Pedestrians hit by vehicles while on the pavement - the data

Yesterday I posted about pedestrians hit by vehicles on pedestrian crossings and how the vast majority of those are motor vehicles, despite a perception that this is a particular problem with cyclists. Today I am looking at pedestrians who have been injured while on the pavement, also a common complaint about cyclists.

The map below shows the vehicles which have hit pedestrians on the footway, verge or refuge/central island in the years 2005-2015.

In this case a shocking 97% of pedestrians hit on the pavement were hit by motor vehicles, with just 3% of the injuries attributed to cyclists. This presumably includes 'shared space' pavements where cycling is permitted and encouraged.

Again this highlights that if local councillors are serious about pedestrian safety they need to focus on the danger caused by motor traffic. I would also encourage them to reject the many poorly designed and poorly signposted shared space pavement schemes, which even though it does not result in many accidents, often gives the impression cyclists are being inconsiderate when they have been encouraged to use the pavement.  

Key:

Car - yellow marker (there isn't a car symbol)

Bus, coach or minibus - bus icon

All vans and goods vehicles - truck icon

Motorcycle - motorcycle icon

Pedal cycle - bicycle icon

Taxi/Private hire car - cab icon

For more detail on any of the data points simply click on the icon.

These maps are based on the data STATS19 police collision report data from 2005-2015 inclusive (11 years of data). If you want the full details on specific a specific incident or want to search by area I recommend using www.cyclestreets.net/collisions/.

Pedestrians hit on crossings - the data

This map shows the vehicles which have hit pedestrians on pedestrian crossings 2005-2015.

Last week one group identified cyclists as a main cause of road danger. A brief look at road casualty statistics shows this is not the case.

For instance, cyclists jumping red lights are often cited as a problem on our roads. However if we focus in on this 'cycling' problem, the road accident data shows motor vehicles are responsible for the vast majority of collisions with pedestrians on crossings. 

Only 2% of the pedestrians hit on crossings are hit by cyclists. That is two percent too many, but if we are serious about pedestrian safety we need to focus on the 98% of collisions which cause the most serious injuries and deaths.

If councillors are serious about avoiding conflict between cyclists and pedestrians they need to stop the widespread use of poorly designed and poorly signposted shared space pavements. Instead they should provide dedicated cycling facilities protected from traffic as far as possible and leave pavements clear for pedestrians. 

Key:

Car - yellow marker (there isn't a car symbol)

Bus, coach or minibus - bus icon

All vans and goods vehicles - truck icon

Motorcycle - motorcycle icon

Pedal cycle - bicycle icon

Taxi/Private hire car - cab icon

For more detail on any of the data points simply click on the icon.

In some locations you will see two icons exactly on top of each other. This is as indicated in the original data and may have been due to locations being rounded or approximated previously. For instance at long. -0.133876, lat. 51.519942 two icons are shown over each other representing separate incidents on 21/02/2008 and 08/07/2009. 

These maps are based on the data STATS19 police collision report data from 2005-2015 inclusive (11 years of data). If you want the full details on specific a specific incident or want to search by area I recommend using www.cyclestreets.net/collisions/.

The danger of 'Agricultural Vehicles' in Central London?

The map below shows where pedestrians and cyclists have been killed or injured in collisions involving 'agricultural vehicles' as recorded on police road collision reports for the years 2005-2015.

The cluster of casualties in central London highlights problems with the current reporting of collisions - vehicles are put in to categories which do not adequately describe their purpose. In this instance it's likely most or all of these 'agricultural vehicles' were in fact diggers and other construction vehicles lumped in to the same category (details here).

This is in addition to the 'other' vehicle category which encompasses many of the most dangerous construction vehicles and a plethora of other vehicles, masking the large number of deaths caused by a these vehicles. We also know from insurers that the construction industry has a poor record when it comes to vans and small lorries.

It's been clear for a long time that the construction industry has a problem when it comes to road safety, unfortunately the data collected hides the extent of the problem. In order to understand the real causes of road danger we need better data to be made available, including detailed vehicle types and maybe also the industry sector.

Pedestrians and cyclists killed or injured in collisions involving agricultural vehicles (2005-2015): fatal - black, serious - yellow, slight - blue. 

Notes:

• If you want the full details of specific a specific incident, or to search by area, try www.cyclestreets.net/collisions/.
• Where possible casualty records have been linked to the vehicle which hit them. For pedestrians, the data records which vehicle (first) hit them. For other road users we inferred a collision where there was just one other vehicle involved. When there were more vehicles it was not possible to infer which vehicles collided with which.
• Care has been taken to avoid errors or emissions while creating these maps, however if you spot an issue please let us know.

Horse Riders killed or injured 2005-2015 | Map

For a larger version of the map, click here.

STATS19 mapping implementation notes

These maps are based on the data from 2005-2015 inclusive (11 years of data), which has been edited down to make the file sizes more manageable. If you want the full details on specific a specific incident or want to search by area I recommend using www.cyclestreets.net/collisions/.

