A meta-analysis of safety countermeasures for vulnerable users on urban roads

Abstract

This paper presents a meta-analysis of road interventions for vulnerable users, namely pedestrian traffic lights at crosswalks, bicycle lanes, and bicycle paths. The results of this meta-analysis can be compared with safety effects presented in other publications, such as the HSM (Highway Safety Manual). The results presented here can serve as another source of information for better estimating the safety effects of these interventions to enhance accident prediction modeling. The meta-analysis in this paper evaluated the effects on road safety of the mentioned three interventions, segregated into accidents with fatalities, injuries, as well as their occurrence rate. The meta-analysis demonstrated a reduction in the number of accidents in all three intervention studies. For future work, it is suggested that before-and-after safety studies follow standardized procedures for data collection and provide individualized data for each location, along with open data accessibility, to enhance the use of meta-analysis in road safety studies.