“My right to walk, my right to live”: pedestrian fatalities, roads and environmental features in Benin

In modern times, any death or injury on roads is unacceptable given that transportation is a part of economic life and all users have the right to safe travel. Road crashes are responsible for more than 1.35 million deaths per year worldwide; they are the third leading cause of death and disability in sub-Saharan Africa [1, 2]. Although walking has health benefits, the highest road traffic death rates in Africa are among pedestrians at 3.4 per 100,000 inhabitants (95% CI: 2.5–4.2), after motorized four-wheeled vehicle occupants at 5.9 per 100,000 population (95% CI: 4.4–7.4) [3]. According to the latest WHO estimates, pedestrians account for 40% of all deaths by road crashes in Africa, which are estimated at 26.6 per 100,000 inhabitants [2]. In our settings of huge urbanization with no real policy for city building, among the vulnerable road users, pedestrians are particularly exposed because of the lack of pedestrian facilities [4]. In many African countries, pedestrians account for the largest share of road traffic injuries and deaths [5‐8]. The risk factors for pedestrians being hit and killed come in a variety of forms. These factors can be related to both pedestrian and antagonist behavior and are the result of deliberate violations or unintentional errors [9]. For the individual themselves, risky behaviors mentioned in the literature are linked to consumption of alcohol, chatting with other people, and use of a cell phone [10‐13]. As regards infrastructure, the characteristics of the roads themselves, such as type of roadway facilities, have also been identified as risk factors involved in pedestrian deaths [14]. In urban areas, it has also been proved to some extents that the design of road infrastructure as well as the interrelationships with the environment are predictors of the occurrence of pedestrian crashes, especially at intersections [15]. Thus, the importance of the environment and infrastructure measures and the need to implement road safety measures integrating the protection of vulnerable road users such as pedestrians have also been highlighted by many other authors [8, 10, 16]. As such, the implementation of road infrastructure measures has proven to be effective in reducing deaths among pedestrians [17] and is recommended by the World Health Organization [18].

The Safe System Approach includes interventions targeting vehicles, roads, users, and speed limits [19, 20]. In Benin, where traffic rules are often not followed and where the transport system includes a large number of motorcyclists (> 80%), a large portion of road safety interventions are targeted at users, with motorcyclists in particular highlighted among vulnerable road users. These interventions, however, should not overshadow other areas of intervention, in particular road infrastructure and environment, which should be taken into consideration in a genuine road safety policy in a context where speeding is a real problem [21].

With the aim of contributing to the strategic orientations for improving the safety of vulnerable road users in Benin and pedestrians especially, this study aims to analyze the environmental and road factors associated with the pedestrians involved in traffic crashes.

The aim of this study was to identify environmental and infrastructure predictors for deaths among pedestrians involved in a road crash in Benin, in a context where a holistic view is now recommended in the management approach to road safety [2, 26]. The results have shown that environmental factors such as the area and day on which the traffic crash occur, the light levels and the characteristics of the infrastructure, such as the classification of the road, state of the road surface and position of the pedestrian during the traffic crash, are predictors for the death of a pedestrian.

The number of crashes involving pedestrians and the proportion of deaths are higher than in a similar study conducted in Ghana in 2019 on crash data covering the period 2007 to 2016 [13]. That study looked at 328 traffic crashes between 2007 and 2016, of which 51 involved the death of a pedestrian, making up 15.51%. These statistics are lower than those reported in this study. The studies, however, are not comparable due to the differences in the territories examined and the economic context: surrounding transport specifically. Nevertheless, there is agreement on the fact that the reliability of the figures depends on the capacity of the collection system to capture the events, in particular the crash and the deaths. In most cases, low-income countries still have crash data collection systems that perform poorly, in particular as regards the completeness of the data. There are many reasons for this, such as limited integration with hospital systems [27‐29]. The low proportion of deaths may also be partially explained by how the immediate post-crash healthcare system operates. Studies have shown that pre-hospital mortality from traffic crashes is lower according to the time taken to receive care and the quality of the pre-hospital system [30‐32]. In our contexts, the availability and correct functioning of these services is not guaranteed; however, they are essential for reducing morbidity and mortality linked to traffic crashes. An assessment conducted in Nigeria showed inadequate quality in the implementation of immediate post-crash services with delays in receiving treatment and inadequate pre-hospital care, with fewer than 30% of victims of traffic crashes receiving adequate pre-hospital treatment [33].

