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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Bahman Roudsari, MD MPH¹, Robert Kaufman, BS², and Thomas Koepsell, MD MPH¹. (1) Epidemiology department, Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, University of Washington, Box: 359960 325 9th Ave, seattle, WA 98104, 206-744-9466, roudsari@u.washington.edu, (2) Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, University of Washington, Box: 359960 325 9th Ave, seattle, WA 98104

To evaluate if pre-crash vehicle movement is associated with the severity of pedestrian injury at intersections. We used Pedestrian Crash Data Study (1994-1998), conducted by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to obtain information on pedestrian, vehicle and injury-related characteristics. We calculated the odds ratio of severe injuries (injury severity score ≥15) and crash fatality rate comparing right and left turn collisions with straight vehicle movement at intersection, after adjustment for age, impact speed and type of vehicle. Of 255 collisions happened at intersections, the proportion of pedestrian hit during straight movement, right and left turns were 48%, 32% and 10%, respectively. Sixty percent of the pedestrians in left turn crashes and 67% of them in right turn collisions were hit from their left side. For straight movements, the pedestrians were equally likely to be struck beginning from the left or right side of the street. After adjustment for pedestrian's age, vehicle movement was a significant predictor of severe injuries (p < 0.0001) and case fatality (p = 0.003). The observed associations vanished after adjusting for impact speed. This indicated that the observed association was probably the result of the difference in impact speed and not the pre-crash movement of the vehicle. Pedestrian safety interventions that aim at environmental modifications, such as crosswalk repositioning, might be the most efficient means in reducing right or left turn collisions at intersection, while pedestrians' behavioral modifications should be the priority for alleviating the magnitude of the collisions that happen in vehicles' straight movements.

Learning Objectives:

• Pedestrian injuries are a significant public health issue in the US
• Intersections are one of the most common places that pedestrians are struck by vehicles
• There are some characteristics of crosswalks locations at intersections that put pedestrians at risk when drivers are making right or left turns
• We developed a new crosswalk design that might be used for alleviating the magnitude of the pedestrian injuries at some busy intersections and provide better driver avoidance and recognition of pedestrians.

Keywords: Public Health, Injury Control

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No