Pedestrian behavior and safety on a two-stage crossing with a center refuge island and the effect of winter weather on pedestrian compliance rate

Despite a burgeoning research effort directed at understanding the effects of age, gender, disability, group size, traffic control condition and street width on pedestrian safety and compliance rate as they cross a signalized intersection, remarkably little is known about the compliance rate at a signal controlled two-stage crossing and how pedestrians react to different weather conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine whether pedestrian behavior becomes more risky in inclement weather through the investigation of street crossing behavior and compliance under different weather and road surface conditions at a busy two-stage crossing. Road crossing behavior was filmed at one eight-lane divided road strip at a downtown site in Toronto metropolitan area. The intersection was filmed unobtrusively from a rooftop by one camera set to record both oncoming near-side traffic and pedestrian movements. Pedestrian behavior and compliance rate were scored for a number of determinants of safe road crossing actions. Overall, the results show that road crossing behavior in inclement weather conditions was less safe than in fine weather. The designs of signal timing and configuration of the center refuge island also adversely influenced pedestrian behavior at this crossing, and adverse weather conditions further exacerbated the noncompliance rate. This paper presents new information on compliance rate at a two-stage crossing that emphasizes the need to consider the influence of traffic signal design and weather conditions on pedestrians’ behavior. More studies are needed to develop traffic control techniques to allow pedestrians to cross wide two-stage crossings in safety.     

Illegal road crossing behavior of pedestrians at overpass locations: Factors affecting gap acceptance,crossing times and overpass use

The aim of designing overpasses is to provide safe road crossings for pedestrians by helping them to avoid conflicts with motor vehicles. However, the number of pedestrians who do not use overpasses to cross the road is very high. An observational survey of illegal road crossings was conducted at four overpass locations in Izmir, Turkey to determine the crossing time, crossing speed of the pedestrians and their distance and time gap perception for safe road-crossing within 25 m of the overpasses in both directions. Crossing time is the time needed for a pedestrian to cross a particular road. Time gap is strongly related with safety margin. If a pedestrian chooses a larger time gap, then the arrival time of the oncoming vehicle to the crossing point of the pedestrian increases thus, the possibility of a collision decreases. Each overpass was observed on weekdays during peak afternoon (12.30–13.30) and evening hours (17.00–18.00). At all overpass locations 454 illegal crossings were observed. ANOVA results revealed that age had a significant effect both on safety margin and crossing time. During the observations a survey was conducted among pedestrians who completed their crossings either using the overpass or at street level within 25 m of the overpass (n = 231). Factors affecting the crossing choice of pedestrians were specified in the surveys. The major part of the respondents (71.7%) indicated that time saving was the main reason for crossing at street level. Pedestrians’ crossing speeds were extracted from the video recordings to observe the effect of speed limit on pedestrian behavior. As a result, at locations where the speed limit was 70 km/h, pedestrians’ average crossing speed was found to be 1.60 m/s and 1.73 m/s while at locations where the speed limit was 50 km/h, pedestrians’ average crossing speed was found to be 1.04 m/s and 0.97 m/s. This shows that pedestrians feel safer while crossing when the vehicle speed is low.     

Pedestrians' crossing behaviors and safety at unmarked roadway in China

Pedestrians’ crossing out of crosswalks (unmarked roadway) contributed to many traffic accidents, but existing pedestrian studies mainly focus on crosswalk crossing in developed countries specifically. Field observation of 254 pedestrians at unmarked roadway in China showed that 65.7% of them did not look for vehicles after arriving at the curb. Those who did look and pay attention to the traffic did so for duration of time that followed an exponential distribution. Pedestrians preferred crossing actively in tentative ways rather than waiting passively. The waiting time at the curb, at the median, and at the roadway all followed exponential distributions. During crossing, all pedestrians looked at the oncoming vehicles. When interacting with these vehicles, 31.9% of them ran and 11.4% stepped backwards. Running pedestrians usually began running at the borderline rather than within the lanes. Pedestrians preferred safe to short paths and they crossed second half of the road with significantly higher speed. These behavioral patterns were rechecked at an additional site with 105 pedestrians and the results showed much accordance. In terms of safety, pedestrians who were middle aged, involved in bigger groups, looked at vehicles more often before crossing or interacted with buses rather than cars were safer while those running were more dangerous. Potential applications of these findings, including building accurate simulation models of pedestrians and education of drivers and pedestrians in developing countries were also discussed.     

