Analysis of Geographic, Temporal, and Socioeconomic Shifts in Pedestrian & Bicyclist Traffic Injuries

Understanding where, when, and to whom crashes are occurring is essential to preventing future pedestrian and bicyclist injuries. This project will cover eight states but have additional focus on shifts in pedestrian and bicyclist injuries in Wisconsin. It will complement quantitative data analysis with practitioner interviews in Wisconsin to explore transportation infrastructure, policy, or land development changes that may have contributed to shifts in patterns of K&A pedestrian and bicyclist crashes. We will investigate the following questions: 1) How much did fatal, severe, and non-severe pedestrian and bicyclist injuries change over the last decade? 2) What geographic shifts occurred in pedestrian and bicyclist crashes at each injury severity level over the last decade? 3) What time-of-day shifts occurred in pedestrian and bicyclist crashes at each injury severity level over the last decade? 4) Why did these geographic and temporal shifts in different injury levels occur? To explore this key question, we will attempt to connect shifts in crash locations and times with shifts in the socioeconomic characteristics of pedestrians and bicyclists involved in crashes. We will examine the characteristics of individual pedestrians and bicyclists involved in crashes as well as characteristics of the area surrounding crash locations (e.g., analyze the types of jobs and socioeconomic characteristics in the census tracts near specific crash locations). We will also compare urban versus rural areas.