PEDESTRIAN CRASHES IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA, 1987-1996: THE DETERMINANTS OF THE SEVERITY OF INJURIES

Once involved in a traffic crash, pedestrians are much more likely to be seriously injured than motor vehicle occupants. Factors that contribute to the incidence and severity of pedestrian crashes include the speed of the colliding vehicle, reduced visibility and pedestrian conspicuity, alcohol and drug use, and pedestrian crossing behaviour. Countermeasures have addressed some of these factors, such as improved street lighting, traffic calming and 40kph speed limits near schools. Design changes to vehicles have also been suggested. The purpose of these modifications is to nuke the vehicle capable of absorbing more of the energy of a collision that would otherwise be directed at the pedestrian. The aim of this study was to examine factors associated with serious pedestrian injuries, especially vehicle design changes represented by the year of vehicle manufacture. Logistic regression analyses were used to examine the independent and combined effects of vehicle, crash site and pedestrian factors on the odds of the pedestrian receiving a serious injury. Records of pedestrians involved in crashes between 1987 and 1996 were extracted from the Western Australian Road Injury Database. During this period, there were 7093 pedestrians involved in crashes reported to police, 4214 were involved in a crash with a car or similar vehicle. Nearly 40 percent of these pedestrians were injured, with 12.3 percent receiving serious injuries. The logistic regression analyses indicated that the speed of the colliding vehicle was the dominant factor associated with injury severity. (a)

• Record URL:
  http://arrbknowledge.com
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/1875912711
• Corporate Authors:

  University of Western Australia

  Road Accident Prevention Research Unit, Department of Public Health
  Nedlands WA 6907,   Australia 
• Authors:
  • LEGGE, M
  • ROSMAN, D L
• Publication Date: 2000-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 28 p.
• Serial:
  • Issue Number: RR 104

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Age; Crash severity; Crashes; Injuries; Injury severity; Pedestrians; Regression analysis; Safety; Speed; Vehicles
• Geographic Terms: Australia
• ITRD Terms: 1643: Accident; 1757: Age; 8006: Australia; 2163: Injury; 1733: Pedestrian; 6588: Regression analysis; 1665: Safety; 1623: Severity (accid, injury); 5408: Speed; 1255: Vehicle
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00812706
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• ISBN: 1-875912-71-1
• Files: ITRD, ATRI
• Created Date: Jul 2 2001 12:00AM