Pedestrian Safety and Culture Change - Essay Example

Pedestrian Safety and Culture Change The continuous change of urban structure in cities worldwide has led to the high exposure of pedestrians to risks related to their safety, even to their live. The limitation of car use within cities has been considered as a first approach for securing pedestrian safety. Still, the high number of road accidents in cities in which pedestrians are involved implies that the efforts made for protecting pedestrians are not adequate. The literature developed in regard to this issue is presented below. It seems that pedestrian safety can be secured only if combined with a culture change both at personal level and at the level of the community. Also, it is revealed that the support of the state to the relevant initiatives is not at the level required; the private sector has the key role in promoting schemes that can help to increase pedestrian safety but the necessary resources are often difficult to be retrieved. Thus, the effective cooperation between the state and the private sector is a key requirement for ensuring that pedestrians in cities will be safe no matter their financial or social status. According to a recent study, the number of pedestrians who lost their live because of their involvement in road accidents in USA in 2010 reached the 4,280 people, a number which is rather high if considering the development of technology and legislation related to road travel in USA (CDC 2013). On the other hand, the number of pedestrians who were killed in road accidents in 2001 has been higher compared to that of 2010 (Figure 1). Indeed, in 2001 in total 4,901 pedestrians lost their live after being involved in a road accident (Figure 1); by 2010 this number has been decreased at 4,280 (Figure 1). Also, it seems that the decrease of this figure has been continuous between 2001 and 2010 (Figure 1) a fact that implies the effectiveness of the initiative undertaken by the state and by the private sector in regard to this problem. Figure 1 – Fatalities, per category, in traffic accidents between 2001 and 2010 (source: US Department of Transportation, 2012, 1) It should be noted that age does not seem to be a critical factor in regard to the exposure of pedestrians to accidents: among the people mentioned above, i.e. the 4,280 people, only 19% have been found to be over 65 (CDC 2013). Children seem to be exposed to such risks at similar level: about 20% of the pedestrians who were killed in 2010 have been children (CDC 2013). On the other hand, it seems that there are certain factors that can increase the chances for road accident in which pedestrians are involved: for example, alcohol abuse has been found to be a key cause for fatal road accidents, at a level of 47% (CDC 2013). In the above example, the relevant figure refers not only to pedestrians but also to drivers. The study of the conditions under which road accidents in which pedestrians are involved take place has led to the following assumption: such accidents are more like to appear in an urban environment, such as a city, than in rural areas (US Department of Transportation 2012). Also, these accidents are more frequent in those parts of the roads that are far from intersections, even if an opposite condition would be expected to apply (US Department of Transportation 2012). An important finding in regard to these accidents is the following: the chances for pedestrians to be killed in road accidents are quite higher when the weather is good or even if clouds exist (US Department of Transportation 2012); in bad weather conditions the risks for pedestrians are radically decreased (US Department of Transportation 2012). The factors that can increase the safety risks for pedestrians are analytically presented in the table in Figure 2 below. Figure 2 – Pedestrian fatalities (in %) under certain conditions (source: US Department of Transportation, 2012, 2) According to the information provided through the table in Figure 2, the safety of pedestrians can be related to certain factors; focusing on these factors could help authorities to decrease the exposure of pedestrians to risks, even in the long term. Of course, the approaches used for addressing the specific problem could be differentiated. For example, a US authority involved in road safety, the US Department of Transportation has published a report including guidelines for the increase of safety in roads across US: the report emphasizes on the need for cooperation between institutions/ bodies in different communities/ fields so that the safety of ‘pedestrians and bicyclist is secured’ (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2006, 2). For example, reference is made to institutions belonging in the following communities: ‘education, media, transportation, law enforcement and so on’ (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2006, p.2). An issue highlighted in the above report is the following: the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists could not be secured only be ensuring that drivers are given the necessary education on the rules of road travel; rather it is necessary for all people travelling in roads, including drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists, to understand the particular terms applied in their condition and the measures that they should take in advance for minimize the chances for an accident (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2006). In this context, the communication skills of drivers and pedestrians would be considered as equally valuable as their cognitive skills (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2006). At this point reference should be made to the following fact: culture, in regard to traffic, may be differentiated, but not highly, from culture in its common sense. Indeed, if related to traffic, culture can be explained as ‘the beliefs, values, norms and things people use, which guide their social interactions in everyday life’ (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007, p.2). In the context of a particular society, safety culture could be understood by checking the policies applied in the above society for securing the safety of people of different demographical characteristics (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007). At the next level, traffic culture would imply both the perceptions of people and authorities on safety, as related to road travel, but also the measures taken by authorities for securing safety during road travel (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007). In other words, traffic culture can be highly differentiated among countries of different traditions, lifestyle and market conditions. Specifically in regard to USA it has been proved that traffic culture is characterized by four trends: a) lack of interest for the problem; it is explained that about 40,000 people