Mistakes or deliberate violations? A study into the origins of rule breaking at pedestrian train crossings

Train pedestrian collisions are the most likely to result in severe injuries and fatalities when compared to other types of rail crossing accidents. However, there is currently scant research that has examined the origins of pedestrians’ rule breaking at level crossings. As a result, this study examined the origins of pedestrians’ rule breaking behaviour at crossings, with particular emphasis directed towards examining the factors associated with making errors versus deliberation violations. A total of 636 individuals volunteered to participate in the study and completed either an online or paper version of the questionnaire. Quantitative analysis of the data revealed that knowledge regarding crossing rules was high, although up to 18% of level crossing users were either unsure or did not know (in some circumstances) when it was legal to cross at a level crossing. Furthermore, 156 participants (24.52%) reported having intentionally violated the rules at level crossings and 3.46% (n = 22) of the sample had previously made a mistake at a crossing. In regards to rule violators, males (particularly minors) were more likely to report breaking rules, and the most frequent occurrence was after the train had passed rather than before it arrives. Regression analysis revealed that males who frequently use pedestrian crossings and report higher sensation seeking traits are most likely to break the rules. This research provides evidence that pedestrians are more likely to deliberately violate rules (rather than make errors) at crossings and it illuminates high risk groups. This paper will further outline the study findings in regards to the development of countermeasures as well as provide direction for future research efforts in this area.     

考虑eHMI的行人过街行为研究与决策模型构建

目的 针对行人与自动驾驶汽车的交互过程,从行人的角度出发,探索性地提出行人在自动驾驶汽车前的过街行为决策模型。方法 首先,将行人过街情景进行分析定义,针对行人的过街意向和与自动驾驶汽车沟通意愿总结出两个典型场景;然后,利用潜变量分析方法将行人在自动驾驶汽车前过街行为的影响因素进行降维分类,并对车外人机交互界面进行设计定义,构建各潜变量的影响因子与测量量表;最后,运用有序Logistic回归方法分析各影响因素对行人过街意向和沟通意愿的影响,构建行人在自动驾驶汽车前的过街行为决策模型。结果 量化分析行人过街行为影响因素与其过街决策间相关性及内在关系,提出过程中决定性人车交互方式及各影响因素的变化过程。结论 研究提出考虑eHMI的行人过街行为决策模型,将行人过街决策过程分为三个阶段,并总结出车辆行为线索和eHMI线索作用过程的决定性变化曲线及行人与自动驾驶汽车交互流程与关键性节点。     

Pedestrians' behaviour in cross walks: the effects of fear of falling and age

Pedestrians are exposed to risks when crossing roads in urban areas. The crossing behaviour of pedestrians was studied as a factor contributing to their exposure to risks on the road and to their involvement in road accidents. This work explores two specific aspects of crossing behaviour: crossing speed and head pitches-the proportion of time pedestrians point their heads down (rather than towards the traffic) when crossing a road. The last one is used as an indicator of the (lack of) attention to cross-traffic. We also explored the possible effect of fear of falling (FOF) among pedestrians, as it might be associated with slow walking, less attention to cross traffic, and more attention to the pavement and their footsteps. This paper reports on a field study that combined an observatory technique with short survey. 203 pedestrians in two sites (signalised and unsignalised crosswalks) were video recorded while crossing the road. The FOF of pedestrians and other measures of pedestrian behaviour at crosswalks were revealed by means of questionnaire. Age and gender had the most significant effects on crossing speed, and FOF had a significant effect on the proportion of downward head pitches during crossing.     

Impact of grade separator on pedestrian risk taking behavior

Pedestrians on Delhi roads are often exposed to high risks. This is because the basic needs of pedestrians are not recognized as a part of the urban transport infrastructure improvement projects in Delhi. Rather, an ever increasing number of cars and motorized two-wheelers encourage the construction of large numbers of flyovers/grade separators to facilitate signal free movement for motorized vehicles, exposing pedestrians to greater risk. This paper describes the statistical analysis of pedestrian risk taking behavior while crossing the road, before and after the construction of a grade separator at an intersection of Delhi. A significant number of pedestrians are willing to take risks in both before and after situations. The results indicate that absence of signals make pedestrians behave independently, leading to increased variability in their risk taking behavior. Variability in the speeds of all categories of vehicles has increased after the construction of grade separators. After the construction of the grade separator, the waiting time of pedestrians at the starting point of crossing has increased and the correlation between waiting times and gaps accepted by pedestrians show that after certain time of waiting, pedestrians become impatient and accepts smaller gap size to cross the road. A Logistic regression model is fitted by assuming that the probability of road crossing by pedestrians depends on the gap size (in s) between pedestrian and conflicting vehicles, sex, age, type of pedestrians (single or in a group) and type of conflicting vehicles. The results of Logistic regression explained that before the construction of the grade separator the probability of road crossing by the pedestrian depends on only the gap size parameter; however after the construction of the grade separator, other parameters become significant in determining pedestrian risk taking behavior.     

The effects of mobile phone use on pedestrian crossing behaviour at signalized and unsignalized intersections

Research amongst drivers suggests that pedestrians using mobile telephones may behave riskily while crossing the road, and casual observation suggests concerning levels of pedestrian mobile-use. An observational field survey of 270 females and 276 males was conducted to compare the safety of crossing behaviours for pedestrians using, versus not using, a mobile phone. Amongst females, pedestrians who crossed while talking on a mobile phone crossed more slowly, and were less likely to look at traffic before starting to cross, to wait for traffic to stop, or to look at traffic while crossing, compared to matched controls. For males, pedestrians who crossed while talking on a mobile phone crossed more slowly at unsignalized crossings. These effects suggest that talking on a mobile phone is associated with cognitive distraction that may undermine pedestrian safety. Messages explicitly suggesting techniques for avoiding mobile-use while road crossing may benefit pedestrian safety.     