The data for "Journey_Purpose_of_Driver", "Vehicle_Type", "Make" and "Model" refers to the other vehicle involved where that has been possible to match*. For pedestrians, the data records which vehicle (first) hit them. For other road users we inferred a collision where there was just one other vehicle involved. When there were more vehicles it was not possible to infer which vehicles collided with which.

*Bicycles, horses and mobility scooters are all counted as vehicles.

For a few of the entries we have found errors in the data, such as missing location data which may means they have not been mapped. Examples of this are accident references 2005600GN6024 and 200504BB05106.

Care has been taken to avoid errors or emissions while creating these maps, however if you spot an issue please let us know.

Alternative map of KSIs involving Heavy Goods Vehicles

In my previous post I presented a map created using Google Fusion Tables. This post shows an alternative map produced using the same data fed in to Google Maps. Due to limits on the file size, the collisions resulting in minor injuries have been omitted.

Vulnerable road users killed or seriously injured in collisions involving HGVS for the years 2005-2015

For a larger version of the map, click here.

'Vulnerable Road Users' refers to pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, horse riders & mobility scooter riders. Due to the number of dangerous goods vehicles classed as 'Other', that category has been included and the maps will also include some collisions involving different vehicles in the 'Other' category.

STATS19 mapping implementation notes

These maps are based on the data from 2005-2015 inclusive (11 years of data), which has been edited down to make the file sizes more manageable. If you want the full details on specific a specific incident or want to search by area I recommend using www.cyclestreets.net/collisions/.

The data for "Journey_Purpose_of_Driver", "Vehicle_Type", "Make" and "Model" refers to the other vehicle involved where that has been possible to match*. For pedestrians, the data records which vehicle (first) hit them. For other road users we inferred a collision where there was just one other vehicle involved. When there were more vehicles it was not possible to infer which vehicles collided with which.

*Bicycles, horses and mobility scooters are all counted as vehicles.

For a few of the entries we have found errors in the data, such as missing location data which may means they have not been mapped. Examples of this are accident references 2005600GN6024 and 200504BB05106.

Care has been taken to avoid errors or emissions while creating these maps, however if you spot an issue please let us know.

STATS19 collision data - Overview

The database of police collision reports comes from a standard form called STATS19. This collects a range of data on the collision, vehicles involved, casualties and injuries. A selection of this information is published annually as a database (details such as registration numbers are recorded but not published).

The data is published as three separate lists of information (in .csv format):

• 'Accidents' (collisions) lists out the individual collisions with a reference number and data relating to the incident.
• Vehicles lists out the vehicles involved, the accident reference, vehicle reference, plus data relating to the vehicle.
• Casualties lists out the casualties, the accident reference and data relating to the casualty.

Each collision will have one or more vehicles and may have several casualties.

The STATS20 form gives details of what information is meant to be recorded and how the various categories work (for instance: what constitutes a minor injury, or how the vehicle codes should be used).

In this post I've summarised what is contained in the publicly available data, with a focus on information relevant to pedestrian and cyclist safety.

Collisions

The list of collisions includes the reference number 'Accident Index', the location (easting & northing) and date & time in addition to:

• The Police Force and Local Authority
• Number of vehicles involved
• Number of casualties 
• Speed limit
• Roundabout / One way street / Dual carriageway / Single carriageway / Slip Road / Unknown 
• If the collision was near a junction/pedestrian crossing and if so the type of junction/crossing.
• Lighting, weather and road conditions/hazards
• Urban/Rural area

Vehicles

For each vehicle we are given the Accident Index and vehicle reference (001, 002, etc). If there is only one vehicle linked to a collision that would be 001. Details of the vehicle are:

• The vehicle type (more info) and whether it was towing, left hand drive.
• Vehicle manoeuvre, for instance: reversing, turning left, changing lane to right, overtaking on nearside etc.
• Vehicle location: Main carriageway, Bus lane, marked Cycle Lane (advisory or mandatory), separate Cycle Way, Footway. Note that there is no code for shared space area so this information is not recorded.
• Information on whether the vehicle is entering a junction, at a junction, leaving a junction, entering a roundabout etc. 
• Whether the vehicle skidded/overturned, whether it left the carriageway and whether it hit an object.
• Point of impact: 0. Did not impact, 1. Front, 2. Back, 3. Offside, or 4. Nearside 
• Age and sex of driver.
• Journey purpose of driver: 1. Journey as part of work 2. Commuting to/from work 3. Taking pupil to/from school 4. Pupil riding to/from school 5+. Other/Not known 

Casualties

Similarly to vehicles, the records start with the Accident Index and then a casualty reference. The first casualty associated with the collision is 001, then 002, 003, etc. Details of the casualty are given as follows:

• The 'casualty type' classification (more info)
• Casualty class: 1. Driver or rider 2. Vehicle or pillion passenger 3. Pedestrian. Another field records whether they were a Bus/Coach passenger.
• The severity of the injury. Injuries are recorded as serious/slight by the police usually within a short time of the accident and are often not based on the results of medical examinations.
• 1, Fatal
• 2, Serious: Serious injuries are generally those that would send the casualty to A&E or where they're likely to require further medical treatment. This includes: Broken neck or back, Severe head injury, Loss of arm or leg (or part), Fracture, Concussion, Deep cuts and Injuries to casualties who die 30 or more days after the accident from injuries sustained in that accident. 
• 3, Slight: Slight injuries are generally those which require first aid or require no medical attention and include Whiplash, Shallow cuts, Sprains and Bruising.
• Vehicle reference number - this is the number of the vehicle they occupied, or for pedestrians the number of the vehicle which first hit them. 
• Age and sex of casualty.
• Pedestrian location: footway/verge, refuge/central reservation or carriageway.

