ATSSA Signal September October 2020

American Traffic Safety Services Association 14 ATSSA News USDOT summit highlights pedestrian safety initiatives By Shandra Martinez for The Signal Pedestrian fatalities rose in the past decadewhileother trafficdeathsremained fairlysteady, reflecting that vehicledesigns have made strides in safety whereas roadway designs still need improvement. This complex and systemic roadway safety problemrequires design, funding, and regulatory changes at every level of government, according to Corinne Kisner, executive director of theNational Association of City Transportation Offi - cials (NACTO). “The fundamentals of the street system, rather than individual behavior, are the primary fields of action that we need to approach. People using the streets only have the options that we as designers give them, so it is up to us to give them better options,” Kisner said in her July 15 presentationduring theU.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Summit on Pedestrian Safety. The summit, held virtually over three days in July, brought together transporta - tion officials from the public and private sectors, including those representing pedestrian and bicyclist organizations. ASSESSMENT TOOL Pedestrian fatalities climbed from 12% of overall traffic fatalities in 2009 to 17% in 2018, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, early estimates for 2019 suggest a 2% reduction in pedes - trian fatalities, which is encouraging, saidNHTSADeputy Administrator James Owens, who spoke during the summit’s final session on July 28. The goal of the event was to raise aware - ness about initiatives and resources avail - able for pedestrian safety, gather input from a diverse group of stakeholders, and collect feedback on the draft of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Current and Future Federal Actions to Enhance Pedestrian Safety. NHTSA is finalizing a community-based assessment tool for states and commu - nities to help them identify areas where pedestrians aremost vulnerable to injury and implement effective countermea - sures. One approach will be education, which is why NHTSA designatedOctober 2020 as Pedestrian Safety Month. That event marks the agency’s first national pedestrian safety campaign. NicoleNason, administrator of the FHWA, said she was surprised that nearly half —46%—of the summit participants who took part in a survey reported believing street design and technology will lead to the biggest long-term gains in pedes - trian safety improvements. ON-THE-JOB DANGERS Often overlooked in the data is the segment of pedestrians who are killed or injured on the job—from roadway work - ers to emergency responders, accord- ing to Brad Sant, senior vice president of safety and education at the American Road and Transportation Builders Asso - ciation (ARTBA). Hemade the case for policymakers and roaddesigners toconsider better barriers, such as lightweight steel or trailers, for protecting those working in and around high-speed roadways. “There’s a lot of different types of options that are very new and very innovative that are available right now and are often not used,” Sant said during his July 15 presentation. “Sometimes, in the past, they have not been used because of the way projects are funded. These types of devices that have a use beyond the project have been difficult to fund within that project.” He added that some decision-makers are unaware of a 2007 FHWA memo - randum providing clarification on how agencies can pay for the use of these devices, using federal highway funds, The fundamentals of the street system, rather than individual behavior, are the primary fields of action that we need to approach. People using the streets only have the options that we as designers give them, so it is up to us to give thembetter options.