METHODOLOGY
TABLE 1: All pedestrian injury and fatality data are from the 1998 and 1999 Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) managed by the California Department of Highway Patrol. Population estimates are from the California Department of Finance and have been updated to reflect the most recent revisions to county population totals. Pedestrian incident rates are calculated by dividing all pedestrian injuries and fatalities by population and then multiplying by 100,000. The pedestrian exposure rate is taken from the 1990 U.S. Census journey to work data, and reflects the approximate percentage of people walking to work multiplied by 100. This is widely seen as the best available surrogate for overall levels of pedestrian activity. What is important about the journey to work data is that it establishes an indication of basic exposure for pedestrians. It is most important in establishing a measure of relative exposure between counties, and for this purpose it is likely a conservative estimate. The California Pedestrian Danger Index is calculated by dividing the pedestrian incident rate by the pedestrian exposure rate and then adjusting the number to a 0-100 scale where the highest ranking county scores 100 and all other counties are adjusted accordingly to the same scale.
TABLE 2: Pedestrian fatality and total traffic fatality data are from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) managed by the California Department of Highway Patrol. Percent of all traffic fatalities that are pedestrians is a simple ratio of pedestrian fatalities to all traffic fatalities.
Hospitalized pedestrian fatality and injury data by race was produced by the Latino Issues Forum and is derived from the California Department of Health Services 1998 Death Records and 1998 Hospital Discharge Dataset from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Population estimates are from the California Department of Finance. Shares of both incidents and population are basic percentages. It should be noted that the Department of Health Services Injury Tables capture only hospitalized injuries and are thus a subset of total traffic-related injuries.TABLE 6: Definitions of Cost Categories:
Medical includes spending on hospital and professional services, rehabilitation, prescriptions, home health care, medical equipment, and funeral expenses. Victim Work Loss includes wages, fringe benefits and household work for adults. It is the present value of a lifetime's worth of wage and household work that children will be unable to do as adults if they are killed or permanently disabled, these earnings include fringe benefits. Public Services includes police, fire, ambulance, and helicopter services. Property Damageis the cost to repair or replace damaged vehicles or property. Quality of Life places a dollar value on the pain, suffering, and lost quality of life that children and their families experience due to death ands injury.