International Conference

NATIONAL CONFERENCE:
Neglected & Vulnerable Road User
The Pedestrian
September 18, 2001
New Delhi

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recognition of Pedestrians as an Important Road User

The pedestrian forms the largest group of road user yet he finds the least attention being paid to him in the provision of road infrastructure facilities.

Our Constitution has certain provisions in the form of fundamental rights as well as directive principles of state policy that have far reaching effects on promoting road safety. Lack of facilities to walk safely and being subjected to miserable walking conditions is a glaring example where basic human right to walk safely are being infringed everyday, covered under Article 19 & 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Everybody is a pedestrian at one time or the other. Article 38 of the Indian Constitution directs the state that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community should be distributed as best to serve the common good. Provision of road infrastructure facilities seems to be violating thus principle with impunity.

Recommendation: Stop treating the pedestrian as a marginal road user. Place the pedestrian at a more important level or at least the same level as users of motorised traffic and public transport. Road traffic plans should provide for pedestrian movement and safety.

Those owning motorised vehicles have the maximum mobility available to them. For a person to have a minimum level of mobility, walking should be feasible. However, the population also has a significant proportion of those with less than minimum mobility. Those with physical disabilities also need to be provided equal level of facilities as provided for those who do not suffer physical handicap. Also there are visually challenged persons, who need special facilities to make their movements safer and convenient.

Recommendation: Enlarge the definition of pedestrian to include disabled on wheel chairs among them and plan and provide all necessary pedestrian facilities for them such as ramps on footpaths, building entrances, public transport etc. Similarly visually challenged persons and those without hearing faculties need to be taken care of at crossings and side walks by providing special treatment.

The definition of disability as it exists in India is too narrow and it needs to be broadened. Also the methodology adopted so far does not provide complete picture of the number and type of disabled persons in the country. The same needs rectification.

Policies for Pedestrians

The planning for road infrastructure these days is no doubt vehicle-oriented. Even the limited pedestrian facilities available are taken away to accommodate ever-increasing demand for vehicles.

Recommendation: The planning of road infrastructure should be based on people-oriented policies. Adoption of such policies will lead to greater emphasis on public transport, cycle-ways and provision for pedestrians in a more dignified manner. Instead of reducing pedestrian facilities, policies should be oriented so as to reduce the need for individual motorized travel.

Pedestrians movements are haphazard and uncontrolled. There is no provision in the law relating to control and supervision of pedestrians. One obvious reason for this is that a pedestrian is not recognized as a traffic unit in the law. The Motor Vehicle Act covers only motorized vehicles and does not deal with the responsibility to non-motorised traffic, including pedestrians.

Recommendation: There is an urgent need to formulate a Road Traffic Act which should cover all modes of road transport including obligations, duties and rights of pedestrians and the provisions to enforce their safe and orderly movement.

One of the major reasons for civic and highway engineers not providing adequate and proper pedestrians facilities is the absence of detailed guidelines and codes of practices for development and management of the same. The existing guidelines are very old and need revision in view of the present day traffic scenario.

Recommendation: Develop suitable and exhaustive guidelines for planning, design and construction of safe, convenient and comfortable movement of pedestrians.

Planning for Pedestrians

One of the major reasons for lack of proper planning for pedestrian safety emanates due to non-availability of pedestrian accident data and analysis. The data is not even accurately available at macro-scale at national scale. Micro level data is hard to obtain as well. This has further implications in that it deters many potential researchers from taking up studies related to pedestrian safety.

Recommendation: National database should be established to collect pedestrian accident data, as part of an improved and accurate road traffic accident data. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways should recognize pedestrian movement as traffic component and support and encourage research studies on pedestrians.

Road plans usually restrict themselves to the facilities for motorized vehicles only. Pedestrians facilities do not form an integral part of road construction and improvement plans. Pedestrian facilities are usually provided as an after-thought or as add-on facilities.

Recommendation: No road improvement or construction plans should be approved unless a road safety audit is carried out specifically for provision of safe pedestrian facilities. Any road-widening plan must also ensure and establish that no pedestrian facilities have been deleted to accommodate road widening requirements.

