Safety in Numbers: Estimating Bicyclist Activity and Safety in Minneapolis

October 13, 2016

About the Seminar

"Safety in numbers" is the phenomenon of an individual vulnerable road user (pedestrian or bicyclist) experiencing a lower risk of being involved in a crash when there are more people walking and bicycling in that area. This seminar reviewed a study that looked for this phenomenon at intersections in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Using a combination of crash data and bicycle and pedestrian count data from 2000–2010, study findings show—with a few different statistical models—the existence of the safety in numbers effect at Minneapolis street-level (non-highway) intersections.

Webcast

About the Speaker

Brendan Murphy is the lead data scientist in the Accessibility Observatory at the University of Minnesota. His work at the Observatory focuses on the maintenance and improvement of data and database systems pertaining to accessibility-based analysis of transportation systems. He earned his master's degree in transportation engineering in 2015.