Making Vision Zero Real: Preventing Pedestrian Accidents and Making Them Less Severe

Abstract

This report describes the risk of injuries and accidents for cyclists and pedestrians, variables that affect the risk of accidents, and countermeasures to reduce the severity and probability of these accidents. The risk of accidents to pedestrians is about 10 times greater than the risk to motor vehicle occupants. When one or more of the risk factors to accidents (poor pedestrian visibility, vehicle speed, cyclists in road traffic) are reduced, safety measures are effective in reducing the risk for cyclist and pedestrian accidents. Accident risk would be decreased if people walked and cycled more, even though that might increase the total number of cyclist and pedestrian accidents. Increased walking and cycling would also lead to a more equitable distribution of rates of injury between motorized and non-motorized road users.