Mapping

The data can be filtered using any of these categories and then mapped. One or two of the categories can be used to determine the map marker shape and colour. Other data can be displayed when the user clicks on a data-point.

For instance the data could be filtered to show only cyclists and pedestrians injured in collisions involving cars, with round markers for pedestrians and square markers for cyclists with the following colours: (fatal, serious, minor) = (red, yellow, orange).

Please let me know in the comments below if you have any suggestions for maps which might provide insights or illustrate particular problems.

STATS19 collision data - Vehicle and casualty categories

When the police record road traffic incidents they use various classifications to record details vehicles, casualties and injuries. This information is entered in to the STATS19 database which is published annually.

The STATS19 data can be found here. The details of how vehicles, casualties, injuries etc. should be classified is published on the STATS20 form.

Vehicle Classification

The vehicle classifications are shown below. The number on the left is the code stored in the police database for each category (for the detailed notes about classification refer to the STATS20 link above).

It should be noted that many vehicle types do not fit the classification well - construction industry diggers would be classified as agricultural vehicles and 'other' category contains refuse vehicles and a variety of construction lorries and equipment. As a result, the goods vehicles data significantly under-represents the lorries most often causing fatalities by as much as 10-15% for both refuse lorries and construction lorries (based on TfL data for London 2010-2014). Taken together this could mean around a fifth of lorry fatalities are recorded in the 'other' category.

• 01  Pedal cycle - includes tricycles etc.
• Motorcycles - 'motorcycle' includes mopeds, motor scooters and three wheeled motorcycles.
• 02  Motorcycle 50cc and under
• 03  Motorcycle over 50cc and up to 125cc
• 04  Motorcycle over 125cc and up to 500cc
• 05  Motorcycle over 500cc
• 97  Motorcycle – unknown cc
• 23  Electric motorcycle - includes all electrically powered motorcycles over 0.25 kW, whether or not they are also equipped with pedals.
• 08  Taxi/Private hire car - any vehicle operating as a hackney carriage, regardless of construction.
• 09  Car - includes three wheeled cars, estate cars, family vans/multi-people carriers, Land Rovers and similar four-wheel drive vehicles.
• 10  Minibus (8 - 16 passenger seats)
• 11  Bus or coach - defined as 17 or more passenger seats.
• 16  Ridden horse
• 17  Agricultural vehicle - includes construction vehicles such as mobile excavators and front dumpers, but not heavy plant.
• 18  Tram/Light rail
• Goods vehicles include tankers, HGV tractors travelling without their semi-trailers and articulated vehicles.
• 19  Van/Goods vehicle 3.5 tonnes maximum gross weight (mgw) and under
• 20  Goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes and under 7.5 tonnes mgw - Sometimes referred to as Medium Goods Vehicles or Large Goods Vehicles. These vehicles are included in the CLOCS safety scheme.
• 21  Goods vehicle 7.5 tonnes mgw and over - Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), although sometimes this term is used to mean all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.  These vehicles are included in the CLOCS safety scheme.
• 98  Goods vehicle – unknown weight
• 22 Mobility scooter
• 90 Other vehicle -  Predominately the vehicles causing serious injuries and fatalities in this category are large vans, refuse vehicles, tipper lorries, cement lorries and skip lorries. However the category also includes ambulances, fire engines, motor caravans, and quad bikes, plus anything else which doesn't fit the other classifications.

In addition to the information released publicly, the police database includes information such as the registration number. This can be used by the DfT/TfL to determine the exact make & model of the vehicles in order to analyse the data in more detail (especially the 'other' categories).

'Casualty Type' Classification

The casualty classifications are shown below. The number on the left is the code stored in the police database for each category:

0 Pedestrian

1 Cyclist

2 Motorcycle 50cc and under rider or passenger

3 Motorcycle 125cc and under rider or passenger

4 Motorcycle over 125cc and up to 500cc rider or passenger

5 Motorcycle over 500cc rider or passenger

8 Taxi/Private hire car occupant

9 Car occupant

10 Minibus (8 - 16 passenger seats) occupant

11 Bus or coach occupant (17 or more pass seats)

16 Horse rider

17 Agricultural vehicle occupant

18 Tram occupant

19 Van / Goods vehicle (3.5 tonnes mgw or under) occupant

20 Goods vehicle (over 3.5t. and under 7.5t.) occupant

21 Goods vehicle (7.5 tonnes mgw and over) occupant

22 Mobility scooter rider

23 Electric motorcycle rider or passenger

90 Other vehicle occupant

97 Motorcycle - unknown cc rider or passenger

98 Goods vehicle (unknown weight) occupant