Evaluating pedestrian safety programmes <br />Attachment C <br />Attachment B <br />100 <br />Box 5.2: Sustained implementation and evaluation of pedestrian safety <br />measures in New York City <br />New York City is known for improvement in pedestrian <br />safety in particular, and road safety in general (6). <br />A major factor in the declining pedestrian fatality <br />rate in New York City is continued implementation <br />of safety measures and evaluation of their perfor- <br />mance. The annual pedestrian fatality rate declined <br />steadily from 5.8 deaths per 100 000 population <br />in the 1950s to 2.0 per 100 000 population in the <br />decade 2000-2009 (7). <br />The recent pedestrian safety efforts in the city <br />demonstrate the importance of a comprehensive <br />approach to pedestrian safety. In 2008, aiming to <br />sustain or accelerate the decline in pedestrian fatal- <br />ity, the Department of Transportation of New York City <br />set a target of reducing annual road traffic fatalities <br />by 50% from 2007 levels by 2030, that is, from <br />274 to 137. Data revealed that pedestrian fatalities <br />made up 52% of all road traffic fatalities in New York <br />City in the period 2005-2009. Pedestrian safety was <br />therefore identified as a key area for improvement. <br />To develop an effective pedestrian safety strategy, <br />more than 7000 severe and fatal pedestrian injury <br />crashes in New York Citywere analyzed, to identify the <br />causes, risk factors and spatial distribution of these <br />crashes. The analysis revealed the following (7): <br />• Pedestrians were ten times more likely to die than <br />motor vehicle occupants in the event of a crash. <br />• Driver inattention was cited in nearly 36% of <br />crashes resulting in pedestrians being killed or <br />seriously injured. <br />27% of crashes that killed or seriously injured <br />pedestrians involved driver failure to yield, while <br />turning at an intersection. <br />• Unsafe speed and limited sight distance were <br />cited as risk factors in 21% of fatal and serious <br />pedestrian crashes. <br />• 8% of all fatal pedestrian crashes involved a driver <br />who had been drinking. However this may be an <br />underestimate since data suggest that drivers <br />leave the scene in about 21% of the fatal and seri- <br />ous injury crashes. <br />80% of crashes that killed or seriously injured <br />pedestrians involved male drivers. <br />Most residents of New York City did not know <br />that the standard speed limit for city streets is <br />30 km/h. <br />47% of pedestrian fatalities occurred on major <br />two-way streets in Manhattan, a borough that con- <br />tains the region's two largest business districts. <br />• 74% of pedestrian crashes occurred at intersec- <br />tions, with 47% of pedestrian fatalities and severe <br />injuries occurring at signalized intersections and <br />57% of the crashes taking place while the pedes- <br />trian was crossing with the signal. <br />Page 246 <br />