Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported a decline in motor vehicle traffic fatalities in 2022. And yet, the conditions for vulnerable road users outside the vehicle, like people walking and biking, have become increasingly dangerous. Nearly 20% of all traffic fatalities are pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities
People walking and biking at the intersection of Center and Milvia in downtown Berkeley, CA (Photo: Lisa Peterson)
A new U.S. Department of Transportation-funded Tier One University Transportation Center (UTC) led by the University of New Mexico (UNM), The Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety (CPBS), will address this unacceptable and preventable tragedy. The CPBS is one of the twenty Tier One UTCs announced in March 2023, and will receive $2 million a year for the next five years to advance research on pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
US DOT welcomes members from new UTC’s at the University of New Mexico, City College of New York, and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (Photo: US DOT)
The UTC, led by UNM, will include three other consortium members, including UC Berkeley–led by the Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) Safety Research Lead Julia Griswold–University of Wisconsin, University of Tennessee, and San Diego State University.
“Our research will play a critical role in creating a transportation system that is safe, comfortable and accessible for our most vulnerable road users – people walking and biking,” said Julia Griswold, UC Berkeley Associate Director for CPBS. “Our work will also address key safety challenges around infrastructure, safety culture and behavior, and rural transportation safety.”
CPBS will explore the recent increase in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and injuries, identify transformative solutions, and disseminate that knowledge through education, technology transfer, and workforce development.
