Strategies to Improve Pedestrian Safety at Night: A Guide (2025)
Chapter: Front Matter
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2025 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
OFFICERS
Chair: Leslie S. Richards, Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Vice Chair: Joel M. Jundt, Secretary of Transportation, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Pierre
Executive Director: Victoria Sheehan, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC
MEMBERS
James F. Albaugh, President and CEO, The Boeing Company (retired), Scottsdale, AZ
Carlos M. Braceras, Executive Director, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City
Douglas C. Ceva, Vice President, Customer Lead Solutions, Prologis, Inc., Jupiter, FL
Nancy Daubenberger, Commissioner of Transportation, Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul
Marie Therese Dominguez, Commissioner, New York State Department of Transportation, Albany
Garrett Eucalitto, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Newington
Andrew Fremier, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco, CA
Martha Grabowski, Professor Emerita, Information Systems, Le Moyne College, Madden College of Business & Economics, Cazenovia, NY
Randell Iwasaki, President and CEO, Iwasaki Consulting Services, Walnut Creek, CA
Carol A. Lewis, Professor, Transportation Studies, Texas Southern University, Houston
Scott C. Marler, Director, Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames
Ricardo Martinez, Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA
Russell McMurry, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta
Craig E. Philip, Research Professor and Director, VECTOR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Steward T.A. Pickett, Distinguished Senior Scientist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY
Susan A. Shaheen, Professor and Co-Director, Transportation Sustainability Research Center, University of California, Berkeley
Marc Williams, Executive Director, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Bryan Bedford, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
Michael R. Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC
Tariq Bokhari, Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC
Steven G. Bradbury, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Steven Cliff, Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento
Drew Feeley, Acting Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, Washington, DC
LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Germantown, MD
Firas Ibrahim, Director, Office of Research, Development, and Technology, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), Washington, DC
Jason Kelly, Deputy Commanding General for Civil Works and Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC
Sandra Knight, President, WaterWonks, LLC, Washington, DC
Ben Kochman, Acting Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Washington, DC
Niloo Parvinashtiani, Engineer, Mobility Consultant Solutions, Iteris Inc., Fairfax, VA, and Chair, TRB Young Members Coordinating Council
Gloria Shepherd, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC
Karl Simon, Director, Transportation and Climate Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Paul P. Skoutelas, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
Jim Tymon, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC
Sang Yi, Acting Administrator, U.S. Maritime Administration, Washington, DC
________________________
* Membership as of August 2025.
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1157
Strategies to Improve
Pedestrian Safety at Night
A GUIDE
Michelle Danila
Stefanie Brodie
Sara Schooley
Toole Design Group
Silver Spring, MD
Rebecca L. Sanders
Jessica Schoner
Brian Almdale
Safe Streets Research and Consulting
Portland, OR
David Hurwitz
Hisham Jashami
Kezia Suwandhaputra
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR
Robert J. Schneider
Bryan Walter
Natalie Marshall
William Henning
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI
Subscriber Categories
Highways • Pedestrians and Bicyclists • Safety and Human Factors
Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration
2025
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state department of transportation (DOT) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research.
Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 initiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation.
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was requested by AASHTO to administer the research program because of TRBʼs recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. TRB is uniquely suited for this purpose for many reasons: TRB maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; TRB possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; TRBʼs relationship to the National Academies is an insurance of objectivity; and TRB maintains a full-time staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those in a position to use them.
The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators and other staff of the highway and transportation departments, by committees of AASHTO, and by the FHWA. Topics of the highest merit are selected by the AASHTO Special Committee on Research and Innovation (R&I), and each year R&Iʼs recommendations are proposed to the AASHTO Board of Directors, the FHWA, and the National Academies. Research projects to address these topics are defined by NCHRP, and qualified research agencies are selected from submitted proposals. Administration and oversight of research contracts are the responsibilities of NCHRP.
The needs for highway research are many, and NCHRP can make significant contributions to solving highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement, rather than to substitute for or duplicate, other highway research programs.
NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1157
Project 17-97
ISSN 2572-3766 (Print)
ISSN 2572-3774 (Online)
ISBN 978-0-309-99555-9
Library of Congress Control Number 2025946045
© 2025 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Authors herein are responsible for the originality and accuracy of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) grants permission to reproduce written material in this publication for classroom and non-commercial purposes subject to the rights of any third parties and appropriate attribution. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply NAS, TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. For other uses of the written material, users must request permission from the National Academies Press.
NOTICE
The research report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
This material is based upon work supported by the FHWA under Agreement No. 693JJ32350025. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed or implied in this document are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the FHWA; or the program sponsors.
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Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.
The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major program divisions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to mobilize expertise, experience, and knowledge to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges. The Boardʼs varied activities annually engage about 8,500 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state departments of transportation, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation.
Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1157
Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Inam Jawed, Senior Program Officer
Kevin Padilla, Senior Program Assistant
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Janet M. McNaughton, Senior Editor
NCHRP PROJECT 17-97 PANEL
Field of Traffic—Area of Safety
Rebecca L. Mowry, California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, CA (Chair)
Patrick Adams, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Augusta, ME
Veronica O. Davis, AtkinsRéalis, Baltimore, MD
Joshua Harrouch, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Baton Rouge, LA
Christi McDaniel-Wilson, Oregon Department of Transportation, Salem, OR
Meghan Fehlig Mitman, Fehr & Peers, Walnut Creek, CA
Katherine Beckett Suter, Illinois Department of Transportation, Springfield, IL
Scott J. Windley, U.S. Access Board, Washington, DC
Yuanyuan Zhang, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
Tamara A. Redmon, FHWA Liaison
Kelly K. Hardy, AASHTO Liaison
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research reported herein was performed under NCHRP Project 17-97 by the Toole Design Group (Toole Design), Safe Streets Research and Consulting (Safe Streets), the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW-M), and Oregon State University (OSU). Toole Design was the prime contractor for this study, while Safe Streets led the research design. Michelle Danila, PE, PTOE, of Toole Design and Dr. Rebecca Sanders of Safe Streets were co-principal investigators for this project. In addition, Michelle Danila served as project manager and Dr. Sanders served as research director.
NCHRP Web-Only Document 430: Improving Pedestrian Safety at Night [available on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org)], which is supplemental to this report, contains details on the following work performed for the project: a literature review, a national level crash analysis, a multicity case-control analysis, a driver simulation study, a practitioner survey, focus groups, and interviews. The literature review and national level crash analysis were performed and written up by Dr. Robert Schneider of UW-M along with masterʼs students Bryan Walter, Natalie Marshall, and Will Henning. The multicity case control analysis was performed by Dr. Sanders, with data preparation help from Brian Almdale and Dr. Jessica Schoner. The driver simulation work was performed and written up by Dr. David Hurwitz of OSU, along with Dr. Hisham Jashami and masterʼs student Kezia Suwandhaputra. The practitioner survey, focus groups, and interviews were performed by Dr. Stefanie Brodie and Sara Schooley of Toole Design. The work was reviewed at multiple stages by the following experts: Dr. Frank Proulx of Frank Proulx Consulting, Dr. Nick Ferenchak of the University of New Mexico, Dr. Tara Goddard of Texas A&M University, Charles T. Brown of Equitable Cities, LLC, and Bill Schultheiss of Toole Design.
Photo credits to Toole Design unless otherwise noted.
FOREWORD
By Inam Jawed
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
NCHRP Report 1157: Strategies to Improve Pedestrian Safety at Night: A Guide presents state-of-the-art guidance for state departments of transportation (DOTs) to address the high pedestrian fatalities on roadways, especially at night. Several research methods were employed to develop the guide, including practitioner surveys, focus groups, quantitative crash analyses, case-control analyses, driver simulations, and practitioner interviews. Transportation engineers and planners working on safer pedestrian infrastructure will find this guide especially helpful.
In 2023, an estimated 7,318 pedestrians died in traffic crashes in the United States (Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2023 Preliminary Data, Governors Highway Safety Association, 2024). This is, on average, one death every 72 minutes. About 75% of these deaths occurred at night. While visibility is obviously the single most important factor affecting pedestrian nighttime safety, there appear to be a host of other factors, including human factors, roadway design, and vehicle speed, whose interplay might also have a role in exacerbating the issue. Those other factors also must be better understood to help develop an effective strategy for improving pedestrian safety at night.
Existing common strategies are often limited in their applicability due to funding restraints, technical limitations, policy shortcomings, or other reasons. Research was therefore needed to support state DOTsʼ data-driven decisions aimed at improving pedestrian safety at night. For example, in situations where lighting is not feasible because of funding issues or other practical reasons, DOTs needed a menu of alternative multidisciplinary strategies that could help improve pedestrian safety.
Under NCHRP Project 17-97, “Strategies to Improve Pedestrian Safety at Night,” Toole Design Group, LLC, was tasked with developing guidance to help state transportation agencies select and incorporate appropriate strategies to improve pedestrian safety at night. The research included a comprehensive literature review, state-of-the-practice surveys, national pedestrian fatality analyses, case–control analyses of severe pedestrian crashes along higher-risk roadways, driver simulations, pedestrian and driver focus groups, and practitioner interviews to explore a wide variety of factors associated with pedestrian risk in darkness as well as how those factors interact with one another.
This guide is accompanied by a conduct-of-research report that details the activities performed in the development of the guide. That report is available on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching for NCHRP Web-Only Document 430: Improving Pedestrian Safety at Night.
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CONTENTS
Understanding the Rise in Pedestrian Fatalities at Night
The Built Environmentʼs Influence on Behavior
Implement Nighttime Countermeasures
Chapter 4 Beyond Roadway Design
Countermeasure Implementation and Retrofitting
City and State Ordinances and Laws
Chapter 5 Looking Forward: New Standards to Meet Todayʼs Safety Challenges
Appendix Nighttime Countermeasures by the Safe System Roadway Design Hierarchy
