Date of Award:

8-2021

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Committee Chair(s)

Michelle Mekker

Committee

Michelle Mekker

Committee

Patrick Singleton

Committee

Angela Minichiello

Abstract

Recent trends indicate a dramatic increase in both the number and share of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities nationally and in many states. This study aimed at understanding (geometric, traffic, operational, and other) factors associated with pedestrian and bicycle safety and also to assist in the prioritization and selection of countermeasures to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety at signalized intersections. Several negative binomial models were estimated to investigate factors affecting pedestrian and bicycle crash frequency. The models suggested several characteristics of the road network, land use, built environment, and neighborhood sociodemographics were significantly associated with more (or fewer) pedestrian and bicycle crashes. Ordered logit models were fitted to investigate factors affecting injury severity in pedestrian and bicycle crashes. The model results indicated that vehicle size, vehicle maneuvering direction, and involvement of teenage/older drivers and DUI/drowsy/distracted driving in crashes had significant effects on injury severity in pedestrian and bicycle crashes. The study also found strong support for the “safety in numbers” effect, in which pedestrian/bicycle crash rates decrease with an increase in pedestrian/bicycle volumes.

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