Instructions:
Indicate the actions made by the vulnerable user just prior to the crash based on verbal or physical evidence, but not on speculation alone.
Definition:
The action of the vulnerable user immediately prior to the crash and an indication of whether the vulnerable user was walking/cycling to/from school.
Rationale:
By collecting the actions and circumstances prior to the crash, this element is important for developing more effective roadway design and operation, education, and enforcement measures to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists and prevent crashes with motor vehicles.
| Code | Attribute | Definition | Example |
| 1 | Entering or Crossing Location | Indicates the vulnerable user was entering or crossing the crash location when the crash occurred. |  |
| 2 | Walking, Running, or Cycling | Indicates the vulnerable user was walking, running or cycling in the crash location when the crash occurred. |  |
| 3 | Working | Indicates the vulnerable user was working in the crash location when the crash occurred. |  |
| 4 | Pushing Vehicle | Indicates the vulnerable user was pushing a vehicle in the crash location when the crash occurred. |  |
| 5 | Approaching or Leaving Vehicle | Indicates the vulnerable user was approaching, entering or exiting a vehicle in the crash location when the crash occurred. | |
| 6 | Working on Vehicle | Indicates the vulnerable user was working on or providing maintenance to a vehicle within the crash location when the crash occurred. |  |
| 7 | Standing | Indicates the vulnerable user was standing within the crash location when the crashed occurred (and not ‘walking, running or cycling’, ‘entering or crossing location’, ‘working’, ‘pushing vehicle’, ‘approaching or leaving vehicle’). |  |
| 97 | Other | This attribute is used for a variable that is not addressed by the previous attribute options. If this attribute is used, explanation in the narrative is recommended. | |
| 99 | Unknown | If this attribute is used, explanation in the narrative is recommended. |
FAQ
What if ‘walking, running, or cycling’ and ‘entering or crossing location’ both apply?
‘Entering or crossing location’ takes precedent because this value helps to illustrate the scenario.
Accuracy Checks
- If this field is completed, confirm the Vulnerable User check box is also indicated.
- Walking, running or cycling (2) covers travel along the road, including in a bike lane or on the shoulder. Do not use Other (97) for it.
- A vulnerable user is always doing something at the moment of the crash, so one of the listed actions applies. If none of codes 1 to 7 fits, use Other (97) and explain in the narrative.
- This field and Vulnerable User Event Sequence should tell the same story; if any event is Crossing roadway, this field is normally Entering or crossing location (1).
Data Quality Audit Results
| 2025 records | Count | Percent |
| Acceptable | 3,721 | 90.8% |
| Inconsistent with narrative | 21 | 0.5% |
| Not coded (None or Other where the narrative is specific) | 226 | 5.5% |
| Unknown | 52 | 1.3% |
| Empty | 77 | 1.9% |
| Invalid | 1 | 0.0% |
| Total | 4,098 | 100% |
For the Vulnerable User Action field, 91 percent of 2025 records were acceptable and 3 percent were empty or unknown. Outright inconsistency with the narrative is rare. The main issue is Other (97) used where a listed action applies, usually walking or cycling along the road or crossing (167 records). A further 80 records carry a None value, which is not one of this field’s published attributes and appears to come from the reporting system rather than from the officer; on 59 of them the narrative gives an action that one of the listed codes covers. In 392 records a crossing event appears in the sequence of events while the action is coded Walking, running or cycling instead of Entering or crossing location, the case the FAQ above resolves.
From the 2025 Vulnerable User data quality audit, which explains how these rows were counted.