PEDESTRIAN ACTIVITY AND ACCIDENT RISK

This paper describes a study carried out to establish a method for measuring pedestrian exposure to risk in different road environments. The method used is based on a household survey where each member aged 5 or over was asked to keep a written report of journeys made by foot during one specified day. The survey revealed that about 75% of Northampton's residents walked an average of 825m in a day crossing, on average, 4 roads. The types of routes chosen and variations in responses between age groups are discussed. The locations of accidents and age range of casualties are examined. The implications for road safety education are considered. Certain categories are shown to be particularly at risk and darkness is often a factor. For the covering abstract see IRRD 886733.