Prioritizing pedestrian safety interventions and preparing a plan of action <br />A recent assessment of pedestrian facilities of a 24-kilometre road in the state of Kerala in India revealed a <br />glaring absence of pedestrian facilities in road design (7). The picture below shows the situation at one of the <br />sites that were assessed. <br />No footpaths <br />Parked cars <br />Street lights <br />Skid resistance <br />Without footpaths <br />'Side friction' means that <br />Pedestrians are more <br />In an emergency, vehicles <br />it is more likely that <br />pedestrians need to walk <br />visible at night with <br />can stop faster on skid- <br />pedestrians will walk on <br />on the road to go around <br />street lighting <br />resistant roads <br />the road, especially when <br />parked cars <br />it is raining <br />3.2.2 Assessing risk factors for pedestrian injury <br />Several factors influence pedestrian traffic risk. In most cases it is impossible to <br />identify and include every risk factor in the situational assessment. This section <br />describes key questions about risk factors and suggested methods for obtaining <br />answers to them. This process of assessment yields information on the role of roadway <br />design, pedestrian facilities, speed, alcohol and visibility of pedestrians in the local <br />travel environment. Further information on sources of data for analysing risk factors is <br />available in Data systems: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners (2). <br />What are the available pedestrian facilities and general road transport infra- <br />structure? <br />The influence of various roadway design elements on pedestrian risk was described <br />in Module a. While the situational assessment may not be able to cover all of these <br />elements, it should at least address the following points (S-ro): <br />. Roadway design characteristics: For roads in the area under assessment, describe <br />road classifications, design speeds, posted speed limits, and number and width of <br />lanes. Describe the presence or lack of medians, traffic control devices, pedestrian <br />crossings, kerb ramps, and pedestrian-directed signs and signals. Describe the <br />presence or lack of streetlights, bicycle lanes, parked cars adjacent to the traffic <br />lane, and other hazards to safe walking. <br />48 <br />Attachment C <br />Attachment B <br />Page 194 <br />No crossing facilities Two lanes in each Narrow median <br />Pedestrians who need direction Pedestrians are offered <br />to cross the road A pedestrian's risk some opportunity to cross <br />have no choice but to increases with each addi- the road in two stages <br />share the space with tional lane they must cross when there is a median <br />motorized traffic <br />