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Safety issues related to pedestrian conspicuity, vehicle design, collision avoidance systems, safety infrastructure countermeasures and data needs for better understanding of pedestrian safety problems and solutions are the subject of an open to the public NTSB meeting scheduled for Sept. 25, 2018.

During the meeting, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in the NTSB Board Room and Conference Center, investigative staff from the Office of Highway Safety will present findings and recommendations from the special investigation report on pedestrian safety to the five-member board.

Following the NTSB’s Pedestrian Safety Forum in 2016, the Office of Highway Safety investigated a series of 15 highway crashes in which vehicles struck and killed pedestrians between April 24 and Nov. 3, 2016. While not a representative sample of pedestrian crashes (that could be generalized for all pedestrian crashes), the NTSB selected cases for investigation that cover the range of pedestrian crash characteristics. The number, 15, was symbolic of the average number of pedestrians killed each day in 2016. Unfortunately, during the completion of this study, that average number increased to 16 pedestrians killed daily. Pedestrian fatalities have increased every year since 2009, with 5,987 pedestrians killed in 2016 because of vehicle crashes.

Before this special investigation report, the NTSB had conducted four investigations, one safety study and issued 10 safety recommendations related to pedestrian safety since 1971.

WHO: Investigative staff and NTSB board members

WHAT: Board Meeting

WHERE: NTSB Board Room and Conference Center, 420 10th St., SW, Washington

WHEN: Sept. 25, 2018, 9 a.m. (media covering the event are asked to be in place not later than 8:45 a.m. on the day of the event)

The board meeting is open to the public and may be viewed via webcast. A link for the webcast will be available at http://ntsb.capitolconnection.org/ shortly before the start of the meeting.