News Release: Travel with caution as Halloween, the end of Daylight Savings Time, and darker, rainier weather add safety risks to city streets

Press Release

Pedestrian crashes rise dramatically from summer to winter, as the days grow shorter. For the 10 years through 2022, Portland had an average of 21 traffic crashes per month involving pedestrians, but only 14.5 on average in July and 20 a month in September, rising to 28 a month in December.

(Oct. 31, 2024) As trick-or-treaters go out tonight across the region and Daylight Savings Time ends this Sunday, the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) urges the traveling public to use caution and understand that the season brings with it a higher risk of traffic deaths on our streets.

Pedestrian crashes rise dramatically from summer to winter, as the days grow shorter. For the 10 years through 2022, Portland had an average of 21 traffic crashes per month involving pedestrians, but only 14.5 on average in July and 20 a month in September, rising to 28 a month in December.

A variety of hazards are built into cars that make it more difficult for drivers to see. So drivers need to take extra care at night, since the impact of fast-moving, heavy steel vehicles can kill or seriously injure people who are walking or biking.

Hit and run driving has increased since the pandemic. A recent national study found 24% of pedestrian deaths came from hit-and-run drivers.

One of the most common pedestrian crash types on High Crash Network streets in Portland involves a pedestrian walking legally in a crosswalk and being hit by a left-turning driver.

When people are turning left they drive faster because they have a wider radius than with right turns, drivers often cut the centerline when turning left, and the car frame creates a blind spot. Slowing turning speeds and improving drivers' view of the crosswalk will help prevent these crashes.

This chart shows how the monthly average for pedestrian crashes rises in the fall and peaks in winter, along with darker conditions. Chart by PBOT.

Happy Halloween from PBOT!

You don't have to dress up in a traffic cone costume to be safe!

But if you're dressed in dark clothing at night, use extra caution while walking or biking. Understand that drivers' ability to see you is limited by rain, glare and blind spots built into cars.

Stay alert and avoid distractions, like looking at your phone. In dark areas, try using your phone as a flashlight to make yourself more visible to people passing in vehicles.

Dress as visibly as possible when traveling outside of a motor vehicle.

Did you know that pedestrians wearing reflective clothing are visible to people driving up to 500 feet away? Compare that to just 55 feet away when pedestrians wear dark colors and no reflective gear or lights.

If you do choose to wear dark clothing, take care to look both ways when crossing the street and assume drivers may not see you.

PBOT adds street lighting to improve safety on high crash corridors

The Transportation bureau continues to invest in street lighting to improve safety in dark conditions. PBOT's Vision Zero Action Plan Update 2023-25 calls for the bureau to add lighting on high crash corridors, prioritizing dangerous streets in areas with higher populations of people of color and people living on low incomes.

Construction of new street lighting on 82nd Avenue, from NE Lombard to SE Clatsop, started last summer.

Streetlights make it easier for people to avoid crashes and can reduce the incidence of crashes at specific locations. Better street lighting is critical for Portland to meet its Vision Zero goal to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries.

Striping our streets also improves safety by making boundaries between lanes more visible. This summer, crews striped the entire city twice, adding reflective beads to the paint surface as they go. As of this month, they have striped 4,100 miles.

As fall rains return, the Traffic Signs and Markings team turns to a new project that they can work on in wetter conditions: The epic job of installing 32,000 new, high visibility street name signs all around town.

In 2023, PBOT crews worked to replace street signs in outer Southeast Portland, beginning from the city limits and working west. Between October 2023 and April 2024, they installed a total of 12,353 street and traffic signs, and replaced an additional 3,393 parking signs and 1,938 posts.

This fall, the crew is beginning their systematic sign replacement in outer Northeast Portland.