Scooting, Walking, Aging and Hauling: Four Emerging Traffic Safety Emphases in Georgia

Traffic Safety Research and Evaluation GroupCarol P. Cotton, PhD; Ash Warnock, BS; Elliott Daimler, MA; Lila Ralston, MPH; James Bason, PhD

State of the Public’s Health ConferenceUniversity of Georgia, Athens, GA

October 22, 2019

Traffic Safety in Georgia

2018:1,513 fatalities on roadways

264 pedestrians30 bicycles153 motorcycles166 commercial motor vehicles900 passenger vehicles

Traffic Safety in Georgia

• Major Public Health Issues:• Distracted driving

• Hands Free Law, July 1, 2018• Drowsy driving grant

• Pedestrian safety• Educating the public• Engineering safer pedestrian areas

Traffic Safety in Georgia

• Traffic Safety Initiatives in Georgia• Click It or Ticket

• Media campaigns and enforcement• Memorial Day and Thanksgiving

• Operation Zero Tolerance• High visibility enforcement• Sobriety checkpoints

• H.E.A.T. (Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic)

• Educate and enforce

Pedestrian Safety

Pedestrian Safety

Why the Disparity?

Advances in occupant safety in vehicles

• “Revolution in safety” • Lane assist• Air bag advances• Many others

Neglect of pedestrian and walkable engineering

• Many roads and traffic ways have been built with only cars in mind

• Sidewalks• Pedestrian Crossings

Some Examples Down the Road

What Can We Do?

Build Complete Streets• Roadways should be built with

users other than motorists in mind.

• Recognize that streets are for everyone to use including:

• Bicyclists• Pedestrians of all ages and abilities• Not just cars

• Prioritize improvements to roadways that do not just focus on cars.

Complete Streets

Complete Streets:• Are not one “special street

project” but should be incorporated across an entire area.

• Do not conform to one specific design or facility type.

• Vary by context • Urban• Rural• Shared space

• Result in lasting economic impact and create civic pride.

Complete Streets

Source: Crash Modification Factors (CMF) Clearing House

Complete Streets: Is it Happening in Georgia?

• In 2012, the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) passed a Complete Streets policy

• Several Georgia counties, cities, and planning organizations have implemented Complete Streets policies.

• Savannah, Columbus, City of Atlanta, Athens, Gainesville, and others.

Emergence of Dockless Scooters (E-Scooters)• Over 85,000 e-scooters in 2018• More than 44 bills introduced in 2019• Abrupt arrival of scooters• US urban population to increase more than 26 million by 2030. (World Health

Organization, 2016)• Portland (2018) pilot study estimated that e-scooters replaced approximately

301,856 vehicle miles that would have been traveled in single occupancy vehicles and other shared vehicle trips.

Center for Sustainable Systems, University of Michigan. 2018. "U.S. Cities Factsheet." Pub. No. CSS09-06.GHO | By category | Urban population—Data by country. (2016). Retrieved May 28, 2019, from WHO website:

http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.nURBPOP?lang=en

Ahangari, H., Atkinson-Palombo, C., & Garrick, N. W. (2017). Automobile-dependency as a barrier to vision zero, evidence from the states in the USA. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 107, 77–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2017.07.012

Shared Electric Scooter Pilot | The City of Portland, Oregon. (2018). Retrieved October 16, 2019, from https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/77294

0%

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Rider Injury Mechanisms (N = 249)

Series1 Series2 Series30%

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Nonrider Injury Mechanisms (N = 249)

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Injury Type (N = 249)

Series1 Series2 Series3 Series4

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100%Injury Location (N = 192)

Series1 Series2 Series3

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Injury Type (N = 192)

Series1 Series2 Series3 Series4 Series5

Atlanta InjuriesInjuries• Grady Memorial Hospital estimates it receives 80 to 100 injuries per monthFatalities• May 17, 2019

• Struck by a vehicle shortly after midnight• No bike lanes existed where the crash occurred• Rider was struck while exiting a MARTA station parking lot

• July 17, 2019• Struck by a bus around 10:30 pm• E-scooter rider was travelling alongside the bus

• July 27, 2019• Struck by a vehicle around 10:00 pm• Rider was pressured to move from sidewalks to streets

• August 6, 2019• Struck by a truck around 6:30 am• E-scooter rider ran a red light

City Responses

Roadways or Sidewalks?

