Traffic Safety Facts

Traffic Tech – Technology Transfer Series

Number 361 February 2009

U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The	number	of	pedestrians	killed	in	United	States	traffic	crashes	has	declined	over	40	percent	since	peaking	

in	 the	 late	 1970s	 and	 early	 1980s.	 	 Still,	 in	 2006	 there	

were	4,784	recorded	pedestrian	fatalities,	representing	

11	percent	of	all	U.S.	traffic	deaths	(NHTSA,	2007).		In	

urban	areas	where	pedestrian	activity	and	traffic	volumes	are	greater	compared	to	rural	areas,	pedestrians	

often	comprise	25	percent	or	more	of	the	traffic	deaths.	

There	has	been	a	considerable	amount	of	research	since	

the	 early	 1970s	 to	 identify	 causal	 factors	 of	 crashes	

involving	 pedestrians	 and	 appropriate	 countermeasures.		During	the	late	1990s,	NHTSA	also	developed	

the	concept	of	pedestrian	safety	zones	in	order	to	focus	

on	 improvements	 where	 the	 problem	 is	 greatest.	 	 By	

concentrating	efforts	where	the	majority	of	the	problem	

or	the	target	audience	exists,	funds	are	used	more	efficiently	and	activities	that	would	be	prohibitively	expensive	if	applied	to	an	entire	community	can	be	applied	

for	greatest	benefit	on	a	smaller	scale.		

The	 purpose	 of	 this	 study	 was	 to	 reduce	 deaths	 and	

injuries	to	pedestrians	in	a	large,	urban	environment	by	

targeting	countermeasures	toward	specific	high-crash	

locations	and	zones.	Miami-Dade	County,	Florida,	was	

chosen	 as	 the	 focus	 of	 this	 study	 because	 of	 its	 large	

pedestrian-involved	 crash	 problem	 (1,700	 to	 1,800	

crashes	 involving	 pedestrians	 per	 year),	 its	 age	 and	

ethnic	diversity,	as	well	as	the	willingness	of	State	and	

county	officials	to	participate	in	the	study	and	elevate	

pedestrian	safety	to	a	higher	priority.		Using	pedestrianinvolved	crash	data	from	1996	to	2001,	four	zones	were	

identified	in	Miami-Dade	County	that	were	found	to	

have	 high	 pedestrian-involved	 crash	 patterns.	 	 These	

high-crash	zones	are	illustrated	in	the	figure	at	right.

A	total	of	16	different	pedestrian	treatments	were	targeted	 to	 areas	 in	 the	 county,	 and	 particularly	 in	 the	

four	 selected	 zones	 (Liberty	 City,	 Little	 Haiti,	 Little	

Havana,	 and	 South	 Beach).	 	 These	 16	 different	 treatments	included	education,	enforcement,	and	engineering	 measures,	 based	 primarily	 on	 previous	 NHTSA	

and	 FHWA	 research.	 	 Specific	 countermeasures	 were	

targeted	 to	 locations	 and	 zones	 based	 on	 the	 ages	 of	

Evaluation of the Miami-Dade Pedestrian 

Safety Demonstration Project

pedestrians,	ethnicity	of	the	zones,	types	of	crash	problems,	etc.		The	benefits	of	the	pedestrian	safety	program	

were	evaluated	countywide	using	three	years	of	“after”	

data	(2002	to	2004).

Overall Findings

Study	 findings	 indicated	 that,	 overall,	 the	 MiamiDade	 pedestrian	 safety	 program	 was	 associated	 with	

a	significant	reduction	in	pedestrian-involved	crashes	

countywide,	 and	 particularly	 among	 adult	 and	 child	

pedestrians	 within	 certain	 targeted	 zones.	 	 A	 time	

series	analysis	for	the	year	2003	revealed	that	MiamiDade	 County	 experienced	 reductions	 in	 pedestrianinvolved	crashes	of	8.5	percent	when	compared	to	six	
adjacent	counties	or	to	all	other	counties	in	the	State.	

When	 compared	 to	 neighboring	 Broward	 County	 a	

pedestrian-involved	 crash	 reduction	 of	 13.3	 percent	

was	 obtained.	 	 Further	 reductions	 were	 not	 found	 in	

2004;	 however,	 for	 2003	 and	 2004	 combined	 the	 time	

series	analysis	indicated	that	there	were	approximately	

360	fewer	pedestrian-involved	crashes	associated	with	

program	implementation.		In	addition,	the	countywide	

analysis	indicated	significant	differences	were	obtained	

in	Miami-Dade	compared	to	all	three	controls	for	pedestrians	age	14	to	64,	males,	and	the	time	periods	10	a.m.	

to	2	p.m.	and	2	p.m.	to	6	p.m.

Pedestrian Safety Zone Findings

After	 the	 pedestrian	 safety	 program	 implementation,	crashes	involving	child	pedestrians	decreased	by	

32.6	percent	in	the	four	targeted	zones	combined,	and	

decreased	 by	 22.1	 percent	 countywide.	 These	 20-	 to	

30-percent	reductions	are	consistent	with	other	evaluations	of	educational	programs	targeting	child	pedestrians	during	the	1980s	and	1990s	—	“Willy	Whistle”	and	

“And	Keep	on	Looking.”	

