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43-424: A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement (US: sidewalk), but this was not the case historically. Pedestrians may also be wheelchair users or other disabled people who use mobility aids . The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with the morphemes ped- ('foot') and -ian ('characteristic of'). This word

86-420: A cane and is lighter, less bulky and easier to propel than a wheelchair. Wheelchairs and mobility scooters substitute for walking by providing a wheeled device on which the user sits. Wheelchairs may be either manually propelled (by the user or by an aide ) or electrically powered (commonly known as a "powerchair"). There are different types of wheelchair power add-ons that turn any manual wheelchair into

129-418: A frontal impact. In such a situation, an adult pedestrian is struck by a car front (for instance, the bumper touches either the leg or knee-joint area), accelerating the lower part of the body forward while "the upper body is rotated and accelerated relative to the car," at which point the pelvis and thorax are hit. Then the head hits the windscreen at the velocity of the striking car. Finally, the victim falls to

172-467: A high priority in many large cities in Western Europe, often in conjunction with public transport enhancements. In Copenhagen , the world's longest pedestrian shopping area, Strøget , has been developed over the last 40 years, principally due to the work of Danish architect Jan Gehl , a principle of urban design known as copenhagenisation . Safety is an important issue where cars can cross

215-476: A path (and therefore pedestrians may walk wherever they choose). Shared-use paths alongside the highway often look like sidewalks to motorists. Therefore, at side roads, in jurisdictions where pedestrians do not have priority at side roads, the priority situation at side roads on shared-use paths can be confusing and often cyclists are required to give way to turning motorists. Before the January 2022 revision,

258-716: A power assisted. Mobility scooters are electrically powered, as are motorized wheelchairs. Wheelchairs and Scooters are normally recommended for any individual due to significant mobility/balance impairment. A Registered Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist (few cases) are able to provide object and clinical testing to ensure proper and safe device recommendations. A stairlift is a mechanical device for lifting people and wheelchairs up and down stairs. Sometimes special purpose lifts are provided elsewhere to facilitate access for those with disabilities, for example at entrances to raised bus stops in Curitiba , Brazil . A wheelchair lift

301-609: A process of removing vehicular traffic from city streets or restricting vehicular access to streets for use by pedestrians, to improve the environment and safety. Efforts are under way by pedestrian advocacy groups to restore pedestrian access to new developments, especially to counteract newer developments, 20% to 30% of which in the United States do not include footpaths. Some activists advocate large pedestrian zones where only pedestrians, or pedestrians and some non-motorised vehicles, are allowed. Many urbanists have extolled

344-477: A road with no footpath. Indoor pedestrian networks connect the different rooms or spaces of a building. Airports, museums, campuses, hospitals and shopping centres might have tools allowing for the computation of the shortest paths between two destinations. Their increasing availability is due to the complexity of path finding in these facilities. Different mapping tools, such as OpenStreetMap , are extending to indoor spaces. Pedestrianisation might be considered as

387-417: A road; these include urban short cuts and also rural paths used mainly by ramblers, hikers, or hill-walkers. Footpaths in mountainous or forested areas may also be called trails . Pedestrians share some footpaths with horses and bicycles: these paths may be known as bridleways. Other byways used by walkers are also accessible to vehicles . There are also many roads with no footpath. Some modern towns (such as

430-440: A stair climbing assistant. The hybrid is not designed to replace a walker which normally has four legs and provides 4-way support using both hands. Another device to assist walking that has entered the market in recent years is the gait trainer . This is a mobility aid that is more supportive than the standard walker. It typically offers support that assists weight-bearing and balance. The accessories or product parts that attach to

473-420: A vehicle. The Traffic Injury Research Foundation describes pedestrians as vulnerable road users because they are not protected in the same way as occupants of motor vehicles. There is an increasing focus on pedestrians versus motor vehicles in many countries. Most pedestrian injuries occur while they are crossing a street. Most crashes involving a pedestrian occur at night. Most pedestrian fatalities are killed by

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516-562: Is a footbridge . In Britain, regardless of whether there is a footpath, pedestrians have the legal right to use most public roads, excluding motorways and some toll tunnels and bridges such as the Blackwall Tunnel and the Dartford Crossing — although sometimes it may endanger the pedestrian and other road users. The UK Highway Code advises that pedestrians should walk in the opposite direction to oncoming traffic on

