Pedestrians 216
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Contents Contents... 3 Key facts... 4 Risk... 4 Time series... 5 Who gets injured?... 6 When do injuries occur?... 7 Where do injuries occur?... 8 Types of crash... 8 Who was at fault?... 9 Pedestrian factors... 1 Skateboarders and wheeled pedestrians... 1 Terminology... 11 3
Key facts In 215, 25 pedestrians died, 252 pedestrians were seriously injured, and 61 pedestrians suffered minor injuries in police-reported crashes on New Zealand roads. The total social cost 1 of policereported crashes involving pedestrians was approximately $38 million. This is about 1 percent of the social cost associated with all fatal or injury crashes in 215. Risk Walking is one of the safest modes of travel available. It carries the second lowest risk of death or injury per time unit travelled on New Zealand roads. Figure 1: Deaths/injuries in motor vehicle crashes per million hours spent travelling (July 21 June 214, all ages) 2 Deaths/injuries per million hours spent travelling 18 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Motorcyclists Cyclists Light 4 wheeled vehicle drivers Light 4 wheeled vehicle passengers Pedestrians Bus passengers Mode of travel 1 Definitions of fatal, serious and minor injuries and social cost are in Terminology at the end of the fact sheet. 4
Time series Figure 2: Pedestrian fatalities (1995 215) Fatalities 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Year Table 1: Pedestrian deaths and injuries (199 215, police-reported crashes) Deaths Injuries Year Number % of all fatalities Number % of all injuries 199 14 14.3% 1,161 6.6% 1991 88 13.5% 1,15 6.% 1992 76 11.8% 1,7 6.2% 1993 74 12.3% 949 6.3% 1994 54 9.3% 1,63 6.4% 1995 71 12.2% 1,53 6.2% 1996 63 12.3% 969 6.5% 1997 54 1.% 925 6.9% 1998 71 14.2% 93 7.5% 1999 63 12.4% 895 7.5% 2 35 7.6% 958 8.7% 21 52 11.4% 994 8.% 22 45 11.1% 1,73 7.6% 23 59 12.8% 1,72 7.4% 24 38 8.7% 1,21 7.3% 25 31 7.7% 957 6.5% 26 45 11.5% 969 6.3% 27 45 1.7% 886 5.5% 28 31 8.5% 946 6.2% 29 31 8.1% 925 6.3% 21 36 9.6% 972 6.9% 211 31 1.9% 887 7.% 212 33 1.7% 923 7.6% 213 3 11.9% 842 7.1% 214 43 14.7% 835 7.4% 215 25 7.8% 862 7.% 5
Who gets injured? The following graph shows the annual average number of deaths and injuries by age group. The greatest numbers of people killed and injured are between the ages of 5 and 24 years. (The 5 year period July 29 to June 214 is used to match the travel survey data used in the later risk curve.) Figure 3: Pedestrian deaths and injuries in motor vehicle crashes Pedestrian deaths and injuries - annual average July 29 - June 214 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Age group (years) If the number of hours spent walking (based on the New Zealand Household Travel Survey) for different age groups is taken into account, children aged 5 9 years and pedestrians aged 8 years and above are the most at-risk groups. Figure 4: Pedestrian deaths and injuries in motor vehicle crashes per million hours spent walking Pedestrian deaths/injuries per million hours walked 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Age group (years) Source: Crash Analysis System, New Zealand Household Travel Survey (July 29 June 214) Note: This data does not take fragility into account; that is the differing ability of different age groups to withstand the same degree of force in a crash 6
When do injuries occur? The graph below shows the number of pedestrians injured in crashes involving motor vehicles for 211-215, by time of day. The highest numbers of child pedestrians are injured between 2pm and 4pm, followed by 4pm to 6pm and 8am to 1am. Adult pedestrians are injured in relatively steady numbers from 8am until 8pm, after which the numbers begin to drop off. Figure 5: Pedestrian deaths/injuries in motor vehicle crashes by time of day (211 215) Children (under 18 years) Adults (18 years and over) 6 Pedestrian deaths/injuries 5 4 3 2 1 Time of day When the number of reported pedestrian injuries is adjusted by the time spent walking (based on the New Zealand Household Travel Survey), children (under 18 years) are found to be at the highest risk in the late afternoon and evening. For adults, the risk of injury per hour spent walking is spread more evenly across different hours of the day, with an increase towards the later part of the evening. 7
Figure 6: Pedestrian deaths/injuries in motor vehicle crashes per million hours walked (July 29 June 214) Pedestrian deaths/injuries per million hours walked 18 16 14 12 1 8 6 4 2 Children (under 18 years) Adults (18 years and over) ( y ) Hour of day Note: Values have not been calculated for adults between 1 pm and 6 am and for children between 8 pm and 6 am as the number of trips was too small to provide reliable estimates. Where do injuries occur? Figure 7: Police-reported pedestrian casualties by road type Major urban road and urban state highway, 53% Minor urban road, 4% Open road, 7% More than nine in every 1 reported pedestrian casualties occurred on urban roads (those with a speed limit of 7km/h or less). Over half (53 percent) of all pedestrian casualties occurred on major urban roads (typically busy arterials). Forty percent happened on minor urban roads and 7 percent on roads with speed limits of over 7km/h. The majority (86 percent) of reported pedestrian casualties on urban roads occurred when the pedestrian involved was crossing the road. About two-thirds (66 percent) of these casualties occurred when the pedestrian was crossing the road in an uncontrolled area (for example, not at a pedestrian crossing or traffic lights). 8