We all have perhaps a mental block that pedestrian facilities can only be provided with roads or as part of road network. Pedestrian movements constituting a substantial proportion of total trips within an area, can in fact, be served by an exclusive network largely independent of the road network with the benefits of better safety and cleaner environment.

Further, there are many areas in a city which witness heavy pedestrian movements as well as large vehicular pedestrians conflicts, congestion and traffic bottlenecks. Spatial segregation of motorized traffic from pedestrian traffic would yield pleasant walking environment and do away with much chaos in pedestrian centric areas.

Recommendation: The planners should examine the possibilities and potential of building separate pedestrian networks which intersect with the road network to the minimum possible extent while providing safe and comfortable travel on foot. Possibilities to combine these with cycle movements should also be explored while assessing the feasibility of such networks.

Pedestrianisation of high activity areas with heavy pedestrian concentrations should be taken up at various levels within a city area. Such areas should have adequate supplementary infrastructure to enable accessibility and pedestrian comfort.

At-grade Pedestrian Crossings

Pedestrian crossings when located and used correctly can be effective in reducing vehicular-pedestrian conflicts. Great care therefore is needed in locating pedestrian crossings. It is not very uncommon to come across situations where pedestrian zebra crossings are marked but blocked at the same time by railings both at the median and the kerb. Often the median heights are restrictive to the pedestrians to use the facilities conveniently.

Recommendation: Zebra crossings are not suitable where traffic is heavy and fast moving. Where driver compliance and vehicle speeds are high, pedestrian crossing should be amalgamated with road humps to give a raised pedestrian crossing. These can be very effective if they are clearly marked and provided with advance warning signs and lighting during dark hours.

Pelican crossings should be preferred where pedestrian flow is heavy and includes a significant proportion of elderly and infirm pedestrians. On wider carriageways pelican crossing should be staggered in nature where two parts of the carriageway is operated as two separate crossings. The central refuge should be large enough to accommodate expected number of pedestrians.

10. At present, only somewhat safe facilities are available to the pedestrian for crossing roads at signalized intersections. However, most of these signals either do not have special signal phases for pedestrians or special signal heads to display pedestrian right-of-way.

Also, improper provision and maintenance of stop line and pedestrian zebra markings do not provide enough information and guideline to the motorist as well as the pedestrian. Sometimes, the transverse stop lines are marked with plastic studs which are not properly visible to the motorist from a distance.

Recommendation: Provide special signal phases for pedestrians including all red period if necessary. Every major signalized intersection should display a pedestrian aspect. There is also need to introduce modern pedestrian signal systems which may indicate the end of the cycle time for pedestrians prior to its termination.

The markings to facilitate proper and safe regulation of pedestrians should be of high quality, preferably of materials like retro-reflective thermo-plastic material, to enable high-visibility to motorists, at least within safe stopping distance, at various levels of lighting conditions.

Pedestrian Subway

While segregating vehicle and pedestrian movements to reduce or eliminate vehicular-pedestrian conflicts, it is usual to force pedestrians to move up or down on grade-separated facilities which is not always convenient for various categories of pedestrians.

Recommendation: Grade-separated facilities should be provided only where absolutely necessary and only after very careful investigation of pedestrian movements. There are many ways through which pedestrians can be provided at-grade crossing facilities. Overpasses are generally not preferred by the pedestrians. However, subways can be more effective if properly planned and located. Subway design should attempt to take advantage of the existing topography or should minimize the depth of the subway by raising the carriageway at the subway location.

Subways should be conspicuously located, should fall within the desire lines of the pedestrian movements and should have adequate signage. It is also important to ensure good lighting, cleanliness and security.

Subways should be designed to be disabled friendly.

The pedestrian subways being provided in urban and rural situations are not used optimally due to various reasons including pedestrian psychology, lack of security, improper location, improper design within and outside the subway.

Recommendation : Various possible ways to increase the usage of subways can be explored. These include handing over the operation and maintenance of subways to private organizations or local resident or traders association. Building the subways under B. O. T. schemes and other possibilities should be introduced so that subways can be operated in more cost-effective and safe manner.

