The pedestrian in the transportation system : legislation for improved traffic safety : a report to the governor and General Assembly of Virginia in response to House Joint Resolution no. 419.

Stoke, Charles B; Kelly, Veronica M · 1990 · ROSA P / Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC)

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Summary

This report, commissioned by the Virginia General Assembly in response to House Joint Resolution No. 419, addresses the need to revise Virginia’s pedestrian safety laws. Motivated by growing concerns over pedestrian fatalities and injuries—particularly following the 1976 enactment of right-turn-on-red laws—the study aimed to analyze crash data and identify statutory gaps in the Code of Virginia that failed to adequately protect pedestrians. The researchers analyzed motor vehicle crash data from 1986 through 1988, obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles’ Centralized Accident Processing System. The dataset covered 389 pedestrian fatalities and 6,540 injuries. The analysis focused on five key characteristics: pedestrian age, crash location, vehicle maneuver, driver action, and pedestrian action. Additionally, the authors conducted a legal review of the Code of Virginia to evaluate how well existing statutes defined the rights, duties, and responsibilities of pedestrians and motorists. The findings revealed that pedestrians accounted for 12.1% of all traffic fatalities and 2.8% of injuries during the study period. Nearly 90% of fatalities and 78% of injuries involved pedestrians over age 9. Geographically, 55% of fatalities and 83% of injuries occurred in business or residential areas. Regarding behavior, the most frequent pedestrian actions associated with crashes were not using crosswalks, walking along the roadway, or standing/working in the road. For drivers, the vehicle was traveling straight in over 70% of cases. When drivers were cited for violations, the primary causes were hit-and-run incidents, speed limit violations, inattention, and failed avoidance maneuvers. The legal review concluded that the Code of Virginia inadequately addressed several critical safety issues, including ambiguous right-of-way rules and a lack of explicit requirements for pedestrians to obey traffic signals. Based on these findings, the report proposes specific legislative amendments to improve traffic safety. Recommendations include adding six key definitions to the Code, clarifying pedestrian right-of-way in both marked and unmarked crosswalks, and requiring drivers to yield to pedestrians on sidewalks. The authors also suggest mandating pedestrian obedience to traffic control devices, prohibiting passing loading or unloading buses on the right, regulating pedestrian behavior at railroad crossings and non-crosswalk locations, and detailing responses to emergency vehicles. Finally, the report advocates for a statutory requirement that both motorists and pedestrians exercise due care, aiming to create a more comprehensive and understandable legal framework for shared highway use.

Key finding

Nearly 90 percent of pedestrians killed and 78 percent injured were over nine years old, with most crashes occurring in business or residential areas where pedestrians were not using crosswalks.

Methodology

dataset

Sample size: 6929

Provenance

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Topics

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• pedestrian behavior perception
• driver vru interaction
• rail grade crossings
• vru facing ehmi