Abstract
Objective: Walking is integral to transportation and physical activity, but safety is a primary concern for pedestrians due to the increasing number of injuries and deaths per year. To address the need for avenues of pedestrian safety improvements, this study’s objective is to determine the association among driver and pedestrian characteristics and behavior, environmental characteristics, and the presence of injury resulting from a pedestrian–vehicle crash. Methods: Pedestrian crashes were examined in Ohio from 2013 to 2017 using state crash records. Descriptive statistics as well as univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to estimate the odds of pedestrian injury. Results: Of the 11,241 pedestrian crashes analyzed, 66% resulted in injury. The odds of pedestrian injury increased when the driver was male, the driver was under the influence of alcohol, the cause of the crash was the pedestrian darting, the pedestrian was struck while in the travel lane, the pedestrian was aged 65 or older, the pedestrian was under the influence of alcohol, or under dark conditions on an unlit roadway. Factors that lowered the odds of injury were pedestrian age 0–4 and vehicle maneuvers other than driving straight ahead, such as backing and turning. Conclusion: These findings identify several factors associated with pedestrian injury, and public health efforts that could influence pedestrian safety are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 510-514 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Traffic Injury Prevention |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 4 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Funding
CK, AN, and MZ received support from one grant (R01HD074594) from the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and one grant (R01AG050581) from the U.S. National Institute on Aging. The funding bodies had no input into any aspect of this study. CK, AN, and MZ received support from one grant (R01HD074594) from the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and one grant (R01AG050581) from the U.S. National Institute on Aging. The funding bodies had no input into any aspect of this study. A special thank you to the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children?s Hospital. Table 1. Summary of statistically significant driver and environmental characteristics. Characteristics OR 95% CI P value Driver sex (reference: Female) ?Male 1.13 (1.02, 1.25).018 Driver precrash action (reference: Straight ahead) ?Backing 0.62 (0.43, 0.90).005 ?Turning right 0.52 (0.41, 0.66) <.001 ?Other 0.64 (0.49, 0.85) <.001 Driver alcohol/drug suspected (reference: No) ?Yes 2.15 (1.53, 3.01) <.001 Environmental light condition (reference: Daylight) ?Dark?roadway not lighted 1.49 (1.14, 1.93) <.001 Table 2. Summary of statistically significant pedestrian characteristics. Characteristic OR 95% CI P value Age* ?0?4 0.58 (0.40, 0.82) <.001 ?65+ 1.44 (1.12, 1.87).001 Circumstance** ?Darting 1.54 (1.17, 2.02) <.001 Alcohol/drug suspected*** ?Yes 1.64 (1.31, 2.05) <.001 Location prior to impact**** ?Travel lane 1.27 (1.01, 1.60).033 References: *26?64; **none; ***no; ****marked crosswalk?intersection.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| National Institute on Aging | 1.93, 0.49, 1.17, 1.02, 1.87, 0.43, 0.40, 1.53, 0.82 |
| National Institute on Aging | |
| NIH National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research | R21HD085122, R01AG050581 |
| NIH National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research |
Keywords
- Pedestrian
- crash
- injury
- state crash record
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Safety Research
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
