Laying the groundwork for a national pedestrian injury surveillance system

The purpose of this study is to accelerate the development of a national pedestrian injury surveillance system. Current research is limited by the lack of pedestrian injury data available at a national level, and without a national pedestrian injury surveillance system, it is impossible to answer questions including, “What is the total burden of pedestrian injury?”, “Have pedestrian injuries demonstrated the same patterns as pedestrian fatalities?”, and “How many pedestrians are injured in collisions that do not have a corresponding crash report?” A comprehensive understanding of the problem of pedestrian injury is required; however, the total number of pedestrians injured on U.S. roadways is unknown. Therefore, it is vital to design a system for standardized state reporting of pedestrian injuries and fatalities.

 

This project aims to interview transportation safety and public health professionals about current state practices relating to pedestrian crash/injury surveillance, develop pedestrian injury indicators based on recommendations, apply the pedestrian injury indicators to datasets from North Carolina and at least one other state, and hold a virtual Pedestrian Injury Surveillance Stakeholder Meeting dedicated to the creation of a national pedestrian injury surveillance system. The results of this project will contribute to the development of a national pedestrian injury surveillance system and a more comprehensive understanding of pedestrian injury for the purpose of reducing pedestrian injuries and fatalities in the future.