pooled fund Projects
In progress
The Safe Accommodation of Vulnerable Road Users and Large Commercial Vehicles in Urban Areas - Updated November 2009
| Research Area | Road safety, vulnerable road users |
| Responsible Council / Committee | Chief Engineers' Council Road Safety Standing Committee |
| Related TAC publications | Pedestrian Crossing Control Manual Bikeway Traffic Control Guidelines for Canada |
| Start Date | August 2007 |
| Expected Completion Date | August 2009 (completed) |
| Research Agency | Boulevard Transportation Group |
| Status | Publication will be released soon. |
| Project Funding Partners | City of Ottawa; City of Winnipeg; Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink); Alberta Transportation; Ministère des transports du Québec; Transport Canada; City of Toronto; City of Vancouver |
| Staff Contact | Sandra Majkic |
Abstract
Pedestrian and bicyclist safety is an important issue in Canada and the U.S. According to Transport Canada, pedestrians account for 13 percent of roadway fatalities in the country. In the U.S., the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) indicates that pedestrians and cyclists account for approximately 13 percent of roadway fatalities each year. The literature indicates that pedestrians (including children and seniors), bicyclists, and bus passengers are the groups at highest risk of being involved in serious collisions in many countries. In addition, while there are high expectations from engineers and other transportation professionals to provide an efficient, effective, and safe transportation system that moves freight and passengers while accommodating pedestrians and bicyclists, there is limited knowledge about the interaction of large commercial vehicles and vulnerable road users.
This project will quantify the magnitude and characteristics of the problem regarding collisions between vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users, including young and elderly) and commercial vehicles (including buses, tractor-semi trailers, tractor-double trailers, tractor-triple trailer combinations and bobtails) in selected major Canadian urban areas. It will also recommend any solutions that are already available to mitigate obvious problems. Based on the findings from that work, subsequent tasks will further investigate opportunities to mitigate the problem through improved engineering and planning. That work will address problems that contribute to collisions but for which there are no obvious solutions.
The work for Phase 1 is expected to include:
- To identify factors that contribute to collisions involving large commercial vehicles and VRUs in Canadian urban areas (including design and engineering of roadways, operations of large commercial vehicles, vehicle design, and laws and regulations relevant to the subject),
- To identify practices that have been used to address factors that contribute to collisions involving large commercial vehicles and VRUs and discuss their success, and
- To identify further studies needed to address problems that contribute to accidents involving large commercial vehicles and VRUs in Canadian urban areas but for which there is no obvious solution.
The final deliverable will include a comprehensive final report, including:
- Summary of the review of literature and relevant legislation,
- Summary of survey results of TAC members, trucking associations, safety/research organizations and pedestrian/cyclist associations,
- Analysis of collision data and collision reports,
- Recommendations for available countermeasures for obvious problems,
- Recommendations for further work for those problems that have been identified, but not thoroughly researched in this project.