.4 in Italy, 11.1 in Israel, 13 in Japan, 13.8 in Greece, 18.5 in the United States, 22.9 in Poland, and 36.3 in Romania.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/743242/ras52001.ods|title = Reported road accidents, vehicles and casualties tables for Great Britain| date=19 December 2024 }}</ref>

===Safety trends===
{|
|{{Graph:Chart|width=400|height=200|xAxisTitle=Year|yAxisTitle=Killed|legend=Pedestrians killed on road|type=line|x=2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019
|y1=  ,,,,,,, 4699, 4414, 4109, 4302, 4457, 4818, 4779, 4910, 5495, 5987
|y2=  ,,,,,,, 
,,,
 4302,
 4457,
 4818,
 4779,
 4910,
 5494,
 6080,
 6075,
 6374,
6205,

|y3=  ,,,,,,, 8342,7865,6828,6140,6232,5647,5503,5506,5265,5320
|y4 = ,,,,,,,,,, 5952,5986,5441,5308,5246,4998,4966,4870,4763,4668

|xType=date
|xAxisFormat=%Y
|colors=#80ae3C01,#807171fe,#80019A37,#80Fe7e01,#804674C0,#80FeAaA5
|y1Title=United-States
|y2Title=United-States (source NHTSA 2019)
|y3Title=European Union
|y4Title=European Union (27 member states), source ERSO (2010-2019)
|xGrid=1
|yGrid=1
|yAxisGrid=1
|yAxisMin=0 }}
|-
| colspan="2" |
* EU: Source CARE,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/sites/roadsafety/files/pdf/statistics/dacota/bfs20xx_pedestrians.pdf |title=Pedestrians |year=2018 |work=Traffic Safety Basic Facts |publisher=European Road Safety Observatory |access-date=9 March 2019 |agency=[[European Commission]]}}</ref> 2010-2019: Source ERSO.<ref>
European Commission (2021) Road safety thematic report – Fatigue. European
Road Safety Observatory. Brussels, European Commission, Directorate General for
Transport</ref>
* United States: Source NHTSA 2016<ref>{{cite journal |year=2016 |title=Pedestrians |url=https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812493 |publisher=[[U.S. Department of Transportation]]|access-date=9 March 2019 |journal=Traffic Safety Facts}}</ref> (FARS ARF), NHTSA 2019<ref>National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2021, May). Pedestrians: 2019 data (Traffic Safety Facts. Report No. DOT HS 813 079). National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.</ref>
|}

===Road design impact on safety===
[[File:Forumhelsinkikauppakeskuskadunylitys.JPG|thumb|Pedestrians ready across the street next to the [[Forum (shopping centre)|Forum]] shopping center in [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]]]]
It is well documented that a minor increase in speed might greatly increase the likelihood of a crash, and exacerbate resulting casualties. For this reason, the recommended maximum speed is {{convert|30|km/h|-1|abbr=on}} or {{convert|40|km/h|0|abbr=on}} in residential and high pedestrian traffic areas, with enforced traffic rules on speed limits
and traffic-calming measures.<ref name="who.int" />

[[File:Euro-pedestrian traffic light.gif|thumb|upright=0.6|[[Traffic light]]s for pedestrians are also a factor in increasing safety. Animated pedestrian traffic light showing the pan-European sign.]]
The design of road and streets plays a key role in pedestrian safety. Roads are too often designed for motorized vehicles, without taking into account pedestrian and bicycle needs. The non-existence of sidewalk and signals increases risk for pedestrians. This defect might more easily be observed on arterial roadways, intersections and fast-speed lanes without adequate attention to pedestrian facilities.<ref name="who.int" /> For instance, an assessment of roads in countries from many continents shows that 84% of roads are without pedestrian footpaths, while maximum limited speed is greater than 40&nbsp;km/h.<ref name="who.int" />

Among the factors which reduce road safety for pedestrians are wider lanes, roadway widening, and roadways designed for higher speeds and with increased numbers of traffic lanes.<ref name="who.int" />

For this reason, some European cities such as [[Freiburg]] (Germany) have lowered the speed limit to 30&nbsp;km/h on 90% of its streets, to reduce risk for its 15 000 people. With such policy, 24% of daily trips are performed by foot, against 28% by bicycles, 20% by public transport and 28% by car. (See [[Zone 30]].)<ref name="who.int" />

A similar set of policies to discourage the use of cars and increase safety for pedestrians has been implemented by the Northern European capitals of Oslo and Helsinki. In 2019, this resulted in both cities counting zero pedestrian deaths for the first time.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/16/how-helsinki-and-oslo-cut-pedestrian-deaths-to-zero |title=How Helsinki and Oslo cut pedestrian deaths to zero |first=Jessica |last=Murray |date=16 March 2020 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London}}</ref>

===Seasonality===

In Europe, pedestrian fatalities have a seasonal factor, with 6% of annual fatalities occurring in April but 13% (twice more) in December. The rationale for such a change might be complex.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Traffic Safety: Basic Facts 2018 |url=https://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/sites/roadsafety/files/pdf/statistics/dacota/bfs2018_seasonality.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727202236/https://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/sites/roadsafety/files/pdf/statistics/dacota/bfs2018_seasonality.pdf |archive-date=27 July 2020 |access-date=27 July 2020 |website=European Road Safety Observatory}}</ref>