Analysis of Pedestrian Accidents in Poland

Abstract

Pedestrian crossings today are an indispensable element of the road infrastructure. There are more and more of them. The reason for this state of affairs is the constantly constant level of pedestrian intensity and the need to change the path of the footpath. Pedestrian accidents occur as a result of many factors related to weather conditions or the technical condition of the vehicle. However, in Poland, most often the event happens due to human error, then the driver of a car or a pedestrian. In addition, the high accident rate depends on poor road infrastructure. Unfortunately, a pedestrian is the victim of every third accident in our country. Pedestrians are among the group of vulnerable road users in which participation in an accident has very serious consequences. The importance of this problem can be demonstrated by the fact that 270,000 pedestrians are killed on the world's roads every year. Globally, almost 22% of all fatalities are from pedestrian accidents, and this is an average value, as there are countries where this percentage exceeds 66%. Pedestrian safety is a serious problem on Polish roads. In Poland, most pedestrian accidents occur at pedestrian crossings. This is where pedestrians and vehicles cross, creating a risk of collisions between these road users. These accidents are caused by insufficient visibility of the driver and pedestrians. The analysis of police statistics made it possible to assess the effectiveness of factors aimed at improving road safety at pedestrian crossings. The main one is traffic light. Thanks to him, pedestrian crossings are safer. A big problem, which is still significant, is the concentration of pedestrian’s attention on phone screens. To prevent collisions with pedestrians, they do not monitor their safety when crossing the road, there are special programs for phones, the use of advertising campaigns, the installation of LED strips or the use of 3D strips. KEYWORDS: PEDESTRIAN, PEDESTRIAN CROSSING, ROAD SAFETY, ROAD ACCIDENTS, CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS WITH PEDESTRIANS.