Demographic and environmental correlates of pedestrian injury collisions: a spatial analysis

Pedestrian injury collisions often occur when and where large numbers of pedestrians travel within complex roadway systems with high traffic flow. The pedestrian injury literature suggests a number of individual and environmental correlates of injury risks, however studies in this area have primarily focused upon demographic differences (e.g. related to age) and a few global characteristics of the roadway system (e.g. aspects of pedestrian traffic). Studies in which the geography of communities has been considered are primarily descriptive, identifying pedestrian injury 'hot spots'. The current study more extensively explores some geographic correlates of pedestrian injury collisions through a spatial analysis of data from the city of San Francisco, CA. A spatial autocorrelation corrected regression model was used to determine factors associated with pedestrian traffic injury in 1990. The study used a geographic information system to map locations of pedestrian injuries, and environmental and demographic characteristics of the city across census tract units. In addition to a number of demographic factors (gender, age, marital status, education, income and unemployment), it was proposed that several environmental features of the city would be related to injury rates (high traffic flow, complex roadway systems, greater population densities and alcohol availability). Results of the study showed that pedestrian injury rates were related to traffic flow, population density, age composition of the local population, unemployment, gender and education. Availability of alcohol through bars was directly related to pedestrian injury collisions in which the pedestrian had been drinking alcohol.