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                Synthesis of Methods for Estimating Pedestrian and Bicyclist Exposure to Risk at Areawide Levels and on Specific Transportation Facilities
fhwasa17014.pdf (2.29 MB)


January 2017
Publication No. FHWA-SA-17-041

FHWA logo Safe Roads for a Safer Future: Investment in roadway safety saves lives

Notice

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of information contained in this document.

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of this document.

The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the U.S. Department of Transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation.

Quality Assurance Statement

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement.

Technical Report Documentation Page

**1. Report No.**
			FHWA-SA-17-041
			**2. Government Accession No.**
			**3. Recipient's Catalog No.****4. Title and Subtitle**
			Synthesis of Methods for Estimating Pedestrian and Bicyclist Exposure to Risk at Areawide Levels and on Specific Transportation Facilities
			**5. Report Date**
			January 2017**6. Performing Organization Code****7. Author(s)**
			Shawn Turner, Ipek Sener, Michael Martin, Subasish Das, Eva Shipp, Robert Hampshire, Kay Fitzpatrick, Lisa Molnar, Ravi Wijesundera, Mike Colety, Stewart Robinson
			**8. Performing Organization Report No.****9. Performing Organization Name and Address**
			Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX 77843-3135
			University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
			Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
			**10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)****11. Contract or Grant No.**
			DFTH6116D00004, TTI Task Order #2**12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address**
			U.S. Department of Transportation
			Federal Highway Administration
			Office of Safety
			1200 New Jersey Ave SE
			Washington, DC 20590
			**13. Type of Report and Period Covered**
			Task 3 Synthesis:
			Aug. 2016 - Jan. 2017**14. Sponsoring Agency Code****15. Supplementary Notes****16. Abstract**
			This report summarizes the variety of methods used to estimate and evaluate exposure to risk in pedestrian and bicyclist safety analyses. In the literature, the most common definition of risk was a measure of the probability of a crash to occur given exposure to potential crash events. There was also consensus on a theoretical definition of exposure as a measure of the number of potential opportunities for a crash to occur. However, there is wide divergence on operational definitions of exposure, and an even wider range of exposure measures being used in practice. Geographic scale is a critical element in most exposure analyses, and most analyses reviewed could be grouped into one of four scales: 1) regional (e.g., city, county, state); 2) network (e.g., traffic analysis zone, Census tract, Census block group); 3) road segment; and, 4) point (e.g., mid-block or intersection street crossing). This report summarizes numerous examples of exposure estimation methods at these different geographic scales, and discusses the data sources and analytic methods used to estimate exposure in these different geographic scales. Other pedestrian and bicyclist risk factors besides exposure also are cataloged.**17. Key Words**
			Pedestrian and bicyclist exposure to risk, exposure scale, risk factors, pedestrian and bicyclist counts, demand estimation
			**18. Distribution Statement**
			No restrictions.**19. Security Classif.
			(of this report)**
			Unclassified
			**20. Security Classif.
			(of this page)**
			Unclassified
			**21. No. of Pages**
			91
			**22. Price****Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72)** Reproduction of completed page authorized.

List of Abbreviations

ACS American Community Survey
	BAC Blood Alcohol Concentration
	FHWA Federal Highway Administration
	GIS geographic information system
	GPS Global Positioning System
	HCM Highway Capacity Manual
	HSIP Highway Safety Improvement Program
	ITE Institute of Transportation Engineers
	MoPeD Model of Pedestrian Demand
	MPO metropolitan planning organization
	NACTO National Association of City Transportation Officials
	NBPD National Bicycle and Pedestrian Documentation Project
	NCHRP National Cooperative Highway Research Program
	NCIPC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
	NCSA National Center for Statistics and Analysis
	NDS Naturalistic Driving Study
	NHTS National Household Travel Survey
	NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
	NTPP Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program
	ScRAM Scalable Risk Assessment Methodology
	SHRP 2 Strategic Highway Research Program 2
	TAZ traffic analysis zone
	TMG Traffic Monitoring Guide
	TTI Texas A&M Transportation Institute
	TxDOT Texas Department of Transportation
	UMTRI University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
	USDOT United States Department of Transportation
	VMT vehicle miles of travel
      
  Acknowledgments
                Glossary
                Executive Summary
                Chapter 1. Introduction
                Chapter 2. Definitions and Concepts
                Chapter 3. Exposure Analysis at Areawide Levels
                Chapter 4. Exposure Analysis on Specific Transportation Facilities
                Chapter 5. Risk Factors Other than Exposure
                Chapter 6. Conclusions
                BibliographyBook traversal links for Synthesis of Methods for Estimating Pedestrian and Bicyclist Exposure to Risk at Areawide Levels and on Specific Transportation Facilities
      Acknowledgments › U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

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