NYMTC Regional Pedestrian Safety Study - New York Metropolitan ...

The national data indicates that the Hispanic pedestrian fatality rate was 2.88 per 100,000
population compared to 1.78 for non-Hispanic whites in 2001 (Knoblauch et al, 2004). Some of
the contributing factors are they walk more, they are not used to the volume of traffic (they often
come from rural areas), they are not familiar with U.S. traffic laws, they are confused by signs
written in English as compared to those using the international symbols (Barreva Murphy and
Knoblauch, 2004). The percent of fatally injured Hispanics who had been drinking (49 percent)
is higher than for non-Hispanic whites who had been drinking (39 percent) or Asian immigrants,
although not higher than Native Americans (Hilton, 2006).
Visitors
Visitors from a different part of the region are also at greater risk of being involved in a crash,
out of unfamiliarity with the local laws, customs, or conditions. Specific cases reported by
agencies included people from the more rural counties visiting Manhattan who are not used to
the crowding on sidewalks or the custom of walking to the right. Drivers from the outlying
counties visiting New York City may not be aware or may sometimes forget that right turn on
red is not allowed in the City. Similarly, pedestrians from New York City visiting outlying areas
may not know that vehicles can make right turns on red in many places. Drivers and pedestrians
may not be aware of local driving laws thereby putting pedestrians at greater risk of being
involved in a crash with an automobile.
4.3 Situations and Locations
The agencies that were interviewed were asked for specific locations where pedestrian safety
was an issue. Many people answered with a particular type of location (e.g., bus stops or parking
lots) or situation.
Parking lots
People walking in parking lots do not notice cars’ reverse lights, walk directly behind cars, and
appear to assume that the drivers are looking for and see them. The drivers in the cars backing
out of parking places do not see the pedestrians either because of bad sight lines or because they
do not look carefully. The result is the pedestrians are knocked down, frequently injured, and
occasionally killed. Crashes on private property are not included in the national traffic crash
data. However, NHTSA did a study using data from death certificates and estimated that
approximately 120 deaths and 6000 injuries per year were caused by vehicles backing up; about
a quarter of these occurred in parking lots (NHTSA, 2004).
Bus stops
There is high pedestrian activity in the vicinity of bus stops and hence there are more pedestrian
crashes. People run across the street in order to catch the bus. People cross in front of the bus,
and cars passing the bus do not see them. Also, in many areas, there are no sidewalks leading to
the bus stops, and no pavement at the bus stop. Bus stops may be poorly located, for example
not near the major pedestrian generators or not along the main pedestrian pathways. NYCDOT
NYMTC Pedestrian Safety Study 41