Research, Development, and Implementation of Pedestrian Safety Facilities in the United Kingdom PUBLICATION NO. FHWA-RD-99-089 DECEMBER 1999 Research, Development, and Technology Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101-2296 Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FHWA-RD-99-089 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Research, Development, and Implementation of Pedestrian Safety Facilities in the United Kingdom 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. David G. Davies 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) David Davies Associates University of North Carolina 6 Hillside Road Highway Safety Research Center 11. Contract or Grant No. 730 Airport Rd, CB #3430 Norwich NR7 0QG DTFH61-92-C-00138 United Kingdom Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3430 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Federal Highway Administration Turner-Fairbanks Highway Research Center 6300 Georgetown Pike 14. Sponsoring Agency Code McLean, VA 22101-2296 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract This report was one in a series of pedestrian safety synthesis reports prepared for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to document pedestrian safety in other countries. Reports are also available for: Canada (FHWA-RD-99-090) Sweden (FHWA-RD-99-091) Netherlands (FHWA-RD-99-092) Australia (FHWA-RD-99-093) This is a review of recent research on pedestrian safety carried out in the United Kingdom. A comprehensive list of references is provided. The report covers many types of pedestrian facilities, the UK pedestrian safety record, as well as some education and enforcement matters. The report cites an access document with adequate references to allow further investigation of specific areas, and some commentary on research and implementation. The past 5 years have seen increased attention given to road safety issues in the UK. Developments of particular relevance to pedestrians include greater emphasis on reducing vehicle speeds in urban areas through physical, legal, and publicity measures: also development of Puffin crossings and new operating strategies such as MOVA. However, while specific facilities can affect safety at individual sites, improvements in overall safety for pedestrians requires a comprehensive road safety strategy that is fully integrated with land use and transport policy. 17. Key Words: 18. Distribution Statement pedestrians, pelican crossing, zebra crossing, puffin crossing, traffic calming, tactile pavement surfaces 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 47 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of form and completed page is authorized SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply by To Find Symbol Symbol When You Know Multiply by To Find Symbol LENGTH LENGTH in inches 25.4 millimeters mm mm millimeters 0.039 inches in ft feet 0.305 meters m m meters 3.28 feet ft yd yards 0.914 meters m m meters 1.09 yards yd mi miles 1.61 kilometers km km kilometers 0.621 miles mi AREA AREA in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2 ft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m 2 m2 square meters 10.764 square feet ft2 yd2 square yards 0.836 square meters m 2 m2 square meters 1.195 square yards yd2 ac acres 0.405 hectares ha ha hectares 2.47 acres ac mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2 km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2 VOLUME VOLUME fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz gal gallons 3.785 liters L L liters 0.264 gallons gal ft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m 3 m3 cubic meters 35.71 cubic feet ft3 yd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m 3 m3 cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd3 NOTE: Volumes greater than 1000 l shall be shown in m3. MASS MASS oz ounces 28.35 grams g g grams 0.035 ounces oz lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb T short tons 0.907 megagrams Mg Mg megagrams 1.103 short tons T (2000 lb) (or “metric ton”) (or “t”) (or “t”) (or “metric ton”) (2000 lb) TEMPERATURE TEMPERATURE EF Fahrenheit 5(F-32)/9 or Celcius EC EC Celcius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit EF temperature (F-32)/1.8 temperature temperature temperature ILLUMINATION ILLUMINATION fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf lbf/in2 poundforce per 6.89 kilopascals kPa kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per lbf/in2 square inch square inch *SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate (Revised September 1993) rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction ............................................................. 1 1.1 Basis of report ..................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose and scope of report .......................................... 1 2. Pedestrian Safety in the United Kingdom ....................................... 1 2.1 Casualty statistics ................................................... 1 2.2 National road safety targets ........................................... 3 2.3 Explaining the trends ................................................. 7 2.4 Promoting walking and pedestrian safety .................................. 8 2.5 Child and elderly pedestrians ......................................... 11 2.6 Conclusion ....................................................... 11 3. Overview of Accident Countermeasures and Safety Programs ....................... 11 3.1 Policies and priorities ............................................... 11 3.2 Evaluating accident countermeasures .................................... 13 3.3 Road danger reduction .............................................. 13 4. Overview of Pedestrian Facilities ............................................ 14 4.1 Planning and design ................................................ 14 4.2 Types of pedestrian crossings ......................................... 14 4.3 Assessment framework for pedestrian crossings ........................... 16 4.4 Relative safety of crossings ........................................... 19 5. Pedestrian Crossings without Signal Control (Crosswalks) ......................... 19 5.1 Zebra crossings ................................................... 19 5.2 Pedestrian refuges ................................................. 22 5.3 Kerb build-outs ................................................... 23 5.4 Flat-top road hump ................................................ 23 6. Pedestrian Crossings with Signal Control ...................................... 24 6.1 Pelican crossings .................................................. 24 6.2 Puffin crossings ................................................... 24 6.3 Toucan crossings .................................................. 26 6.4 Further developments in signal-controlled pedestrian crossings ................ 26 6.5 Signal control at junctions ............................................ 26 7. Footways .............................................................. 27 7.1 Footway standards ................................................. 27 7.2 Pedestrian route networks ........................................... 27 TABLE OF CONTENTS (Con’t) Page 7.3 Maintenance ..................................................... 27 7.4 Tactile paving surfaces .............................................. 28 7.5 Pedestrians and cyclists ............................................. 28 7.6 Other footway issues ............................................... 28 7.7 Pedestrian guard rail ................................................ 28 8. Traffic Calming, Speed Reduction, and Pedestrians ............................... 30 8.1 Recent UK traffic calming ............................................ 30 8.2 32 km/h (20 mph) zones ............................................. 32 8.3 Other speed reducing initiatives ........................................ 32 9. School Zone Safety ...................................................... 32 9.1 Safe routes to schools .............................................. 32 9.2 Other measures ................................................... 34 10. Education .............................................................. 34 10.1 Child pedestrians .................................................. 34 10.2 Drivers .......................................................... 34 11. Enforcement ............................................................ 34 12. Conclusions ............................................................ 35 13. References ............................................................. 35 14. Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations ......................................... 41 1. Introduction 1.1 Basis of report The report has been compiled on the basis of the following: - Literature search using Silverplatter CD-ROM data base held at the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) library; - Meeting of UK technical experts held at the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR); - Consultation with various academics and practitioners in local government; and - Review of relevant literature from a