Nashville Pedestrian Death Registry Sparks Research & Discussion

Incredibly proud that this work is being used for further research and to spark discussion.   We need this. 


Nashville Pedestrian Death Registry.org was created spring 2017 as a joint project to further investigation of how people die while walking in our city.  As with most things, the more you learn about the subject, the more complicated and interesting it becomes... 


Anthony and I both knew that the stories were more detailed compared to what we read in news and police reports.  The map of pedestrian deaths is also very different from what we were hearing as assumed trouble spots.


Favorite quotes from article from NPR below:

• 45 percent of pedestrian fatalities go unreported in local news outlets, and that when they do, the details provided by police and journalists may be contributing to misperceptions about why pedestrians die.
• Last year was the deadliest on record for the city, with 23 killed
• Initial traffic crash reports don’t seek many details about victims on foot — often only whether the person was in a crosswalk or wearing dark clothing.  Those limited details, without more context, could lead to “victim blaming”
• The researchers examined news articles, finding them “jarringly” formulaic, often completely composed of the routine facts that are included in federal crash reporting forms. That can leave out details about the victim, and context about the quality of sidewalks and crosswalks, street lighting, other infrastructure and road conditions.
• “Media plays a big part in how we have public perceptions about public safety issues,” Robinson said, adding, “there’s very little coverage of infrastructure at all.”

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To Read or Listen to this article, click the LINK:  http://nashvillepublicradio.org/post/tsu-researchers-pedestrian-deaths-are-misunderstood-part-because-police-and-journalists#stream/0

Credit Tony Gonzalez / WPLN

TSU Researchers: Pedestrian Deaths Are Misunderstood, In Part Because Of Police And Journalists 
  

6/27/2018

Researchers at Tennessee State University say they’ve found shortcomings in how pedestrian deaths are documented and reported through local news outlets.

In a study presented Tuesday (PDF), the pair of researchers said they found that roughly 45 percent of pedestrian fatalities go unreported in local news outlets, and that when they do, the details provided by police and journalists may be contributing to misperceptions about why pedestrians die.

Anthony Campbell, assistant professor of public administration, said he decided to investigate walking deaths because he’d picked up on some misunderstandings while compiling stories of local victims for the Nashville Pedestrian Death Registry.

Last year was the deadliest on record for the city, with 23 killed.

Anecdotally, people didn’t understand where these were happening, or why.

“People tend to say, ‘Oh, well, down on Broadway or something? People get drunk, come here …’ ” he said. “And that’s not. None happen there. Mainly because cars aren’t going fast enough. And then when you look where we found deaths are occurring are out at the perimeter, where people are having to walk home or go from point A to point B and there isn’t a sidewalk.”

Stats provided last year by Walk Bike Nashville show the most deaths (12) occurred on Old Hickory Boulevard, followed by Gallatin and Main Street in East Nashville (11), Murfreesboro Pike (11) and Nolensville Pike (8). 

To read the remainder of the article, please click on link above

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If you know someone who has perished on foot in Nashville, please contact us.  We would like to talk to you.

https://www.nashvillepedestriandeathregistry.org/