Collisions involving impaired pedestrians present a particular challenge because there are few known effective countermeasures to prevent them. This article examines the nature of impaired pedestrian casualty collisions in comparison to collisions involving non-impaired pedestrians. Police reports are the primary data source. Comparison to Coroners' reports on fatal pedestrian collisions suggests that police reports substantially underestimate the scope of the problem. The results are similar to those reported for other countries. The impaired pedestrians were mainly responsible for their collisions. However, the reports suggest that about 20% of drivers also contributed to these collisions. No evidence was found to suggest that police road check enforcement activity aimed at drinking drivers exacerbated the impaired pedestrian problem. The results suggest that countermeasures should target high risk areas where impaired pedestrian collisions are most frequent.
Abstract