559-578: Is about for many reclaiming aspects of independence which before were denied to them. Shared use path The path may also permit other users such as inline skating . Contrastingly, motorcycles and mopeds are normally prohibited. Shared-use paths sometimes provide different lanes for users who travel at different speeds to prevent conflicts between user groups on high-use trails. Shared-use paths are criticised for creating conflict between different users. The UK's Department for Transport deprecates this kind of route in denser urban environments. In

602-649: Is commonly used in government documents such as documents related to tax concessions. It refers to devices that provide a level of mobility comparable to unaided walking or standing from a seated position. Advancements in technology are likely to expand the functionalities of these devices through the integration of sensors and the provision of audio or tactile feedback. Walking aids are devices designed to assist individuals with mobility impairments in maintaining upright ambulation. These aids include assistive canes , crutches , walkers , and more specialized devices such as gait trainers, and upright walkers. Each type of aid

645-628: Is derived from the Latin term pedester ('going on foot') and was first used (in the English language) during the 18th century. It was originally used, and can still be used today, as an adjective meaning plain or dull. However, in this article it takes on its noun form and refers to someone who walks. The word pedestrian may have been used in middle French in the Recueil des Croniques et Anchiennes Istories de la Grant Bretaigne . Walking has always been

688-431: Is designed to support users in different ways, which include improving stability, reducing lower-limb loading, and facilitating movement. The cane or walking stick is the simplest form of walking aid. It is held in the hand and transmits loads to the floor through a shaft. The load which can be applied through a cane is transmitted through the user's hands and wrists and limited by these. A crutch also transmits loads to

731-569: Is greater than 40 km/h. Among the factors which reduce road safety for pedestrians are wider lanes, roadway widening, and roadways designed for higher speeds and with increased numbers of traffic lanes. For this reason, some European cities such as Freiburg (Germany) have lowered the speed limit to 30 km/h on 90% of its streets, to reduce risk for its 15 000 people. With such policy, 24% of daily trips are performed by foot, against 28% by bicycles, 20% by public transport and 28% by car. (See Zone 30 .) A similar set of policies to discourage

774-583: Is important both for human health and for the natural environment . Frequent exercise such as walking tends to reduce the chance of obesity and related medical problems. In contrast, using a car for short trips tends to contribute both to obesity and via vehicle emissions to climate change: internal combustion engines are more inefficient and highly polluting during their first minutes of operation (engine cold start). General availability of public transportation encourages walking, as it will not, in most cases, take one directly to one's destination. In Unicode ,

817-441: Is specifically designed to carry the user and the wheelchair. This can either be through floor or utilizing the staircase. Mobility aids may also include adaptive technology such as sling lifts or other patient transfer devices that help transfer users between beds and chairs or lift chairs (and other sit-to-stand devices), transfer or convertible chairs. Knee scooters help some users. As people start to live longer mobility

860-478: The Highway Code gave no advice to pedestrians on how to share space with cyclists; there was also little guidance given to cyclists. (The 2023 edition covers both aspects. The UK Department for Transport advises local authorities that cyclists and pedestrians should not be expected to share space on or alongside city streets. Sustrans gives advice for cyclists, walkers and runners using shared-use paths on

903-621: The UK Department for Transport found that cyclists and pedestrians prefer wider non-segregated paths to more narrow segregated paths (e.g. a 3 m wide shared path, compared with a 3 m path split into 1.5 m sections). The principal benefit of a shared-use path is saving space. This may be important in environmentally-sensitive areas or on narrow streets, where a full cycle track may not be feasible. Shared use paths are criticised for creating conflict between pedestrians and cyclists and creating complaints from pedestrians and speed. Therefore,

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946-822: The hexadecimal code for "pedestrian" is 1F6B6 . In XML and HTML, the string 🚶 produces 🚶. Mobility aid A mobility aid is a device that helps individuals with mobility impairments to walk or improve their overall mobility. These aids range from walking aids, which assist those with limited walking capabilities, to wheelchairs and mobility scooters, which are used for severe disabilities or longer distances that would typically be covered on foot. For individuals who are blind or visually impaired, white canes and guide dogs have been long-standing resources. Additional aids are designed to facilitate mobility and transfers within buildings, including navigating between different floor levels. The term "mobility aid" traditionally refers to technology mechanical devices and