Additionally,	the	process	of	targeting	countermeasures	

to	specific	ages	and	ethnic	groups	appears	to	have	been	

particularly	successful	in	Liberty	City,	with	a	substantial	 reduction	 of	 25.6	 percent	 in	 pedestrian-involved	

crashes.	 	 Liberty	 City	 was	 the	 zone	 that	 received	 the	

most	 intense	 pedestrian	 safety	 education	 programs	

in	all	of	its	elementary	schools,	and	crashes	involving	

child	 pedestrians	 experienced	 greater	 absolute	 crash	

reductions	compared	to	other	zones	and	proportionally	

higher	than	countywide.	

Of	 the	 four	 zones	 targeted	 for	 specific	 countermeasures,	South	Beach	was	the	recipient	of	the	most	intense	

amount	of	countermeasures,	including	selective	police	

enforcement,	 a	 variety	 of	 education	 and	 media	 messages,	 as	 well	 as	 a	 few	 engineering	 treatments.	 	 The	

findings	indicated	that	South	Beach	experienced	a	22-

percent	 pre-	 to	 post-	 decrease	 in	 pedestrian-involved	

crashes.

However,	not	all	of	the	countermeasures	were	successful	

in	reducing	targeted	crash	types	in	all	of	the	identified	

high-crash	zones.		Most	notably,	a	variety	of	education	

countermeasures	(in	English	and	Spanish)	were	implemented	in	Little	Havana,	where	there	had	been	a	high	

prevalence	of	crashes	involving	older,	Spanish-speaking	pedestrians.		Countermeasures	included	the	distribution	 of	 education	 material	 at	 senior	 centers,	 safety	

education	 meetings,	 television	 and	 radio	 messages,	

and	other	education	measures.		In	spite	of	these	efforts,	

there	was	no	significant	reduction	in	crashes	involving	

older	pedestrians	or	involving	pedestrians	in	general	in	

Little	Havana	as	a	result	of	the	countermeasures	implemented	there.	The	reasons	for	the	lack	of	success	of	the	

program	in	Little	Havana	are	not	known.	It	may	have	

been	due	to	the	salience	of	the	messages	developed	and	

used,	 the	 intensity	 of	 the	 campaign,	 or	 other	 factors.	

Likewise,	no	significant	reductions	in	crashes	involving	

older	pedestrian	were	obtained	in	Little	Haiti.	

The	greater	reductions	reported	in	pedestrian-involved	

crashes	in	Liberty	City	and	South	Beach	are	consistent	

with	similar	findings	from	previous	crash	zone	evaluations.		In	other	words,	the	greatest	reduction	in	pedestrian-involved	 crashes	 occurred	 in	 the	 zones	 where	

countermeasure	 implementation	 was	 most	 extensive.	

On	 the	 other	 hand,	 crash	 reductions	 in	 Phoenix,	Arizona,	where	the	entire	focus	was	on	older	pedestrians,	

were	found	in	all	zones,	whereas	they	were	found	in	

only	half	of	the	zones	in	the	present	study.	Clearly	more	

work	is	needed	to	determine	the	combination	of	factors	

that	can	lead	to	a	reduction	in	crashes	involving	older	

pedestrians	 when	 they	 are	 not	 the	 exclusive	 countermeasure	focus.

The	 project	 also	 achieved	 its	 secondary	 objective	 of	

institutionalizing	 a	 greater	 emphasis	 on	 pedestrian	

safety	in	Miami-Dade	County.		The	pedestrian	safety	

program	has	been	retained	together	with	full-time	personnel,	and	ongoing	and	future	countermeasure	efforts	

appear	likely.

Additional	lessons	learned	include	the	importance	of	

quality	geographic	information	system	data	in	identifying	problem	locations	and	sub-populations,	quantifying	 specific	 problem	 types,	 evaluating	 results,	 and	

communicating	the	issues	of	pedestrian	safety	to	enlist	

the	 support	 of	 relevant	 agencies;	 the	 importance	 of	

interagency	relationships;	and	the	benefits	of	developing,	implementing,	and	institutionalizing	a	comprehensive	pedestrian	safety	program.	

How to Order

To	order	Evaluation of the Miami-Dade Pedestrian Safety 

Demonstration Project,	 prepared	 by	 the	 University	 of	

North	Carolina	Highway	Safety	Research	Center	and	

Dunlap	 and	 Associates,	 Inc.,	 write	 to	 the	 Office	 of	

Behavioral	Research,	NHTSA,	NTI-130,	1200	New	Jersey	Avenue	 SE.,	 Washington,	 DC,	 20590,	 fax	 202-366-

7394,	or	download	from	www.nhtsa.dot.gov.		Marvin	

Levy,	Ph.D.,	was	the	contract	manager.

TRAFFIC TECH	is	a	publication	to	disseminate	information	about	

traffic	 safety	 programs,	 including	 evaluations,	 innovative	 programs,	and	new	publications.	Feel	free	to	copy	it	as	you	wish.	If	

you	would	like	to	receive	a	copy,	contact	Dr.	Angela	Eichelberger,	

Editor,	fax	202-366-7394,	e-mail:	traffic.tech@dot.gov. 1200	New	Jersey	Avenue	SE.,	NTI-130

Washington,	DC	20590