From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety Description: Audio Interview by GAO staff with Susan Fleming, Director, Physical Infrastructure Related GAO Work: GAO-16-66: Pedestrians and Cyclists: Cities, States, and U.S. DOT are Implementing Actions to Improve Safety Released: December 2015 [ Background Music ] [ Narrator: ] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. It's December 2015. Walking and biking are becoming increasingly popular, with nearly a million more people reporting walking or biking to work in 2013 than in 2005. But while total traffic fatalities have declined in recent years, this was not matched by a similar decline in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities. A team led by Susan Fleming, a director in GAO's Physical Infrastructure team, recently reviewed pedestrian and cyclist safety efforts and data. Jacques Arsenault sat down with Susan to talk about what they found. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] As a regular bike commuter, this is an issue that really resonates with me. Can you tell me what we know about recent trends in pedestrian and cyclist safety? [ Susan Fleming: ] As you can imagine, more and more folks are biking and walking to work and for pleasure, and the trend for overall traffic fatalities is a good trend. It's actually declined in the last few years. But as a percentage of traffic fatalities, pedestrian and cyclist fatalities may have gone up a bit. And many of these fatalities do involve middle aged men. They occur in urban areas and during early evening hours. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] And what do we know about what may have contributed to those pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in recent years? [ Susan Fleming: ] There could be a number of factors that have led to this trend. These could be working alone or in some combination. As I mentioned, more and more folks are cycling, so naturally there's a greater exposure to crashes and the potential for fatalities and injuries. Alcohol use is a factor as well. About 50 percent of pedestrians and 35 percent of cyclist fatalities were attributed to alcohol use. Distracted driving, walking, or cycling could also play a role. About 50 percent of distracted related deaths in 2013 were for pedestrian and cyclists. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] Now, decisions about traffic safety often happen at the state and local level. What steps have states and localities been taking to address pedestrian and cyclist safety? [ Susan Fleming: ] They've taken a number of steps to improve pedestrian and bike safety. It's very important to get a handle on the count, pedestrian and cyclist trip counts, in order to understand how many of these people are using these types of transportation modes and what improvements might be needed. Agencies are trying to educate the public about safe walking and bicycling practices as well as applicable laws, and states are trying to design and install crosswalks, bike lanes. They're really trying to consider the needs of all road users when they design or improve streets. Also, lastly, many states and cities are trying to implement enforcement initiatives. Police are enforcing traffic laws. They're having targeted enforcement campaigns. And then I think it's important to note that some cities are even going a step further. They're trying to implement more comprehensive efforts where they try to bring together the data, the engineering, the education, and the enforcement, and they're trying to come up with a way of eliminating, having a goal of eliminating all traffic fatalities. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] Then what are some of the challenges that they face at the state and local level? [ Susan Fleming: ] Really making pedestrian/bicycle safety a priority. Many states and cities have different perspectives on how to implement transportation investments. One group told us that transportation planners often view large-scale projects that move people regionally as more important than rather the 1-3 mile commute that normally pedestrians and cyclists take. Another thing that I mentioned earlier is that cities and states are trying to more routinely collect information on pedestrian and cyclist trip counts. This is relatively new, and unfortunately, it's not always standardized across jurisdictions. And then having limited data is challenging because then cities and states don't have a really good handle on whether or not their initiatives and programs are having an impact. Funding is also something that cities and states highlighted for us. Both the amount of funds, but also how funds are distributed. Most federal funds flow from the U.S Department of Transportation to states, and then states can elect how and how much to allocate to the various cities. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] Well, along those lines, looking at the federal level, what is the U.S. Department of Transportation doing to help states and localities with these issues? [ Susan Fleming: ] Department of Transportation has taken a number of actions to help improve pedestrian and bike safety. As part of the Safer Streets, Safer People initiative, Department of Transportation created the Mayor's Challenge, encouraging local leaders to make this a priority and to take specific actions. On the data collection front, Department of Transportation is trying to help states and cities collect data on pedestrian and bike information through a pilot program. And as I mentioned, the importance of trying to be flexible with engineering design, DOT has supported those efforts and they've also issued guidance on designing roads to try to reduce the speed that motorists take. [ Jacques Arsenault: ] And finally, for all users of our roads, what would you say is the bottom line of this report? [ Susan Fleming: ] Many cities, states, and the Department of Transportation, they're implementing a broad range of initiatives to improve pedestrian and bike safety, but we have a way to go. With more and more people walking and bicycling ever year, it is critical that the Department of Transportation continue to support cities and states and their efforts to protect these vulnerable road users. [ Background Music ] [ Narrator: ] To learn more, visit GAO.gov and be sure to tune in to the next episode of GAO's Watchdog Report for more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office.