989-665: The 1000 hours. Since the 20th century, interest in walking as a sport has dropped. Racewalking is still an Olympic sport, but fails to catch public attention as it did. However major walking feats are still performed, such as the Land's End to John o' Groats walk in the United Kingdom, and the traversal of North America from coast to coast. The first person to walk around the world was Dave Kunst who started his walk traveling east from Waseca, Minnesota on 20 June 1970 and completed his journey on 5 October 1974, when he re-entered

1032-1203: The Netherlands, 4.3 in Sweden, 4.5 in Wales, 5.3 in New Zealand, 6.0 in Germany; 7.1 in the whole United Kingdom, 7.5 in Australia, 8.4 in France, 8.4 in Spain, 9.4 in Italy, 11.1 in Israel, 13 in Japan, 13.8 in Greece, 18.5 in the United States, 22.9 in Poland, and 36.3 in Romania. It is well documented that a minor increase in speed might greatly increase the likelihood of a crash, and exacerbate resulting casualties. For this reason,

1075-517: The UK, cyclists are legally permitted to cycle on bridleways (paths open to horse riders), but not on public footpaths. Therefore, bridleways are, in effect, a form of shared-use path. On segregated or divided paths, the path is split into a section for pedestrians and a section for cyclists. This may be achieved with a painted line or different surface. It may also be delineated with tactile paving for blind and visually impaired pedestrians. Research by

1118-666: The US, some pedestrians have just 40 seconds to cross a street 10 lanes wide. Pedestrian fatalities are much more common in accident situations in the European Union than in the United States. In the European Union countries, more than 200,000 pedestrians and cyclists are injured annually. Also, each year, more than 270 000 pedestrians lose their lives on the world's roads. At a global level pedestrians constitute 22% of all road deaths, but might be two-thirds in some countries. Pedestrian fatalities, in 2016, were 2.6 per million population in

1161-404: The ground through a shaft, but has two points of contact with the arm, at the hand and either below the elbow or below the armpit. This allows significantly greater loads to be exerted through a crutch in comparison with a cane. Devices on the market today include a number of combinations for canes, crutches, and forearm crutches. These crutches have bands that encircle the forearms and handles for

1204-415: The ground. Research has shown that urban crimes, or the mere perception of crimes, severely affect the mental and physical health of pedestrians. Inter-pedestrian behaviour, without the involvement of vehicles, is also a key factor to pedestrian safety. Some special interest groups consider pedestrian fatalities on American roads a carnage. Five states – Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Texas – are

1247-667: The new suburbs of Peterborough in England) are designed with the network of footpaths and cycle paths almost entirely separate from the road network. The term trail is also used by the authorities in some countries to mean any footpath that is not attached to a road or street. If such footpaths are in urban environments and are meant for both pedestrians and pedal cyclists, they can be called shared use paths or multi-use paths in general and official usage. нуПЬ Some shopping streets are for pedestrians only. Some roads have special pedestrian crossings . A bridge solely for pedestrians

1290-509: The paths do not properly take into account the different needs of different road users. For example a study by the Institute for Chartered Engineers found that users of shared use paths were confused about the nature of the path and who has priority on them. Pedestrians are sometimes unsure how to behave on shared-use paths. The question arises whether the path is to be treated as a road (therefore pedestrians should face oncoming traffic), or

1333-464: The patient to hold and rest their hands on to support the body weight. The forearm crutch typically gives a user the support of the cane but with additional forearm support to assist in mobility. The forearm portion helps increase balance, lateral stability and also reduces the load on the wrist. A walker (also known as a Zimmer frame) is the most stable walking aid and consists of a freestanding metal framework with three or more points of contact which

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1376-479: The pedestrian way. Drivers and pedestrians share some responsibility for improving safety of road users. Road traffic crashes are not inevitable; they are both predictable and preventable. Key risks for pedestrians are well known. Among the well-documented factors are driver behaviour (including speeding and drunk driving); infrastructure missing facilities (including pavements, crossings and islands ); and vehicle designs which are not forgiving to pedestrians struck by

