Having grown up in Nepal, Saurav Parajuli knew how dangerous it was for pedestrians in countries in South and Southeast Asia. The statistics Parajuli saw once he began conducting research focused on transportation safety at the University of Tennessee forced him into action.
According to the World Health Organization, pedestrian fatalities increased by 3% from 2010 to 2021, reaching 274,000 and making up 23% of all traffic deaths. In that span, pedestrian fatalities declined across all WHO regions except in the Southeast Asia region.
“South Asia alone is driving the global pedestrian fatality increase,” said Parajuli, a PhD student and graduate research assistant in the UT Center for Transportation Research. “The problem with South Asia is there is no data. We don’t have a safety culture, essentially.”
Parajuli attempted to address the research gap by conducting a stated preference experiment in Kathmandu Valley. He polled 2,722 participants to reveal their experiences as pedestrians in various settings. His research was recently published in ScienceDirect.
Parajuli collected data on users’ socio-demographic characteristics and travel behavior to understand their perceived experiences. He adopted a multivariate analysis to examine the relationships between street-level variables, participants’ travel behavior, socio-demographic factors, and their perceptions of crash exposure risk and severe injury risk.
He used tailored, realistic street-level images to assess a wide range of variables, including the human-made surroundings, traffic conditions, and pedestrian infrastructure. Parajuli created fabricated, but realistic, visual experiments to simulate various walking environments and measure perceptions of crash likelihood and fatality risk.
“Researchers have been struggling to actually measure the proper perceptions for the realistic scenarios, because without some kind of manipulation or AI enforced image generation there wouldn’t be exactly similar research controls like this,” Parajuli said. “I simulated the actual scenarios, but kept everything somewhat controlled, which is novel.”
Informing Future Safety Plans
Parajuli’s results indicate that pedestrians face the highest perceived risk from crash exposure on roadways and sidewalks, risky motorized two-wheelers (MTW) riding in walking spaces, and unmanaged trash in walking areas.
Conversely, he found that wide walking spaces and MTW parking available on the roadside on narrow streets are associated with increased perception of safety from crash exposure and severe risk injury. Pedestrian overpasses and crosswalks also significantly enhance perceived pedestrian safety, reducing exposure risks and the likelihood of severe crashes.
Parajuli believes his research can help inform city planners and policymakers on how to better design pedestrian-oriented facilities and transportation pathways in urban areas. The danger is particularly felt in low-income countries such as India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam.
“This is a pretty low-cost research method to address the pedestrian safety situations,” Parajuli said. “The method is designed in such a way that the whole thing can be even replicated for developed cities as well. Instead of installing everything and having to build everything from scratch, you can just replicate the whole thing in a video or in a picture and assess the perception.”
Sharing Research Results Globally
To help stimulate his research, Parajuli received a McClure Scholarship through the UT Center for Global Engagement. The scholarship provides financial awards up to $5,000 to support research and creative projects abroad aimed at enhancing and promoting education for world responsibility.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do anything without this scholarship. It basically enabled me to address a global issue that needs to be addressed,” Parajuli said. “I am extremely grateful for the support I received, and I believe it will help make a difference in the world.”
Parajuli presented his work at the Transportation Research Symposium in Rotterdam, Netherlands May 25–28. The feedback he received served as more motivation to pursue his career goals and aspirations.
“This research really drives me to do something about this and try to improve the pedestrian situation,” Parajuli said. “I hope my study will guide the decision makers to plan for the specific kind of infrastructure that is actually desired by the pedestrian and is actually serving for safe perception of pedestrians in terms of exposure and safety risk.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683, rpotkey@utk.edu)