Pedestrian Safety Assessments and Observations Comm 509: Health Communication Dissemination Spring 2012

 A pedestrian or bicyclist is killed every 4 minutes 1  Individuals aged have the highest rates of pedestrian-related injuries and fatalities 2 : –More than 30,000 injuries in –More than 4,000 fatalities in Pedestrian Safety Background 1 Short, J. R., & Pinet-Peralta, L. M. (2010). No accident: Traffic and pedestrians in the modern city. Motilities, 5, doi: / Redmon, T. (2003). Assessing the attitudes and behaviors of pedestrians and drivers in traffic situations. Institute of Transportation Engineers Journal, 73, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). (2009). Traffic safety facts. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from

Save a Life Presented by: Zac Goldman

 Speeding is the third leading cause of car crashes 4 –In West Virginia, 356 fatalities were due to speeding in –Nationally, ~13,000 fatalities occur annually 4  Texting while driving increases the chance of a crash by 23 times 4 Save a Life: Background 4 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). (2009). Traffic safety facts. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from

 Survey (167 participants)  Focus groups (13 participants)  2 individual interviews Save a Life: Methods

 Speeding Findings –48% of survey respondents indicated they would speed in the next year –100% of focus group participants stated speeding is common in Morgantown  Texting Findings –Approximately 60% of survey respondents reported they would text while driving in the next year –77% of focus group participants also indicated that they have texted while driving and 62% will continue to do so Save a Life: Formative Research Results

Save a Life: Message Did you know? Speeding is a major contributing factor in 31% of all fatal crashes. Save a life. Don’t speed and drive.

Please Cross Responsibly Presented by: Rebecca K. DiClemente-Drain

 Audience Analysis –200 intercept surveys –3 focus groups (14 participants) –1 individual interview  Message Testing –2 focus groups (9 participants) Please Cross Responsibly: Methods

Survey Participants  27% reported they think cell phone use is risky for pedestrians  91% admitted to talking on a cell phone while walking  93% admitted to texting on a cell phone while walking Please Cross Responsibly: Results

Focus Group Participants  100% admitted to engaging in distracted walking  100% agreed they were capable of avoiding distracted walking  100% reported they must feel threatened or be personally affected to avoid distracting behaviors Please Cross Responsibly: Results

Please Cross Responsibly: Campaign

Give Drivers a Hand Presented by: Erik Neville

 Intent to cross is difficult to recognize  Intervention in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia –“Increasing Driver Yielding and Pedestrian Signaling with Prompting, Feedback, and Reinforcement” 5 Increased yielding and signaling by 20% Implemented on two dangerous streets Similar size and population as Morgantown Give Drivers a Hand: Background 5 Van Houten, R., Louis Malenfant, J. E., & Rolider, A. (1985). Increasing driver yielding and pedestrian signaling with prompting, feedback, and enforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 18,

 Crosswalk observations (10 hours)  Intercept interviews with pedestrians (99 participants) –Crossing behaviors –Beliefs about safety –Attitude toward signaling –Perceptions of most/least likely to yield Give Drivers a Hand: Data Collection

 45% of drivers actually yielded at crosswalks –38% of pedestrians believed drivers typically yield  18% of pedestrians reported being hit  65% reported near misses  77% reported willingness to use a hand signal –75% reported that it would be easy to remember Give Drivers a Hand: Observational Research and Onsite Interview Results

 Tagline: Give Drivers a Hand  Pamphlet: 5 Great Reasons to Yield to Pedestrians Give Drivers a Hand: Messages

 For more information, please contact: –Save a Life Melissa Ceo, Zac Goldman, Brittany Swope, Anna Wagenhouser –Please Cross Responsibly Nick Coradetti, Rebecca DiClemente, Kaitlyn Gibbons, Jessica Kirk –Give Drivers a Hand Shelly Dusic, Alannah Maxwell, Erik Neville, Melody Thomas –Course Instructor Maria Brann – Questions and/or Comments