Watch for Me NC: Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program

Development and Pilot Evaluation

Laura Sandt, UNC-HSRC

September 10, 2014

Program Goals

• Raise awareness of pedestrian and bicyclist safety issues

• Education on relevant laws – Law enforcement – General public

• Support safer behaviors

• Prevent injuries and fatalities

Short

Term

Longer

Term

Watch for Me Triangle Pilot Program

2011: Program development 2012: Year 1 program launch

• Pedestrian safety focus • 8 partner communities • Data collection to evaluate efforts

2013: Year 2 program launch • Ped + bike safety messages • Changes to campaign look • Expanded data collection • 18 partners

2014: Statewide roll out

Pilot Program Partners

• UNC-HSRC

• NCDOT

• Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP)

• Capital Area MPO

• Durham Chapel Hill Carrboro MPO

• 8 Universities

• 10 Municipalities

Program ABC’s

• Adhere to best practices/evidence

– Multi-faceted, multi-level approach

– Messages target specific, key behaviors

• Balanced/Comprehensive

• Community-led

• Data-driven and evaluated

Crash Prevention Model

Individual Changes

Organizational/ Institutional Changes

Environmental Changes

Societal and Socioeconomic Changes

Increasing

Population

Impact

Increasing

Individual

Effort

Needed

Program Elements

• Multi-level Education:

– Individual outreach (ads, materials)

– Organizations (training/outreach)

– Social change (networks and media)

• (Re)Enforcement

Enforcement Training/Capacity Building

• Training – 2012: 45 officers/11 agencies

– 2013: 55 officers/20 agencies

• Laws brochure

• Signage

• Media support

• DA support

Training Results

• Test scores rose from 77 to 90% correct

• Many changes in attitude:

Construct Attitude/Belief Statement (1=Disagree; 6=Agree) Before

Avg.

After

Avg.

%

Diff.

P-

value

Knowledge I am familiar with the laws protecting pedestrian safety in NC 4.15 5.26 27% 0.0000

Attitude Pedestrian safety does NOT need routine enforcement 2.00 1.65 -18% 0.0083

Resources/

capacity

My colleagues/I have adequate resources to use towards making

our community safer for pedestrians 4.33 4.67 8% 0.0163

Self/ Unit

Efficacy My department/unit could perform a ped crossing operation 5.13 5.67 10% 0.0002

Response

Efficacy I can help prevent crashes by enforcing ped/motorist laws 5.11 5.53 8% 0.0018

Plans I have been thinking that my unit should work on planning a

crosswalk enforcement operation within the next 6 months 4.25 4.85 14% 0.0007

Program Results

• Year 1: 37+ ops; 460/170 warnings/citations

• Year 2: 55+ ops; 318/162 warnings/citations

• No citations dismissed

• Several agencies reported being repeatedly thanked

• Program received national recognition

Field Data Collection

• 16 marked midblock or uncontrolled intersection crosswalks in 5 cities

• 8 “standard” enforcement/8 “enhanced” sites

• 9 sites with data from 2012/13 and 2013/14

Site Type Pre Enforcement Post Enforcement Total

Crossings Natural Staged Natural Staged

Standard 515 1418 870 2667 5470

Enhanced 734 1548 1278 2787 6347

Total 1249 2966 2148 5454 11,817

Program Results

• Short term (8/13-2/14): Slight increase in driver yielding (between 4 and 7%) at sites receiving enhanced enforcement

• Longer term (8/12-2/14): Yielding increased about 15-16%

• Sites with most active enforcement have highest compliance with yielding laws

Pilot Program Lessons

• The norms ARE shifting, slowly

• Largest shifts in places with:

– Most long-term, routine enforcement coupled with highest saturation of educational messages and grass-roots champion

– Stable “champion” with strong, intra-agency and intra-departmental partnerships

Keys to Success

• Quality data – Make the case – Inform program development – Evaluate effects

• Partner coordination – Idea generation – Program delivery

• Funding and support – NCDOT, MPOs, GHSP, NHTSA,

and others

Thank You!

Laura Sandt Senior Research Associate UNC HSRC 919-962-2358 sandt@hsrc.unc.edu www.WatchForMeNC.org/pilot