Study links less daylight to rise in pedestrian-related crashes
As daylight hours grow shorter, drivers are urged to keep an eye out for pedestrians.
Results from studies evaluated by the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study found local pedestrian-related crashes spiked during October compared to other months. As Greater Akron's metropolitan planning organization, AMATS compiles crashrelated data regarding the area's roadway sections and intersections. The is used in planning various safety studies and improvement projects.
Based on its regular three-year analyses of crash records, AMATS determined October has significant increases in crashes involving pedestrians. The most recent evidence for that can be found in the agency's analysis of nearly 401 pedestrian-related area crash records provided by the Ohio Department of Transportation spanning from 2018 through 2020.
During that three-year period, AMATS reported there were 71 crashes involving pedestrians during the month of October compared to the recorded low of 14 during the month of May.
AMATS recorded 149 pedestrian-related crashes in the region in 2018. In 2019, that number slightly increased to to 152 crashes. The number dropped steeply to only 100 for the entire year in 2020, however. That number may be associated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While Halloween and community trick-or-treat times likely contribute to the autumnal increase in pedestrianrelated crashes, AMATS Transportation
Improvement Program Coordinator David Pulay said other factors are likely involved. Pedestrian crashes tended to increase in the morning between 7 and 8 a.m. and in the evening between 6 and 8 p.m.
Early hours are generally when people commute to school and work. Evening hours are generally recreational hours for activities like walking and bike riding. The decreased number of pedestrian-related crashes in 2020 may have been due to less traffic and because many students attended school virtually.
June has an average of 15 hours of daylight. In contrast, AMATS noted, October has an average of 11 hours.
AMATS determined that the frequency of pedestrian-related crashes varies by light conditions. In its analysis, the agency found that 15% of pedestrian-related crashes occurred in periods of diminished daylight such as at dawn, dusk, and on dark roadways during the month of June. That figure spikes to 51% in October under the same light conditions.