are killed annually in USA because of road accidents; this figure should have cause the severe concerns of government but also of local authorities but no such trend has appeared (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007); b) the introduction of vehicles that can offer increased safety, compared to the past (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007); at the same time, the road network of USA has been reviewed and improved, so that safety during road travel is increased (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007). In other words, the current traffic culture, as related to the last 50 years, in USA, is based on the promotion of ‘vehicle and infrastructure technology’ (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007, p.3); c) emphasis is given on ‘thinking rather than on science’ (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007, p.3); the term thinking, as used above, implies the behavior of all people involved in road travel including ‘drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists’ (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007, p.3). This part of traffic culture is considered as the most important one. Indeed, road accidents in USA, as also in all countries, could be reduced by emphasizing primarily on travel behavior and not so much on technology (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007); d) Variations in traffic culture; since USA is characterized by the co-existence of different social traditions, as related to each one of the country’s states, it is impossible for USA to have an ‘integrate traffic safety culture’ (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007, p.3). This means that different sets of rules are promoted in each state in regard to traffic safety, a practice though that can be considered as expected since each state can have different demographic and economic characteristics but also different road infrastructure compared to other states (Foundation for Traffic Safety 2007). In any case the above practice verifies the dependency of traffic safety culture on geography and on economy. The influence of geography on traffic culture can be verified through the graph in Figure 3 where the fatalities related to cities worldwide are presented. Figure 3 – Cities worldwide and traffic fatalities (source: New York City Department of Transportation 2010, p.7) At the same time, the research developed by Agran et al. (1998) proved that traffic culture can be highly related to the cultural background of pedestrians. In the relevant study the number of children of different culture, of Hispanic and of non-Hispanic children, who are injured in road accidents ‘in the southwestern US’ (Agran et al. 1998, p.188) was identified and evaluated. It was revealed that Hispanic children ‘are more likely (63/100,000) to be exposed to road accidents compared to non-Hispanic children (17/100,000)’ (Agran et al. 1998, p.188). At the same time, Martin (2006) supported that the behavior of pedestrians, as part of the traffic safety culture, can be influenced not only by their educational or cultural background but also by technical issues, such as ‘the waiting times when having to cross an intersection, the traffic volume, the quality of traffic signals and so on’ (Martin 2006, p.13-14). Figure 4 – Conflict paths that a pedestrian has to cross while being in an intersection (source: US Department of Transportation 1999, p.8) It should be also noted that during their travel in a city pedestrians are asked to take complex decisions that could affect their safety. For example, in Figure 4 the potential paths that a pedestrian has to cross in the context of an intersection are presented. For the pedestrian crossing safety these paths would be depended on his travel experience, his educational background and his family culture, meaning the influences of the family on the pedestrian’s travel behavior (US Department of Transportation 1999). According to the issues discussed above, the understanding of the relationship between pedestrians’ exposure to risks and certain conditions, as those described in this study, is critical in order to identify the measures that could control these risks, securing pedestrian safety, as possible. However, the response of people to the relevant initiatives may be difficult to be identified; under certain circumstances people may be willing to support the efforts of authorities or of the private sector in regard to pedestrian safety but the pressures for responding to daily living needs may be a critical obstacle to such response. For example, because of the need to arrive at work on time a driver may exceed the speed limit at a particular intersection a fact that would set in severe risk the pedestrians who would like to cross that intersection at the particular time instance. In other words, securing pedestrian safety may not be quite difficult especially in cities which are highly based on technology. Still, the effective limitation of risks for pedestrians has been proved to be related to culture, both at personal and at community level. This means that pedestrian safety could be secured only if the perceptions of people on road travel would be changed, as this change could be highly promoted if relevant schemes would be supported by communities as also by the state. Works cited Agran, Phyllis, Winn, Diane, Anderson, Craig. & Valle, Celeste. “Family, social, and cultural factors in pedestrian injuries among Hispanic children.” Injury Prevention 1998(4): 188-193 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC. “Pedestrian Safety” [2013]. http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Pedestrian_Safety/factsheet.html Department of Transportation (US), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Traffic Safety Facts 2010: Pedestrians. Washington (DC): NHTSA; 2012 [cited 2013 April 11]. http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811625.PDF Foundation for Traffic Safety. “Improving Traffic Safety Culture in the United States” [2007]. https://www.aaafoundation.org/sites/default/files/SafetyCultureSummaryAndSynthesis_0.pdf Martin, A. “Factors Influencing Pedestrian Safety: A literature Review.” PROJECT REPORT PPR241. TRL Limited. [2006. https://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/factors-influencing-pedestrian-safety-literature-review.pdf National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA. “Pedestrians” 2006. http://www.nhtsa.gov/Pedestrians New York City Department of Transportation. “The New York City Pedestrian Safety Study & Action Plan” August 2010. http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/nyc_ped_safety_study_action_plan.pdf US Department of Transportation. “Canadian Research on Pedestrian Safety” PUBLICATION NO. FHWA-RD-99-090. [1999]. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/pedbike/99090.pdf Read More