Millions of Americans walk -- to school, to work, to the store or just around the block for exercise. Unfortunately, pedestrians are the most vulnerable to injury and death of all road users; they are basically unprotected if struck by an automobile.
Approximately 197 pedestrians die every year in North Carolina after being hit by cars. For every pedestrian who is killed by an automobile, more than 20 are injured; approximately 4,000 pedestrians are injured by automobiles each year in North Carolina.
Pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 - 14. Motor vehicle crashes account for approximately 80 percent of all childhood pedestrian deaths. Since 2000, Charlotte has averaged 280 collisions annually involving pedestrians and motor vehicles, with 58 of the 1,684 total collisions resulting in a pedestrian's death.
The Charlotte Department of Transportation has instituted several pedestrian safety measures designed to make Charlotte's roads safer, including:
Traffic Calming -- The installation of traffic control devices in residential neighborhoods to slow cars down and help keep pedestrians safe.
School Zone Safety - Traffic control devices that protect students and other pedestrians from vehicular traffic.
- Mid-block crosswalks - Allows students to cross busy streets while traffic is stopped.
- Signs - Warns motorists of upcoming school zones.
- 25 MPH Speed Limits
Sidewalk Safety Features
Crosswalk Safety Features
- Countdown Pedestrian Signal - Alert pedestrians of the amount of time they have to cross a street safely. Also, inform pedestrians how long they must wait before crossing a street safely.
- Pedestrian sign
- Other pedestrian sign
- Accessible Pedestrian Signal - Signal assists sight and hearing impaired pedestrians cross busy intersections. The devices have auditory and vibro-tactile features that provide a multi-sensory approach to determining the appropriate time to cross the street. For the visually impaired, the device offers a verbal message that is location specific designating when it is safe to cross the street. These devices have a locator tone that guides the pedestrian to the pushbutton and the audio component of the device adjusts to accommodate the noise level of surrounding traffic. The devices vibrate to indicate that it is time to proceed into the crosswalk. The devices also have Braille arrow pushbuttons indicating the direction of travel into the crosswalk.
- Crosswalk Instructional Signs - Instruct pedestrians about the rules related to each symbol that emits from a pedestrian signal.
- 4th Street Crosswalk - Standard traffic signal with four red-yellow-green traffic signal heads installed over each travel lane to allow pedestrians to cross busy 4th Street.
- In-Pavement Lighted Crosswalk
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