Pedestrian

and Bicycle

Crash

Analysis

Tool

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in

cooperation with the National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA), has developed a

Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Analysis Tool

(PBCAT) through the University of North Carolina

Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC). 

What is PBCAT?

In 1998, 5,220 pedestrians and 761 bicyclists were

killed, accounting for 14 percent of all traffic

fatalities. An additional 69,000 pedestrians and

53,000 bicyclists were reported to be injured as a

result of collisions with motor vehicles. PBCAT is a

software product intended to assist state and local

pedestrian and bicycle coordinators, planners, and

engineers with this problem. 

PBCAT accomplishes this goal through the

development and analysis of a data base containing

details associated with crashes between motor

vehicles and pedestrians or bicyclists. One of these

details is the crash type, which describes the precrash actions of the parties involved. With the data

base developed, the software can then be used to

produce reports and select countermeasures to

address the problems identified.

 

Why Crash Typing? 

The development of effective countermeasures to

help prevent bicyclist and pedestrian crashes is

hindered by insufficient detail on computerized state

crash files. Analysis of these data can provide

information on where pedestrian and bicyclist

crashes occur (city, street, intersection, two-lane

road, etc.), when they occur (time of day, day of

week, etc.), and characteristics of the victims

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety

Research Program focuses on

identifying problem areas for

pedestrians and bicycles, developing

analysis tools that allow planners and

engineers to better understand and

target these problem areas, and

evaluating countermeasures to reduce

the number of crashes involving

pedestrians and bicycles.
involved (age, gender, injury severity, etc.). These

data cannot provide a sufficient level of detail

regarding the sequence of events leading to the crash.

In the 1970’s, methods for typing pedestrian and

bicycle crashes were developed by NHTSA to better

define the sequence of events and precipitating

actions leading to bicycle- and pedestrian-motor

vehicle crashes.1,2 In the 1990's, the methodologies

were applied to over 8,000 pedestrian and bicycle

crashes from six States. The results provided a

representative summary of the distribution of crash

types experienced by pedestrians and bicyclists.3, 4, 5

This method has evolved over time and was refined

as part of the development of this software package.

Software Features 

PBCAT is designed with the following features:

% Ability to quickly determine the crash type

through a series of on-screen questions about the

crash, crash location, and maneuvers of the parties

involved.

% Ability to customize the data base in terms of

units of measurement, variables, and location

referencing as well as import/export data from/to

other data bases.

% Ability to produce a series of tables and graphs

defining the various crash types and other factors

associated with the crashes such as age, sex, light 

conditions, etc. 

% Recommended countermeasures linked to specific

bicycle and pedestrian crash types and related

resource and reference information.
% User-friendly, on-line instructions and help

features, including examples, along with a user’s

manual.

For More Information

PBCAT is now available and includes the software

itself and a User’s Manual (FHWA-RD-99-192). To

obtain the software, visit the Pedestrian and Bicycle

Information Center web site at:

www.walkinginfo.org/pbcat

The software was developed by David L. Harkey of

the University of North Carolina Highway Safety

Research Center and Jim Mekemson and Min-Ching

Chen of the Lendis Corporation. For more

information about this product, please contact either

of the individuals below:

David Harkey

University of North Carolina

Highway Safety Research Center

Phone: (919) 962-8705

E-mail: david_harkey@unc.edu

Carol Tan Esse

Federal Highway Administration

Phone: (202) 493-3315

E-mail: carol.tan.esse@fhwa.dot.gov

Essie Wagner

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Phone: (202) 36601361

E-mail: esther.wagner@nhtsa.dot.gov

References

1. Pedestrian Safety: The Identification of

Precipitating Factors and Possible Countermeasures

(Publication No. FH-11-7312), M.B. Snyder and R.L.

Knoblauch, National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, Washington, DC, 1971. 

2. A Study of Bicycle/Motor Vehicle Accidents:

Identification of Problem Types and Countermeasure

Approaches, Volume I (Publication No. DOT HS-803

315), K.D. Cross and G Fisher, National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, DC,

1977.

3. Pedestrian and Bicycle Crash Types of the Early

1990's (Publication No. FHWA-RD-95-163), W.W.

Hunter, J.C. Stutts, W.E. Pein, and C.L. Cox, Federal

Highway Administration, Washington, DC, June

1996. 

4. Pedestrian Crash Types: A 1990's Informational

Guide (Publication No. FHWA-RD-96-163), W.W.

Hunter, J.C. Stutts, and W.E. Pein, Federal Highway

Administration, Washington, DC, April, 1997. 

5. Bicycle Crash Types: A 1990's Informational

Guide (Publication No. FHWA-RD-96-104, W.W.

Hunter, W.E. Pein, and J.C. Stutts, Federal Highway

Administration, Washington, DC, April, 1997.