National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes, Knowledge and Behavior

James Nichols
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
January 30, 1998

[Federal Register: January 30, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 20)]
[Notices]               
[Page 4688-4689]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30ja98-110]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
[U.S. DOT Docket No. NHTSA-97-3176]

 
National Survey of Pedestrian and Bicyclist Attitudes, Knowledge 
and Behavior

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments on data collection.

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SUMMARY: The purpose for conducting this survey is to assist the agency 
in reducing injuries, fatalities, and economic loss resulting from 
motor vehicle crashes with pedestrians and bicyclists; and to support 
the Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretarial Initiative for 
Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety. More than 5,000 pedestrians and 800 
bicyclists are killed each year in traffic crashes, and more than 
140,000 are injured. Developing effective strategies to address this 
problem requires up-to-date information on such factors as exposure, 
awareness, safety practices, physical obstacles to safety, and 
perceptions of risk. By collecting these data, NHTSA will be able to 
determine where efforts should be targeted and where new strategies may 
be needed. In addition, the Secretary of Transportation has mobilized a 
national effort to promote walking and bicycling as safe, efficient, 
and healthy ways to travel. The survey will collect information to help 
assess progress in meeting the Secretarial Initiative, including the 
goal to double the national percentage of transportation trips made by 
bicycling and walking.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before March 31, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to U.S. Department of 
Transportation Dockets, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Plaza 401, 
Washington, D.C. 20590. Docket # NHTSA-97-3176.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Alan Block, Contracting Officer's 
Technical Representative, Office of Research and Traffic Records (NTS-
31), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 400 Seventh 
Street, S.W., Room 6240, Washington, D.C., 20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) was 
established to reduce the mounting number of deaths, injuries and 
economic losses resulting from motor vehicle-related crashes on the 
Nation's highways. As part of this statutory mandate, NHTSA is 
authorized to conduct research as a foundation for the development of 
motor vehicle safety standards and traffic safety programs.
    While not as much in the public eye as other traffic safety 
problems, motor vehicle crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists 
exact a heavy toll. Pedestrians and bicyclists account for 15 percent 
of all traffic fatalities, and more than 140,000 injuries each year. 
Yet there are simple things that people can do to reduce these risks, 
provided that they are sufficiently aware and willing to take the 
appropriate steps. For example, a study published in the Journal of the 
American Medical Association found that the universal use of helmets by 
all bicyclists could have prevented as many as 2,500 deaths and 757,000 
head injuries between 1984 and 1988. Despite this, only 18 percent of 
bicyclists age 16 and older usually wear a helmet when they ride. To 
effectively address this gap, a clear picture of bicyclists' knowledge 
of the effectiveness of helmet use, and the attitudes that prevent 
helmet use, is needed.
    Efforts to address the problem have included training, public 
information and education, legislation, enforcement, and engineering. 
However, there is an absence of national data to tell us whether these 
efforts need to be modified or whether new types of interventions are 
needed. More specifically, there is a lack of data concerning the 
public's exposure to risk as pedestrians and bicyclists, their 
awareness of correct pedestrian and bicyclist safety practices, their 
perceptions of the responsibilities of other roadway users, and their 
perceptions of risks. Without this information, safety professionals 
are left with inadequate tools for determining if there are critical 
deficits in education or training that should be addressed, or whether 
interventions are efficiently targeted to where they are most needed. 
This in turn would pose severe constraints on the ability to meet the 
U.S. Secretary of Transportation's goal of reducing by 10 percent the 
number of injuries and fatalities occurring to bicyclists and 
pedestrians.
    Besides reducing pedestrian/bicyclist injuries and fatalities, the 
U.S. Secretary of Transportation has called for a doubling in the 
national percentage of transportation trips made by bicycling and 
walking. Both goals are part of the DOT Secretarial Initiative for 
Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety. This is a national effort to promote 
walking and bicycling as safe, efficient, and healthy ways to travel. 
It involves partnering with numerous groups to foster the development 
of a more balanced transportation system. Yet while the Initiative 
calls for an increase in pedestrian and bicyclist activities, there are 
no exposure data to measure its progress. Moreover, there is a lack of 
information on the obstacles to walking and bicycling that would have 
to be addressed to meet the Secretarial goal; as well as information on 
how persons decide whether or not to walk, or to bike.
    The proposed survey will collect data to meet the informational 
needs described above. The survey instrument will include items to 
measure exposure, knowledge, risk perception, community 
characteristics, and decision factors. The survey data will be used to 
assess the adequacy of present strategies to increase pedestrian and 
bicyclist safety, and to help guide policies aimed at encouraging these 
modes of transportation.

II. Method of Data Collection

    The survey will be conducted by telephone among a national 
probability sample of 4,200 adults age 16 and older. Participation by 
respondents is voluntary. The survey instrument will contain questions 
appropriate to all members of the sample, as well as questions 
appropriate only to subgroups of pedestrians (as defined within the 
study) and bicyclists. The overall interview length for a respondent 
will average 20 minutes. The interviewers will use computer assisted 
telephone interviewing to reduce the interview length and minimize 
recording errors. A Spanish-language translation as well as 
multilingual interviewers will be used

[[Page 4689]]

to minimize language barriers to participation. The survey will be 
anonymous and confidential.

III. Use of Findings

    The findings of this study will assist NHTSA in addressing the 
pedestrian and bicyclist crash problem, and in formulating programs and 
recommendations to Congress. NHTSA will use the findings to: (a) Design 
more effective countermeasure programs; (b) develop policy 
recommendations that support increases in bicycling and walking; and 
(c) provide for measurement of the effectiveness of these efforts. The 
findings will also be used directly by State and local highway safety 
agencies in the development and implementation of effective programs to 
increase the levels of bicycling and walking among the public while 
simultaneously reducing the number of crash-related deaths and 
injuries.

IV. Data

    OMB Number: None.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Regular Submission.
    Affected Public: The United States non-institutionalized population 
ages 16 and older living in households with telephone service.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,200.
    Estimated Time Per Respondent: 20 minutes.
    Estimated Total Burden: 1,400 hours.
    Estimated Total Cost: $51.90 per survey respondent.

V. Request for Comments

    Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the agency, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden 
(including the hours and cost) of the proposed collection of 
information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on respondents, including through the use 
of automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for approval by the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) of this information collection. Copies of all comments 
will be placed in Docket NHTSA-97-3176, in the U.S. Department of 
Transportation Dockets, 400 7th Street, SW., Plaza 401, Washington, DC 
20590, and will become a matter of public record.

    Issued on: January 27, 1998.
James Nichols,
Acting Associate Administrator for Traffic Safety Programs.
[FR Doc. 98-2375 Filed 1-29-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P