Assessment of Safety Benefits of Technologies to Reduce Pedestrian Crossing Fatalities at Midblock Location

In 2015, South Carolina ranked third in the nation in pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 population. Out of 979 total motor vehicle fatalities, 123 involved pedestrians, accounting for over 12% of all road user fatalities in South Carolina. While some individuals make conscious choices to walk and dwell in transit-oriented or mixed-use walkable communities, for others, vehicle availability or physical disability may dictate the pedestrian mode. Thus, pedestrian crashes and resulting deaths and injuries can disproportionately affect these segments of the population. Often, these crashes occur due to driver detection errors, such as: (1) inability to identify specific types of road users or looking at the direction that is appropriate due to the gap of cognitive expectation; and (2) failure in understanding stimuli when adequate lighting is not available or when a vehicle approaches in the periphery of the visual field for the road user. Historically, pedestrian detection has been the responsibility of the driver and is prone to errors related to expectation, visual acuity, visual contrast, etc. With the growing market of vehicle sensing, smartphones, and smart infrastructure, there exists a plethora of opportunities to aid the driver and pedestrian with enhanced sensing capability and visibility. This research lays the foundation of knowledge for pedestrian midblock crashes at nighttime, their exposure characteristics, and the potential effectiveness of existing sensing technologies. Through data analytics, this research advances knowledge for technology adoption to foster safer and more effective mobility for our society.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551747117

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Center for Connected Multimodal Mobility

  Clemson University
  Clemson, SC  United States  29634

  The Citadel

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  171 Moultrie Street
  Charleston, SC  United States  29409

  South Carolina State University

  300 College Street NE
  Orangeburg, South Carolina  United States  29117
• Managing Organizations:

  Clemson University

  110 Lowry Hall
  Box 340911
  Clemson, SC  United States  29634-0911
• Project Managers:

  Ogle, Jennifer

• Performing Organizations:

  Clemson University

  110 Lowry Hall
  Box 340911
  Clemson, SC  United States  29634-0911

  The Citadel

  Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  171 Moultrie Street
  Charleston, SC  United States  29409

  South Carolina State University

  300 College Street NE
  Orangeburg, South Carolina  United States  29117
• Principal Investigators:

  Ogle, Jennifer

  Chowdhury, Mashrur

  Michalaka, Dimitra

  Brown, Kweku

  Mwakalonge, Judith

• Start Date: 20171001
• Expected Completion Date: 20191201
• Actual Completion Date: 20191201
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash analysis; Midblock crossings; Nighttime crashes; Pedestrian detectors; Pedestrian safety; Pedestrian vehicle crashes
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01884933
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Center for Connected Multimodal Mobility
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747117
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jun 14 2023 11:57AM