In-Depth Analysis of Pedestrian Crash Trends in the Italian Urban Environment

Urban pedestrian crashes are still a major problem in developed countries. In Italy, on average, about 18,000 urban fatal and injury crashes occur per year and in about 2% of them, pedestrians die. This study provides an exploratory analysis of this dataset, by using the information about crash characteristics and circumstances. The aim of the exploratory analysis is to identify recurring pedestrian crash patterns, to target specific countermeasures. The second level of analysis concerns how these patterns are spatially and timely distributed. The opportunity of investigating a nationwide crash dataset provides the ground for highlighting if the identified patterns may significantly vary across the different areas of the same country. Moreover, the time variability reveals if it is possible to observe significant variations of the crash phenomenon over time. Results have shown that most severe pedestrian crashes occur with a few types of pedestrian-vehicle circumstances such as drivers who regularly drive while pedestrians irregularly cross outside crossings or drivers not giving way to pedestrians who regularly cross at unsignalized crossings. A spatiotemporal variability of the four main identified crash patterns was highlighted: severe pedestrian crash rates are higher for major cities and Northern Italy, while crash rates decreased in the 2020 year with respect to previous years. Results indicate that, on the one hand, it is necessary to design appropriate countermeasures to enhance pedestrian safety with respect to specific crash patterns; on the other hand, researchers should take the spatiotemporal variability of pedestrian crash patterns into account.