Pedestrian Education and Enforcement

Although pedestrian sidewalks are limited in the first place, these get encroached for various non-transport usages. The encroachments are of permanent as well as temporary nature. This causes obstructions in the movement of pedestrians and can even be hazardous at times. One can often see motor vehicles being parked on footpaths thus forcing the pedestrians on to the carriageway. Also the municipal garbage dumps provided along the road spill over to pedestrian footpaths thus making walking umpleasant.

Recommendation: The civic and other government authorities should not put any public utilities or street furniture including road signs on the footpath as far as possible. Even if is to be there for some reason, the footpath at such locations should be widened to provide proper footway width. It should be further ensured that such an installation does not pose a hazard to the pedestrian.

The enforcement agencies should fulfill their responsibility to ensure that the sidewalks are free from encroachments and unnecessary street furniture all the time. Major encroachment must be taken as a punishable, non-bailable offence.

Besides the rampant encroachment of footways there are other varieties of encroachments of pedestrian facilities and their right-of-way. Such violations are often seen on bus-stops, at stops lines on traffic signals where motorists encroach into the area of the zebra crossing or start moving at red signal towards them when pedestrian still has the right-of-way.

Recommendation: Educative enforcement measures should be taken up to reduce various types of moving encroachments which come in the way of pedestrian safety. Pedestrian crossings should be duly marked so as to be properly visible to all road users. The Motor Vehicle Act may be suitably amended so as to include such violations under the category of rash and negligent driving which carry heavy pecuniary penalties.

Although it is often stressed that pedestrian safety is an issue primarily related to urban areas, yet the pedestrian safety problem is equally important in rural areas due to high speeds prevailing on highways passing through such areas. In addition, rural population is not aware of the hazards of the motor vehicle due to low exposure.

Attitude of village citizens differs from area to area and is dependent upon their location, history, culture, education levels, awareness etc. Pedestrian facilities should be provided after keeping such local factors in mind.

Recommendation: There is need to develop and implement rural area road safety literacy programmes and campaigns. These villagers should be provided specialized and focused road safety information and education through schoolteachers, village elders and other community leaders. NGOs could play a useful role in training such groups who will be spreading the message of road safety.

Pedestrian facilities should be provided and constructed in consultation with local area associations, panchayats and other enlightened villagers so that these are used optimally. In addition, villagers may also be educated about the proper use of such facilities.

All the segments of the population are pedestrians at some point or the other, each and everyday, irrespective of age, sex, education, income or occupation. Pedestrian safety is a subject which affects and interests the whole community. Therefore, all the community and public resources should be utilized to educate and inculcate safe walking practices and traffic safety culture among all citizens.

Recommendation: Various programmes for educating different identified target groups and target behaviours should be planned and implemented to make walking safer and to reduce pedestrian accidents, fatalities and injuries.

The media has an important role to play in propagating the culture of safe pedestrian behaviour. The other major institutions which can widely contribute in this direction are schools and other academic institutions as they play role models. NGOs can act as a catalyst and facilitators. Driver training is a vital element in achieving pedestrian safety.

Corporate houses should be persuaded to come forward to sponsor various road safety gadgets and educational materials to enhance pedestrian visibility at nighttime. For instance, retro reflective materials and stickers, should be distributed free of cost to villagers, school-children and general public at large, who could put them on to their shoes, watch-straps, their bags and other accessories, bicycles etc.

Traffic police is perhaps the only organization, which is taking up the mantle of traffic education. They are able to do it, however, in a limited way. The road user can be best educated within the traffic situation itself. However, traffic police is understaffed for such a task. Various groups can be inducted to assist in such an endeavor.

Recommendation: Schemes like traffic wardens, student volunteer schemes, and other voluntary organization should be introduced in an organized manner to assist traffic police traffic supervision and traffic education with field.

Unlike the western countries where 50 – 60% of accident victims are occupants of the motorized vehicles, in India it is the road users outside the vehicle, which are more vulnerable. The vulnerable road users account for 70 – 80% of the total road accident victims. The 40 – 50% of the total fatalities involve pedestrians. Negligence of drivers is a contributory factor towards most road crashes. Drivers are not trained to be sensitive towards pedestrians’ right of road usage.