1419-619: The primary means of human locomotion. The first humans to migrate from Africa, about 60,000 years ago, walked. They walked along the coast of India to reach Australia. They walked across Asia to reach the Americas, and from Central Asia into Europe. With the advent of the cars at the beginning of the 20th century, the main story is that the cars took over, and "people chose the car", but there were many groups and movements that held on to walking as their preferred means of daily transport and some who organised to promote walking, and to counterbalance

1462-411: The product frame provide unweighting support and postural alignment to enable walking practice. The Walk Aid Scooter allows a user with normal balance and foot, knee or hip conditions to unload the lower extremities. The two-wheeled scooter has a bicycle-type seat and handlebars, and is manually propelled with one or both feet like a balance bicycle . This walking aid scooter provides more support than

1505-779: The recommended maximum speed is 30 km/h (20 mph) or 40 km/h (25 mph) in residential and high pedestrian traffic areas, with enforced traffic rules on speed limits and traffic-calming measures. The design of road and streets plays a key role in pedestrian safety. Roads are too often designed for motorized vehicles, without taking into account pedestrian and bicycle needs. The non-existence of sidewalk and signals increases risk for pedestrians. This defect might more easily be observed on arterial roadways, intersections and fast-speed lanes without adequate attention to pedestrian facilities. For instance, an assessment of roads in countries from many continents shows that 84% of roads are without pedestrian footpaths, while maximum limited speed

1548-406: The site of 46% of all pedestrian deaths in the country. The advent of SUVs is considered a leading cause; speculation of other factors includes population growth, driver distraction with mobile phones, poor street lighting, alcohol and drugs and speeding. Cities have had mixed results in addressing pedestrian safety with Vision zero plan: Los Angeles fails while NYC has had success. Nonetheless, in

1591-634: The town from the west. These feats are often tied to charitable fundraising and are undertaken, among others, by celebrities such as Sir Jimmy Savile and Ian Botham . Roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic , called the sidewalk in North American English , the pavement in British English , and the footpath in Australian and New Zealand English . There are also footpaths not associated with

1634-603: The use of cars and increase safety for pedestrians has been implemented by the Northern European capitals of Oslo and Helsinki. In 2019, this resulted in both cities counting zero pedestrian deaths for the first time. In Europe, pedestrian fatalities have a seasonal factor, with 6% of annual fatalities occurring in April but 13% (twice more) in December. The rationale for such a change might be complex. Regular walking

1677-398: The user places in front of them and then grips during movement. The points of contact may be either fixed rubber ferrules as with crutches and canes, or wheels, or a combination of both. Wheeled walkers are also known as rollators. Many of these walkers also come with an inbuilt seat so that the user may rest during use and with metal pouches to carry personal belongings. A walker cane hybrid

1720-532: The virtues of pedestrian streets in urban areas. In the US the proportion of households without a car is 8%, but a notable exception is New York City , the only locality in the United States where more than half of all households do not own a car (the figure is even higher in Manhattan, over 75%). The use of cars for short journeys is officially discouraged in many parts of the world, and construction or separation of dedicated walking routes in city centres receives

1763-547: The widely-held view that often favoured cars, e.g. as related by Peter Norton . During the 18th and 19th centuries, pedestrianism (walking) was non a popular spectator sport, just as equestrianism (riding) still is in places. One of the most famous pedestrians of that period was Captain Robert Barclay Allardice , known as "The Celebrated Pedestrian", of Stonehaven in Scotland. His most impressive feat

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1806-406: Was introduced in 2012 designed to bridge the gap between a cane and a walker. The hybrid has two legs which provide lateral (side-to-side) support which a cane does not. It can be used with two hands in front of the user, similar to a walker, and provides an increased level of support compared with a cane. It can be adjusted for use with either one or two hands, at the front and at the side, as well as

1849-410: Was to walk 1 mile (1.6 km) every hour for 1000 hours, which he achieved between 1 June and 12 July 1809. This feat captured many people's imagination, and around 10,000 people came to watch over the course of the event. During the rest of the 19th century, many people tried to repeat this feat, including Ada Anderson who developed it further and walked a half-mile (800 m) each quarter-hour over

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