E-scooter speeds are incompatible with motor vehicle traffic and pedestrian traffic• Speed is typically capped at 15 mph• Portland Bureau of Transportation Pilot Study (2018)

• Users preferred bike lanes• On streets with a protected bike lane, 8% of riders used the sidewalk• On streets with no bike facilities, 39% of riders used the sidewalk

• High-speed streets resulted in increased sidewalk use• Where the speed limit was 20 mph, 18% of riders used the sidewalk• Where the speed limit was 35 mph, 66% of riders used the sidewalk

Shared Electric Scooter Pilot | The City of Portland, Oregon. (2018). Retrieved October 16, 2019, from https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/77294

RecommendationsData Collection• Atlanta: new system for coding e-scooter crashes• Additional survey methods would benefit research

• Observational studies• Questionnaires

Enforcement• Helmets are often required, but not enforced• Vendors bear some responsibility for helmet requirementsDesign• Improve accommodations for alternative wheeled modes of travel

• Add bike lanes• Increase pedestrian zones

Older Drivers

Older Drivers

• Average VMT (ages 65 to 74) is 9,735 in rural areas vs. 6,458 in urban areas [2009 National Household Travel Survey]

• Rural older adults are less likely than those in urban areas to stop driving [Health and Retirement Study, 1998-2019]

• Rural residents must travel longer distances to access healthcare

Older Drivers

FARS 2008-2016 Final File, 2017 ARF; VMT – Federal Highway Administration

2.121.97 1.84 1.82 1.88 1.88 1.82 1.91 1.93 1.79

0.82 0.73 0.74 0.74 0.77 0.74 0.76 0.81 0.87 0.85

1.26 1.15 1.11 1.1 1.14 1.1 1.08 1.15 1.19 1.16

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Fatality Rates per 100 Million Vehicle Miles Traveled

Rural Urban Overall

Older Drivers

FARS 2016

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Vehicle Occupants in Fatal CrashesOutcome by Age (65-99)

Survived Died

Older Drivers

• Only 11% of rural households in the US report having access to transit services. [USDOT, Beyond Traffic 2045]

Photo: American Public Transportation Association

Older Drivers

• Georgia is the 6th most dangerous state for walking in the US (Smart Growth America, Dangerous By Design 2019)

• 1.76 annual pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 population.

• Florida is the most dangerous (2.73 deaths per 100,000)

• Vermont is the safest (0.80 deaths per 100,000)

• Short trips and active transportation• Rural counties and obesity prevalence

References

• National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2019, June). Rural/urban comparison of traffic fatalities: 2017 data (Traffic Safety Facts. Report No. DOT HS 812 741). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

• Mattson, J. W. (2012). Travel behavior and mobility of transportation-disadvantaged populations: Evidence from the National Household Travel Survey (No. DP-258). Fargo, ND: Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute.

Safety Belt Use in Georgia

• 1986 – Georgia passes safety belt law requiring all drivers and front seat passengers to wear safety belt.

• Governor’s Office of Highway Safety funds 1st systematic study of safety belt use in Georgia

• Exempted people in pick up trucks from having to wear a safety belt• Undue burden in rural areas

• 1990 – Federal Motor Vehicle Standard 208 (Final Rule 1984) –required automatic safety belts and air bags in all passenger vehicles

Safety Belt Use in Georgia: 1987 - 2018

1987 – 19.8% 2018 – 96.3%

19.8

96.3

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Belt Use by Year

Safety Belt Use in Georgia

• Collecting Safety Belt Data:• beginning in 1997, NHTSA required states to use a uniform design for data

collection• In 2012, NHTSA required all counties in each state to be included in sampling

plans. • In Georgia, 91 counties were included in the primary sampling stage

Safety Belt Use in Georgia

• Updating Legislation:• In 2016, legislation that drivers and front seat passengers in pick up trucks

were no longer exempt from wearing a safety belt• On July 1, 2016, Georgia revised the definition of passenger vehicles to

include pick up trucks (O.C.G.A. 40-8-6.1)

Trucks as Proportion of Observed Vehicles on Georgia Roadways

25.2%23.0%

33.5% 32.1% 32.2%

38.5%

25.3%

0.0%

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10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

2010 2012 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Seat belt use in trucks has improved markedly over time since 2000

Scooting, Walking, Aging and Hauling: Four Emerging Traffic Safety Emphases in Georgia

Traffic Safety Research and Evaluation GroupCarol P. Cotton, PhD; Ash Warnock, BS; Elliott Daimler, MA; Lila Ralston, MPH; James Bason, PhD

State of the Public’s Health ConferenceUniversity of Georgia, Athens, GA

October 22, 2019