Recommendation: A license to driver must not be issued to inadequately and improperly trained drivers. Driving schools should be standardized. Government must encourage opening up of driving school for different categories of vehicles, particularly for heavy vehicle training. It is important to develop tools and systems of driver training. Driver trainer or instructor should become a profession requiring special skills and professional qualifications. Unauthorized driving schools and those brokering licensing should be dealt with utmost severity. Laws need to be made to punish givers, brokers and receivers of driving licenses who have “passed a test by fraudulent methods and not as prescribed under law.

Special Group as Pedestrian

There are many people on the road by virtue of the need for carrying out their occupational duties. Groups like home guards, traffic wardens, policemen, road sweepers, road construction and maintenance workers etc. are put to great risk as occupational pedestrians.

Recommendation: While carrying out any road and traffic related job, it should be obligatory for the concerned agencies to follow the work-zone safety practices. The occupational pedestrian should be made more conspicuous by providing them apparels and accessories that are visible to moving traffic both during day and night.

There are many groups in the population who are more vulnerable that average population such as children, elderly and women etc. The members of such groups because of their physical abilities need special attention in traffic.

Recommendation: Studies should be carried out to identify the typical mobility needs of special groups such as children, women and elderly as pedestrian and same be incorporated in design of facilities like traffic control devices etc. Such information should also form the basis for preparation of educational material.

Engineering Design for Pedestrian Safety

It is commonly observed that in residential areas vehicles are driven at high speeds often by youngsters and novice drivers. This endangers the residents, especially the infants, very young children and the elderly. The residential areas have become very hazardous due to such practices.

Recommendation: Extensively employ traffic calming techniques to make the residential areas pedestrian friendly. Any encroachments that come in the way of safe pedestrian movement should be removed and any subsequent violations should be penalized.

Traffic is the pulse and feel of the city and provides the first impression of a city. How civilized a city is, can be gauged by the manner in which pedestrian facilities are provided and function. Lot of order and safety can be introduced if pedestrian facilities are designed and operated properly.

Recommendation: Municipal and highway engineers, traffic police personnel and other enforcement officials should be trained on the road safety design and management aspects with special emphasis on pedestrian facilities.

These training programmes can be organized by research and academic organizations as well as leading NGOs.

Vehicle & pedestrians are two incompatible modes of transport. Studies have established that if a vehicle traveling at 70 kmph, he has any chance of survival. There is only 50% chance of survival only if vehicle speed is 50 kmph. The probability of being fatally injured in case of hitting a vehicle at 30 kmph is 1 in 5.

Recommendation: The severity of injury to pedestrians involved road accidents could be reduced if vehicle geometries, particularly the frontal design of bumpers, are re-engineered for improvement pertaining to safety considerations. Various studies across the world have already been made in this context. Research organizations like ARAI and IIT could be given the responsibility to identify improvement possibilities particularly in the Indian automobiles scenario. This responsibility of research and implementation should be rested on the shoulder of the automobile industry.

Political Will & Responsibility

One observes very little transparent political will in strength or practice. Road apathy, road misery, road accidents, road rage, road delays, visual, sound and atmospheric pollution on the roads need to become issues which must be addressed by politicians and bureaucrats. There are many instruments that could arouse political will. These include media, various public for a, legislative assemblies, parliament and through public interest litigation in courts.

Recommendation: Create an awakening in the decision-maker polity and bureaucracy, to recognize and realize their apathy towards vulnerable pedestrian. The misery and pain behind human injury, which is felt by the man on the street, must percolate to the legislative assemblies and parliament

25. Apart from the need to raise the level of the political will, there is a need to clearly define the responsibility for road safety. To a large extent in the developed world, where the Department of Transport works closely with highway, traffic, civic and education departments to achieve safety. In India, however, road safety responsibility is not defined and therefore the different departments, who are directly concerned, define their own working parameters and dimensions.

Recommendation: The government, both at the national and state levels, have to clearly spell out the duties and tasks of those who are responsible for safety of the most vulnerable road user, i.e., pedestrian. It is important to fix the responsibility and accountability for road accidents. Public should be made aware, through parliament and legislature as to who is doing what to solve problem along with time frames. Coordination between various departments such as Transport Department, Traffic Police and Municipal or equivalent authorities should be increased so as to provide safety and convenience for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users within the overall planning for traffic and transport.