Recent spate of pedestrian fatalities and injuries in Missouri causes concern

A flurry of pedestrian injuries and fatalities in news reports from across Missouri is causing concern.  Just a few of the recent reports:

• One year old killed near Monett
• Hit-and-run fatality outside club in St. Louis
• Driver arrested in Polk County pedestrian homicide
• Jefferson City pedestrian hit by pickup truck
• Man struck crossing Noland Road in Independence
• Columbia woman in wheelchair struck crossing College Avenue
• Woman killed walking on Lee's Summit Road in Independence
• Pedestrian killed in Kansas City
• Kansas City pedestrian killed on I-470
• Pedestrian injured in Republic

After an uptick in pedestrian fatalities in 2011--the year saw 70 fatalities after a low of 57 pedestrian fatalities in 2010--MoDOT launched a "Be Safe - Be Seen" pedestrian safety awareness campaign.

In an email message to MoBikeFed about this issue, MoDOT Highway Safety Director Leanna Depue said:

MoDOT is very concerned about pedestrian fatalities.  In 2011, a pedestrian was involved in less than one percent of all crashes, but they comprised 10% (75) of our total fatalities and 5.3%  (299) of our statewide disabling injuries. We are reviewing the details of these incidents to gain a better understanding of the problem and what we might do to improve the situation.

So pedestrians are involved in only 1% of crashes, but make up 10% of fatalities.

What is the cause of the pedestrian fatalities?

When MoDOT launched the Be Safe - Be Seen campaign last year, the agency did some research into the causes of the pedestrian fatalities.  Where do they happen and under what conditions?

The answer was--nothing specific, just a little of this and a little of that.  Some pedestrians were walking and night, some weren't.  Some where crossing at crosswalks with the "walk" signal, some weren't. And so on.

Probably the biggest surprise to most people where that many of the pedestrians killed would not have considered themselves pedestrians at all--many were motorists with car trouble, walking for help or working to repair the vehicle.  A number of workers are killed in work zones each year.

What can we do?

So what can we do?

Pedestrians:

• Watch for traffic when crossing, even when you have the 'walk' signal
• Be visible at night--use a light, wear reflective or light clothing, don't assume cars can see you at night

If your vehicle stalls or breaks down

• Turn on your headlights; use your vehicle's emergency flashers - these warn other drives that something is amiss
• Most often it is safest to remain in the vehicle; call 911 or display a "Send Police" sign in your window
• If you do leave your vehicle, use extreme caution

Drivers:

• Watch for pedestrians, and slow down--even in places you don't normally expect or see pedestrians
• Slow down and move over for stalled vehicles and emergency vehicles

What we can do to improve the safety of our roads and streets

Overall: One reason that the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation, in concert with bicycle and pedestrian advocacy groups from across the state and the nation, are working for Complete Streets policies is that these policies improve safety for everyone who is on every street for any reason.

Many of the people who were killed or injured in Missouri as pedestrians last year were not even planning on being pedestrians--they were driving when an unexpected breakdown happened.  They become 'unexpected pedestrians'.

If you have a breakdown on a Complete Street, your chances are much better.  A Complete Street may have a shoulder where you can safely pull off.  It may have a shoulder or sidewalk where you can safely walk after your breakdown, or work on your vehicle as needed.

Wherever you have people, sooner or later you can going to have people walking--and that is one reason every street in Missouri needs to be a Complete Street.

Probably the biggest single thing we could do in Missouri is to add paved shoulders to the tens of thousands of miles of rural roads that lack them.  That would make them Complete Streets, improving safety for pedestrians, unexpected pedestrians, and motorists alike

Overall trend towards lower traffic fatalities and injuries--but not for pedestrians and bicyclists

One reason for the concern over the recent bump in pedestrian fatalities is that traffic injuries and fatalities are down dramatically over the past several years.  But pedestrian (and bicycle) injuries and fatalities are seeing a much smaller decrease--or no decrease at all.

In Missouri from 2007 to 2011, overall disabling traffic injuries decreased 31%--while pedestrian injuries decreased only 14% and bicycle injuries did not decrease at all.

In the same period, overall traffic fatalities decreased 24%, while pedestrian fatalities decreased only 11%.  (The number of bicycle fatalities is too small for meaningful statistics over this time period.)

The media reports indicate that pedestrian injuries and fatalities may be up again in 2012--we haven't yet seen the numbers from first quarter 2012, but have contacted MoDOT to see if they are available.

Source for traffic injury and fatality statistics: MoDOT Tracker, Chapter 3, January 2012

Improving safety for pedestrians and bicyclists is one of the top goals of MoBikeFed's Vision of Bicycling and Walking in Missouri.