How do government programs help promote pedestrian safety?

Similar to occupant safety in motor vehicle crashes, government agencies and nonprofit organizations can play significant roles in enhancing pedestrian safety. The activities include, but are not limited to, investment in infrastructure to separate pedestrians and vehicles, law enforcement to prevent drunk driving or other risky behaviors, enactment of safety standards for vehicles to prevent pedestrian crashes or reduce injury risks if a pedestrian crash does occur, investment in more research programs to better quantify and understand pedestrian safety problems, and improving public awareness.

As an example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the main government agency for vehicle safety research, has been and is funding research projects on collecting more pedestrian crash-injury cases in the U.S., evaluating protocols of vehicle safety tests for enhancing pedestrian safety, and human modeling work related to pedestrian safety. Such activities will undoubtedly improve pedestrian safety in the future.