Exploring the Determinants of the Severity of Pedestrian Injuries by Pedestrian Age: A Case Study of Daegu Metropolitan City, South Korea

Abstract

Pedestrian-vehicle crashes can result in serious injury to pedestrians, who are exposed to danger when in close proximity to moving vehicles. Furthermore, these injuries can be considerably serious and even lead to death in a manner that varies depending on the pedestrian’s age. This is because the pedestrian’s physical characteristics and behaviors, particularly in relation to roads with moving vehicles, differ depending on the pedestrian’s age. This study examines the determinants of pedestrian injury severity by pedestrian age using binary logistic regression. Factors in the built environment, such as road characteristics and land use of the places where pedestrian crashes occurred, were considered, as were the accident characteristics of the pedestrians and drivers. The analysis determined that the accident characteristics of drivers and pedestrians are more influential in pedestrian-vehicle crashes than the factors of the built environmental characteristics. However, there are substantial differences in injury severity relative to the pedestrian’s age. Young pedestrians (aged under 20 years old) are more likely to suffer serious injury in school zones; however, no association between silver zones and injury severity is found for elderly pedestrians. For people in the age range of 20–39 years old, the severity of pedestrian injuries is lower in areas with more crosswalks and speed cameras. People in the age range of 40–64 years old are more likely to be injured in areas with more neighborhood streets and industrial land use. Elderly pedestrians are likely to suffer fatal injuries in areas with more traffic signals. This study finds that there are differences in the factors of pedestrian injury severity according to the age of pedestrians. Therefore, it is suggested that concrete and efficient policies related to pedestrian age are required to improve pedestrian safety and reduce pedestrian-vehicle crashes.

Exploring the Injury Severity Risk Factors in Fatal Crashes with Neural Network

“…During the collisions due to vehicle impact, the engine sometimes may catch fire, which can spread quickly to the entire vehicle, preventing quick rescue operations from evacuating drivers and passengers, who succumb to death [ 100 ]. Pedestrians are classified among the vulnerable road users’ group, are directly exposed to impact, which increases the chances of fatalities [ 101 , 102 ]. The observation that collisions between motor vehicles lower the probability of severe injuries may seem contradictory in light of existing research; however, it is worth mentioning that the majority of crashes reported for the current study were rear-ended, which mainly occurred along divided highways and expressways.…”

“…During the collisions due to vehicle impact, the engine sometimes may catch fire, which can spread quickly to the entire vehicle, preventing quick rescue operations from evacuating drivers and passengers, who succumb to death [100]. Pedestrians are classified among the vulnerable road users' group, are directly exposed to impact, which increases the chances of fatalities [101,102].…”

Investigating the Risk Factors Associated with Injury Severity in Pedestrian Crashes in Santiago, Chile

“…Different risk factors (such as demographics, crash, and built environment characteristics) that affect pedestrian crash injury severity and casualty have been identified by several studies [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. From the demographic perspective, males and the elderly are found to be more prone to incur serious injuries and fatalities than other age groups when involved in pedestrian crashes [ 16 , 17 , 29 , 30 ].…”

“…In addition, studies suggest that there is a higher risk of crashes with fatal and severe injury outcomes in areas with higher population density, in which pedestrians are more exposed to crashes [ 5 , 16 ]. Public transportation accessibility has been associated with pedestrian crash injury severity, suggesting the need of safety zones near bus stops and subway stations to protect pedestrians [ 15 , 23 , 44 , 45 ]. Finally, studies have concluded that pedestrians suffer more severe injuries at road intersections due complex traffic operations inherent to such intersections [ 3 , 21 , 36 , 46 , 47 ].…”

Pedestrians’ Injury Severity in Traffic Accidents in Spain: A Pedestrian Actions Approach

“…Table 3 summarizes the four variables considered and the frequency of occurrence in each of their states. Some variables, such as vehicle type, pedestrian age, pedestrian gender, accident location, pavement and road type, among others, are extensively studied to understand pedestrian degree of injury, as for example in the study by Seung-Hoon Park and Min-Kyung Bae [21] to analyse the pedestrian degree of injury rates by age group.…”