Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Risk for Low Income and Minority Populations: An Examination of At-Risk Population Segments and Environmental Risk Factors

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a well-known predictor of crash risk, with lower income and minority populations being disproportionately likely to be injured or killed in a traffic crash. There has been little substantive examination of the specific nature of the crash risk experienced by lower income populations. This study examines the characteristics of pedestrians and bicyclists involved in crashes in lower income areas in Broward and Palm Beach County, as well as the environmental factors that contribute to their risk. It finds that very few of the pedestrians and bicyclists struck, injured, or killed in lower income areas were under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Instead, the majority of these crashes appear to involve individuals engaging in ordinary activities, particularly during the late afternoon and early evening. This study identifies four pedestrian and two bicycle cohorts at disproportionate risk, risk that increases in the presence of restaurants, shopping centers, and 5-or-more lane streets, and which decreases in the presence of raised medians and the higher levels of intersection density. This study concludes by discussing the nature of this risk, most notably conflicts of use and errors of expectancy, and by outlining potential engineering, education, and enforcement countermeasures that may best address it.

• Record URL:
  https://fdotwww.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/research/reports/fdot-bdv27-977-17-rpt.pdf?sfvrsn=4bb50c39_4
• 
• Summary URL:
  https://fdotwww.blob.core.windows.net/sitefinity/docs/default-source/research/reports/fdot-bdv27-977-17-sum.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/56970
• Corporate Authors:

  Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton

  777 Glades Road
  Boca Raton, FL  United States  33431

  Florida Department of Transportation

  605 Suwannee Street
  Tallahassee, FL  United States  32399-0450
• Authors:
  • Dumbaugh, Eric
  • Mitsova, Diana
  • 0000-0002-4239-2378
  • Saha, Dibakar
• Publication Date: 2020-12-19

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Final Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 120p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycle crashes; Crash causes; Crash risk forecasting; Land use; Low income groups; Minorities; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Transportation disadvantaged persons
• Geographic Terms: Broward County (Florida); Palm Beach County (Florida)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Safety and Human Factors; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01780578
• Record Type: Publication
• Contract Numbers: BDV27-977-17
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Aug 27 2021 2:58PM