Although the proportions observed differ, the results of this study agree with the literature on the fact that the majority of crashes involving pedestrians occur in urban areas and do not occur at intersections. According to a study in Ghana for the period 2008 to 2015, over 72% of crashes involving pedestrians occurred away from an intersection [13]. According to another study conducted in Israel, the majority of crashes (95%) and pedestrian deaths (75%) occurred in urban areas and the majority of deaths from traffic crashes occurred away from intersections [34]. In this same study, the majority of crashes (77%) and pedestrian deaths (81%) occurred when crossing the road. These figures are close to those obtained in this study and those reported in Ghana, with 70% of traffic crash-related pedestrian deaths occurring when crossing the road [5]. Thus, crossing the road is an act that exposes pedestrians to significant risk. The fact that the majority of crashes and deaths occur away from intersections may be explained here by the fact that pedestrians look to cross away from intersections out of caution, given the lighter flow of traffic and fewer interactions. Moreover, in a context where, according to national statistical data, less than 5% of roads are paved nationwide [23], there are very few pedestrian crossings in the road infrastructure in Benin, which is not the case in Israel, where most pedestrian crossings are marked and signposted [34]. Despite this, 22% of pedestrian deaths occur on pedestrian crossings, which highlights, among other factors, the issues of speeding and driver awareness. These observations raise important questions and assert the need, through a global approach, for strategies adapted to the characteristics of the road infrastructure (type, quantity and position of signage, number of intersections, design of pedestrian crossings) related to the safety of pedestrians and raising awareness among all users (pedestrians and drivers) on road use and behaviors to adopt. Thus, for example, certain authors have shown that areas with many intersections have a lower risk of crashes with pedestrians [35].

Although the crashes were predominantly in urban areas, our results show the probability of death to be five times higher in rural areas than in urban areas. These results are corroborated by the literature and may be explained by less access to healthcare services and thus a delay in receiving treatment following a crash [6, 36]. In fact, although there are emergency phone numbers to dial in order to alert the fire department or the police in case of road crash, there is no pre-hospital care structure service for road crashes victims with national coverage. Furthermore, as in most developing countries, accessibility to health care is characterized by a disparity between rural and urban areas [37]. A human factor is also mentioned by certain authors to explain the higher risk of post-crash death in rural areas, linked to lower risk perception by the pedestrians [38]. Regardless of whether it is in urban or rural areas, the behaviors of users and especially pedestrians, with respect to their risk perception, influence the risk of traffic crashes and deaths [39, 40]. Speeding could also go toward explaining this difference, but speed data were not recorded and therefore were not available in the database. This is a limitation of the analysis and shows the challenge of working with administrative data that most often do not integrate all information needed for a thorough analysis. All these factors should be incorporated into a comprehensive vision for developing other interventions, including those relating to road infrastructure. This also confirms the need to consider interventions aimed at improving individuals’ perception of traffic risks, user vulnerability, and practices and behaviors on the road to improve safety for everyone.

The literature also agrees on the role of light levels in crashes for all users, especially the risks incurred by pedestrians [7, 36, 41, 42]. The results of this study suggest the same, with the observed probability of death being higher for pedestrians in traffic crashes occurring at night without public lighting. In Benin, where public lighting has the dual issues of limited existence of lighting on major highways and extremely low actual operating ratio of this lighting where it does exist, it is essential that the public authorities take note of the protective effect of public lighting and incorporate it into interventions to improve user safety on roads.

With respect to specific days, there is no real consensus on the role of the weekend as a risk factor for traffic crashes [6, 7]. The results of this study instead point to a higher probability of mortality for pedestrians on public holidays and market days. This may be explained by excesses linked to public holidays and that lead to various risk behaviors (speeding, loss of control, improper crossing of roads). Markets are sporadic areas with high population density which, in the socio-cultural context of Benin, are mainly held alongside roads, despite measures to raise awareness among vendors who leave their reserved location within the designated market area. This situation exposes pedestrians (sellers and buyers) to risk due to the high population density [35] and especially being alongside major highways such as RNIEs. Major highways have been identified as risk factors for traffic crashes and deaths for pedestrians [4, 41]. Our results point in the same direction and may be explained by the potential for speeding on these wide roads in a context where there is limited enforcement, allowing users (over 70%) to travel frequently and significantly above the speed limit [21]. Beyond the type of road, the characteristics of the road surface were also mentioned as a factor related with the probability of death of pedestrians [14, 43]. This is confirmed from these results which show that a damaged surface doubles the risk of pedestrian death compared with a surface in good condition. It is also obvious that in a context of very poor quality of road infrastructure like the case of Benin [23], there is a need of greater consideration by public authorities of the role of road infrastructure quality on user protection and safety.

This study has shown that the characteristics of the environment and the infrastructure, such as road classification, state of road surface and position of the pedestrian during traffic crashes are predictors for the death of pedestrians involved in traffic crashes in Benin. These factors should be considered when developing planning policies and effective interventions to increase safety for pedestrians in Benin. Thus, in practical terms, particular emphasis should be placed on guaranteeing greater pedestrian safety around RNIE, ensuring that the road surface is in good condition and that signs are adapted to facilitate pedestrian crossings; all interventions should be accompanied by awareness campaigns for all road users.