Adelaide in-depth accident study 1975-1979. Part 2: Pedestrian accidents

Abstract

This report contains descriptions of the causes and consequences of the pedestrian accidents contained in a representative sample of road traffic accidents to which an ambulance was called in metropolitan Adelaide. Reviews of the relevant characteristics of the pedestrians and drivers, the vehicles, and the road and traffic environment are also included. All but one of these 40 accidents occurred on busy roads. Some measures designed to increase the rate of flow of vehicular traffic are detrimental to the safety of the pedestrian, to the extent that some urban arterial roads are very hazardous for some pedestrians, particularly children and the elderly. The pedestrian was more likely to have been careless, or to have made a mistake, than was the driver, but alcohol intoxication was less apparent as a causal factor in these pedestrian accidents than in other types of accidents covered by this survey. The injuries sustained by the pedestrians were much more likely to be dangerous to life than were the injuries sustained by other road users involved in other types of accident. The front of the striking car, including the upper surface of the bonnet, accounted for more than half of the injuries. A number of possible countermeasures and topics worthy of further investigation are listed at the end of the report.