The likelihood of becoming a pedestrian fatality and drivers' knowledge of pedestrian rights and responsibilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Pedestrian-vehicle crashes represent a small percentage of all Virginia crashes (less than 2% over the past 10 years). However, approximately 10% of crash fatalities are pedestrians. We analyzed pedestrian crash trends from 1990-1999 and investigated variables believed to predict these crashes, such as location (urban versus rural setting), sex, age, pedestrian drinking, driver drinking, driver violation, and time of day. A logistic regression analysis, controlling for year, found all of these variables significantly predicted the odds of dying versus being injured in a pedestrian crash. The typical fatality victim was an older male who had been drinking and was walking in a rural area between 12:00 and 5:59 a.m. A driver who had been drinking but would not be cited for a violation more likely struck this pedestrian. Crash data do not tell us about the knowledge drivers and pedestrians have regarding pedestrian laws, and how such knowledge suggested typical self-reported behaviors. Thus, we conducted a telephone survey of licensed Virginia drivers to assess such self-reported knowledge and behaviors. Most respondents reported knowing and following state laws regarding driver yielding and walking across streets. However, we found one area of particular concern. Respondents tended to believe pedestrians had the right-of-way at all times even when not crossing at crosswalks or intersections when Virginia law does not yield right-of-way to pedestrians in all cases. Virginia does not assign right-of-way in all cases to any group; rather the context determines who may proceed while others yield. Additional analyses from the crash trends and survey are reported in the text. The authors also draw parallels between their US research and that of the international community. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.