Dr. Sanders is a co-PI and the Research Director on this project to improve pedestrian safety at night. This research will use a mixed-methods approach including national and local crash analyses, pedestrian focus groups, and driver simulation to accomplish the following: (1) Elucidate the root causes of pedestrian crash risk at night; (2) Identify and evaluate the effectiveness of existing and emerging strategies for improving pedestrian nighttime safety; (3) Propose effective, economically viable strategies to mitigate nighttime pedestrian crashes; and (4) Develop guidance for implementing the proposed strategies.

Partners include Toole Design, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Dr. Robert Schneider), Equitable Cities LLC (Charles Brown), Texas A & M University (Dr. Tara Goddard), University of New Mexico (Dr. Nick Ferenchak), and Frank Proulx Consulting.

Dr. Sanders was a Co-PI on this National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) project to develop an illustrative guidebook to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety at intersections. The project included a literature review, practitioner survey, and original research. The final guidance complements established resources like PEDSafe and BIKESafe by providing selection criteria and insights regarding important considerations for implementing pedestrian and bicycle countermeasure combinations in various contexts.

Partners: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Toole Design, and Kittelson & Associates

Dr. Sanders led this project, which included an extensive literature review of speed-related countermeasures across the traditional pillars of the “5 E’s”, a brief survey of practitioners involved in speed management and pedestrian safety efforts, and expanded interviews with a diverse set of case cities that had demonstrated success in using speed management techniques to improve pedestrian safety. The report concludes with priority research needs to address pedestrian safety and speed in the future.

Partner: Toole Design

Dr. Sanders was a Co-PI on this Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program (BTSCRP) project, which sought to advance multimodal road safety by identifying safety risks emerging from the growing use of e-scooters and developing comprehensive guidance, tools, policy options, and educational materials to mitigate those risks. Through a comprehensive literature review, practitioner survey, and original research, the project generated concrete guidance for e-scooter management and provided evidence-based strategies and supporting tools for e-scooter safety actions that can be integrated into state and local highway safety plans, policies, programs, and projects.

Partners: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Populus, and Equitable Cities LLC

Drs. Sanders and Schoner are key team members on this project, which includes a comprehensive literature review, practitioner interviews, state- and city-level crash analyses, surrogate safety analysis, and driver simulation to provide insights into and design guidance related to preventing turn-related motor vehicle-bicycle crashes. We are involved throughout the project, including providing feedback on all deliverables and critical insights into bicycle crash patterns and related design considerations. We are also leading the multi-jurisdictional crash analysis that will clarify priority bicycle crash types and inform future human factors testing and design guidance. We will also co-author the design and policy conclusions in the final report.

Partners: Toole Design, Portland State University, and Oregon State University

Dr. Sanders is a subject matter expert on this project to create national design guidance for mid-block bicycle facility design. This project includes a broad literature review, state of the practice survey, and crash analysis. She will provide insights related to the crash analysis and expert review of all deliverables and research efforts.

Partners: Texas Transportation Institute, Toole Design, and Portland State University

Dr. Sanders was a subject matter expert on this project to develop a guidebook for roadway reallocation in urban and suburban contexts. This project included a broad literature review, practitioner interviews, and original research. In her role, Rebecca provided insights about pedestrian and bicyclist safety and behavior and larger transportation equity principles, as well as expert review of deliverables. She helped design the original research and contributed to the final research report and guidebook.

Partners: Kittelson & Associates, North Carolina State University, and MobyCon

Dr. Sanders is a researcher on this project to create safety performance functions for vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists and develop a systemic safety plan for Montgomery County, Maryland. She led the bicycle crash analysis to identify high-priority bicycle crash types, will support the pedestrian and bicycle volume estimation, and will estimate the bicycle safety performance functions. She will also contribute to the final countermeasure recommendations and report.

Partner: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Dr. Sanders was the Principal Investigator on this research project to examine factors related to pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries in darkness as compared to daylight. The findings indicate that pedestrian fatalities on roadways with speed limits of 30 mph or more are significantly more likely in darkness than in daylight, underscoring a key disconnect between roadway design for vehicle throughput and design for pedestrian safety. She led the analysis of California DOT (SWITRS) crash data, co-led the analysis of Fatality Reporting System (FARS) data, and wrote the forthcoming journal article discussing the results.

Partners: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Frank Proulx Consulting LLC

Dr. Sanders was a Co-Investigator on this project to examine pedestrian safety via crash frequency and crash severity analyses in Phoenix. The findings from this project indicate a need to consider both crash frequency and severity in pedestrian safety studies, given the distinct but mutually important information each analysis provides about pedestrian activity and risk. Rebecca advised graduate students on their work, consulted on all model development, and led the authorship of the forthcoming journal article.

Partners: Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University

Dr. Sanders was the Principal Investigator on this project to investigate trends in e-scooter use and barriers to and benefits of e-scooter use among Arizona State University (ASU) staff. The project included a comprehensive literature review and survey of ASU staff. The findings indicate that, among e-scooter users, e-scooters are viewed as convenient, better than walking in hot weather, and faster than walking, with all of these benefits being stronger for e-scooters than for bicycling. Barriers to e-scooter use included perceptions of traffic risk and fears of falling, both of which were more prevalent for women than men. The findings indicate that e-scooters may fill a critical niche in non-auto transportation, particularly in high heat areas. The findings are described in this journal article and additional forthcoming publications.

Partner: Arizona State University

Dr. Sanders was the Principal Investigator on this project to examine physical activity impacts related to e-scooter use. The project used a single-case design and an ABA treatment/intervention/treatment pattern with a sample of frequent e-scooter users to explore trade-offs in physical activity related to mode. The findings indicate that physical activity (measured via heart rate) is indeed reduced when e-scooting compared to walking and bicycling, but is increased compared to driving. The results also suggest that car ownership and use influence transportation alternatives, such that regular drivers substituted car trips for e-scooter trips when e-scooter use was prohibited. These findings shed important light on the way that e-scooters fit into the suite of transportation alternatives and suggest areas for future research. The findings are described in a forthcoming publication.

Partners: Arizona State University and St. Andrews University

Dr. Sanders was the Principal Investigator for this project to develop teleworking materials to support teleworking efforts across organizations in the broader Phoenix area. The project included a brief literature review, survey of City of Tempe employees, focus groups of City of Tempe managers and non-supervisory employees, and interviews with teleworking experts. The final deliverables include Teleworking Tipsheets for managers and non-supervisory employees that provide key insights into aspects and challenges of teleworking. The project also produced a teleworking self-assessment to help teleworkers evaluate and address potential challenges, recommendations for local agencies and organizations regarding how to help promote a healthy teleworking culture, and a high-level emissions reduction estimation tool to support teleworking as a key aspect of helping the Phoenix area stay in ozone compliance.

Partners: Arizona State University, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and the City of Tempe