Instructions:
Complete this element for all vulnerable users. This data element is seeking the presence of a traffic control device applicable to this vulnerable user, not the actuation of the device or if the device contributed to the crash.
Definition:
The type of vulnerable user traffic control device applicable to the crash.
Rationale:
This element is used to identify behavioral concerns, inform law enforcement and legislative activities, and to measure infrastructure design programs.
| Code | Attribute | Definition | Example |
| 0 | None | Used when no vulnerable user traffic control sign, signal, or person (e.g., crossing guard, flagger) was applicable to this Vulnerable User at the time of the crash. | |
| 1 | Person – Crossing guard | Used when vulnerable user was in the presence of a traffic control person at the time of the crash. A traffic control person is an officially designated person (e.g., police officer, crossing guard, flagger), that is in the act of controlling both vehicular and vulnerable user traffic. This person takes precedence over the entire list when a traffic control person and another traffic control device are present. |  |
| 2 | VU Crossing Signal | Used when a vulnerable user crossing signal is present the time of the crash. A vulnerable user crossing signal is a signal, or sign and signal combination, used to direct vulnerable user traffic. Examples: Pedestrian signal head containing the symbols of a walking person (walk) and an upraised hand (don’t walk), which may include a countdown display; pedestrian hybrid beacon used to warn and control vehicular traffic to assist vulnerable users in crossing a street or highway at a marked crosswalk; accessible pedestrian signals, which communicate information about pedestrian signal timing in non-visual format such as audible tones, speech messages, and/or vibrating surfaces. |  |
| 3 | VU Crossing Sign | Used when a vulnerable user crossing sign is present at the time of the crash. A vulnerable user crossing sign is used to limit pedestrian crossing to specific designated crossing locations (i.e., crosswalks). Sign and signal combination units should be coded as a Vulnerable User Crossing Signal. |  |
| 4 | VU Prohibited Sign | Used when a vulnerable user prohibited sign is present at the time of the crash. A vulnerable user prohibited sign alerts vulnerable users attempting to enter a limited access trafficway or other locations where vulnerable user facilities (e.g., sidewalk, crosswalk) are not provided, to prohibit vulnerable users from crossing a roadway at an undesirable location, or to direct vulnerable users to an alternative route. |  |
| 97 | Other | Used when another type of vulnerable user sign or signal was present at the time of the crash. | |
| 99 | Unknown | Used when it is unknown whether any vulnerable user traffic control signs, signals, or person (e.g., crossing guard, flagger) was present at the time of the crash. |
FAQ
The crash-level Traffic Control Device Type is already filled in. Do I still complete this field?
Yes. This field records a control that applies to the vulnerable user: a pedestrian signal, crossing sign, crossing guard, or prohibition sign. If none applied, code None (0).
Accuracy Checks
- If this field is completed, confirm the Vulnerable User check box is also indicated.
- This field describes a control that applies to the vulnerable user: a pedestrian signal, a crossing sign, a crossing guard, a prohibition sign. A traffic light or stop sign that controls vehicles only is coded in Traffic Control Device Type, not here: at a traffic signal with no pedestrian push button or pedestrian indicator, code None (0), not Other.
- If Vulnerable User Location is a marked crosswalk at a signalized intersection, check for a pedestrian signal before coding None.
- Not reported and Unknown should be rare: the crash-level Traffic Control Device Type usually answers the question.
Other Related Fields
Vulnerable User Location; Vulnerable User Type; Traffic Control Device Type; Traffic Device Functioning Code
Data Quality Audit Results
| 2025 records | Count | Percent |
| Acceptable | 3,249 | 79.3% |
| Inconsistent with narrative | 15 | 0.4% |
| Not coded (None or Other where the narrative is specific) | 93 | 2.3% |
| Unknown | 176 | 4.3% |
| Empty | 556 | 13.6% |
| Invalid | 9 | 0.2% |
| Total | 4,098 | 100% |
For the Vulnerable User Traffic Control Device field, 79 percent of 2025 records were acceptable, 14 percent were empty, and 4 percent were Unknown. None (0) is the value on 60 percent of records and is usually correct. The recurring confusion is between a control for the vulnerable user and the control for the vehicle involved in the crash: Other (97) is commonly coded when the only device present is a traffic light or stop sign. Most of the empty and Unknown values could have been filled from the report’s own Traffic Control Device Type.
From the 2025 Vulnerable User data quality audit, which explains how these rows were counted.