Types of crash Two specific crash movements accounted for about 6 percent of all motor vehicle crashes involving a pedestrian reported to the police between 211 and 215: Pedestrian crossing road 38% This type of crash involves the pedestrian being struck while crossing from the left side of the road. Pedestrian crossing road 22% This type of crash involves the pedestrian being struck while crossing from the right side of the road. Who was at fault? Pedestrians had the primary responsibility 2 for about half of all crashes resulting in the injury of pedestrians. Fault is assigned to a pedestrian only if the driver of the vehicle involved was not found to have the primary responsibility for the crash. When the driver is found to have primary responsibility in a crash involving a pedestrian, multiple causes are possible, but the most common contributing factors are did not see other party (44 percent of at-fault drivers in fatal or serious injury crashes) and inattention or attention diverted (31 percent of at-fault drivers in fatal or serious injury crashes). Failing to give way (22 percent of at-fault drivers in fatal or serious injury crashes) and alcohol/drugs (8 percent of at-fault drivers in fatal or serious injury crashes) are also common contributing factors. 2 The determination of primary responsibility for a crash is based on the crash movements and crash cause factors assigned in the Crash Analysis System. It is not based on legal liability or court conviction. Fault/responsibility here only considers driver and rider factors contributing to the crash. There may also be road or system factors that contributed to the crash. 9
Pedestrian factors The most frequent pedestrian factors associated with fatal crashes are crossing the road heedless of traffic, wearing dark clothing, and/or being visibly intoxicated. Running into the road heedless of traffic and unsupervised child are also common pedestrian factors for those under the age of 18. Figure 8: Ten most frequent pedestrian factors contributing to a fatal crash Pedestrian child escaped from supervision Walking along road not keeping to side of road Children (under 18 years) Adults (18 years and over) Pedestrian unsupervised child Walking along road not keeping to side of road Stepping out from behind parked vehicle Crossing road running heedless of traffic Pedestrian playing on road or unnecessarily on road Visibly intoxicated non-driver Pedestrian wearing dark clothing Crossing heedless of traffic 1 2 3 4 5 Fatalities Note: more than one of these factors could be attributed to any individual crash. Approximately 7 percent of all police-reported pedestrian casualties between 211 and 215 were reported as being visibly intoxicated, and this rose to 1 percent for pedestrians aged over 18. These intoxicated pedestrians accounted for 39 fatalities (24 percent of all pedestrian fatalities), 88 serious injuries (8 percent), and 185 minor injuries (6 percent). Skateboarders and wheeled pedestrians Other road users with similar fragility characteristics to pedestrians are skateboarders and wheeled pedestrians, such as mobility scooter users, wheelchair users and people on push scooters. Between 211 and 215, 4 wheeled pedestrians died in motor vehicle crashes, and 18 skateboarders and 138 wheeled pedestrians were injured in police-reported motor vehicle crashes. 1
Terminology Fatal injuries: injuries that result in death within 3 days of the crash. Serious injuries: fractures, concussions, internal injuries, crushings, severe cuts and lacerations, severe general shock necessitating medical treatment and any other injury involving removal to and detention in hospital. Minor injuries: injuries of a minor nature such as sprains and bruises. Social cost: a measure of the total cost of road crashes to the nation. It includes: loss of life and life quality; loss of productivity; and medical, legal, court, and property damage costs. Casualty: person who sustained fatal, serious or minor injuries. Crash fault/responsibility: Primary responsibility (at-fault) for a crash is based on the crash movements and crash cause factors assigned in the Crash Analysis System. It is not based on legal liability or court conviction. Fault/responsibility here only considers driver and rider factors contributing to the crash. There may also be road or system factors that contributed to the crash. 11