FDOT Highlights Major Enhancements to Drive Down Pedestrian Fatalities and Injuries During Pedestrian Safety Month.
Projects include improved intersection lighting, safer mid-block pedestrian crosswalks, and advanced moveable bridge safety technology.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Throughout the month of October, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is joining local and national transportation partners in recognizing Pedestrian Safety Month. Alongside the educational components of this campaign, which aims to raise awareness on the importance of practicing safe behaviors for both pedestrians and motorists. FDOT is also highlighting the life-saving engineering countermeasures. These are currently being implemented across Florida to enhance the safety of our communities.
Pedestrians and bicyclists are among the most vulnerable users of Florida’s transportation system. These populations represent 28 percent of traffic fatalities statewide between 2019 and 2023. Statistics like this are leading FDOT’s continued focus on ultimately eliminating serious injuries and fatalities for all road users. The Department took an aggressive approach to enhance pedestrian safety. Through the recent installation of innovative road design and engineering countermeasures on state-owned facilities, such as improved intersection lighting, advanced moveable bridge technology, and safer mid-block pedestrian crosswalks design standards. These enhancements will help reduce the likelihood of crashes, serious injuries, and fatalities for all users on Florida’s roadways.
Enhancements to Drive Down Pedestrian Injuries and Fatalities
Intersection Lighting Retrofit Program:
- Recognizing that nearly 80 percent of pedestrian fatalities occur in dark conditions, FDOT has invested over $100 million to install LED lighting to enhance crosswalk illumination and pedestrian visibility for motorists at night at over 2,500 intersections across the state. FDOT’s analysis shows that this proven safety countermeasure is estimated to reduce nighttime intersection crashes by up to 38 percent. This has been further demonstrated through the reduction of crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries at locations where lighting improvements were previously completed through the Highway Safety Improvement Program, with over 400 fewer incidents occurring in these locations since 2019.
Moveable Bridge Safety Enhancements:
- FDOT has also prioritized improving safety on all 82 state-owned moveable bridges, which include drawbridges and lift bridges. While current safety measures are in place to provide visibility and protection to keep motorists, pedestrians, and cyclists at a safe distance when bridges are in operation, FDOT is actively working to implement innovative advanced detection technology on these facilities, including thermal imaging cameras to help identify heat signature and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology to produce high-resolution imagery on monitors in the bridge tender house. These countermeasures will enhance a bridge tender’s ability to detect the presence of pedestrians and cyclists in real time before engaging the mechanism that initiates the movement of the bridge.
Mid-Block Pedestrian Crosswalks:
- To increase safety at mid-block crosswalks, FDOT has developed new design standards to ultimately reduce crashes. These crosswalks include a range of safety features, such as pedestrian signals, median refuge islands, enhanced pavement markings, signs, roadway illumination, in-pavement lighting, and raised crosswalks. Numerous new mid-block crosswalks are currently under construction. Providing safer, more visible pedestrian crossing points, particularly in high-traffic areas.