An accelerated failure time model for investigating pedestrian crossing behavior and waiting times at signalized intersections

The waiting process is crucial to pedestrians in the street-crossing behavior. Once pedestrians terminate their waiting behavior during the red light period, they would cross against the red light and put themselves in danger. A joint hazard-based duration model is developed to investigate the effect of various covariates on pedestrian crossing behavior and to estimate pedestrian waiting times at signalized intersections. A total of 1181 pedestrians approaching the intersections during red light periods were observed in Beijing, China. Pedestrian crossing behaviors are classified into immediate crossing behavior and waiting behavior. The probability and effect of various covariates for pedestrians’ immediate crossing behavior are identified by a logit model. Four accelerated failure time duration models based on the exponential, Weibull, lognormal and log-logistic distributions are proposed to examine the significant risk factors affecting duration times for pedestrians’ waiting behavior. A joint duration model is developed to estimate pedestrian waiting times. Moreover, unobserved heterogeneity is considered in the proposed model. The results indicate that the Weibull AFT model with shared frailty is appropriate for modelling pedestrian waiting durations. Failure to account for heterogeneity would significantly underestimate the effects of covariates on waiting duration times. The proposed model provides a better understanding of pedestrian crossing behavior and more accurate estimation of pedestrian waiting times. It may be applicable in traffic system analysis in developing countries with high flow of mixed traffic.     

The risk of pedestrian injury and fatality in collisions with motor vehicles, a social ecological study of state routes and city streets in King County, Washington

This study examined the correlates of injury severity using police records of pedestrian–motor-vehicle collisions on state routes and city streets in King County, Washington. Levels of influence on collision outcome considered (1) the characteristics of individual pedestrians and drivers and their actions; (2) the road environment; and (3) the neighborhood environment. Binary logistic regressions served to estimate the risk of a pedestrian being severely injured or dying versus suffering minor or no injury.Significant individual-level influences on injury severity were confirmed for both types of roads: pedestrians being older or younger; the vehicle moving straight on the roadway. New variables associated with increased risk of severe injury or death included: having more than two pedestrians involved in a collision; and on city streets, the driver being inebriated.Road intersection design was significant only in the state route models, with pedestrians crossing at intersections without signals increasing the risk of being injured or dying.Adjusting for pedestrians’ and drivers’ characteristics and actions, neighborhood medium home values and higher residential densities increased the risk of injury or death. No other road or neighborhood environment variable remained significant, suggesting that pedestrians were not safer in areas with high pedestrian activity.     

Safety effects of exclusive and concurrent signal phasing for pedestrian crossing

This paper describes the estimation of pedestrian crash count and vehicle interaction severity prediction models for a sample of signalized intersections in Connecticut with either concurrent or exclusive pedestrian phasing. With concurrent phasing, pedestrians cross at the same time as motor vehicle traffic in the same direction receives a green phase, while with exclusive phasing, pedestrians cross during their own phase when all motor vehicle traffic on all approaches is stopped. Pedestrians crossing at each intersection were observed and classified according to the severity of interactions with motor vehicles. Observation intersections were selected to represent both types of signal phasing while controlling for other physical characteristics. In the nonlinear mixed models for interaction severity, pedestrians crossing on the walk signal at an exclusive signal experienced lower interaction severity compared to those crossing on the green light with concurrent phasing; however, pedestrians crossing on a green light where an exclusive phase was available experienced higher interaction severity. Intersections with concurrent phasing have fewer total pedestrian crashes than those with exclusive phasing but more crashes at higher severity levels. It is recommended that exclusive pedestrian phasing only be used at locations where pedestrians are more likely to comply.     

Mapping patterns of pedestrian fatal accidents in Israel

This study intends to provide insight into pedestrian accidents by uncovering their patterns in order to design preventive measures and to allocate resources for identified problems. Kohonen neural networks are applied to a database of pedestrian fatal accidents occurred during the four-year period between 2003 and 2006. Results show the existence of five pedestrian accident patterns: (i) elderly pedestrians crossing on crosswalks mostly far from intersections in metropolitan areas; (ii) pedestrians crossing suddenly or from hidden places and colliding with two-wheel vehicles on urban road sections; (iii) male pedestrians crossing at night and being hit by four-wheel vehicles on rural road sections; (iv) young male pedestrians crossing at night wide road sections in both urban and rural areas; (v) children and teenagers crossing road sections in small rural communities. From the perspective of preventive measures, results suggest the necessity of designing education and information campaigns for road users as well as allocating resources for infrastructural interventions and law enforcement in order to address the identified major problems.     

Factors influencing safety in a sample of marked pedestrian crossings selected for safety inspections in the city of Oslo

This paper reports an analysis of factors influencing safety in a sample of marked pedestrian crossings in the city of Oslo, Norway. The sample consists of 159 marked pedestrian crossings where a total of 316 accidents were recorded during a period of five years. The crossings were selected for inspection because of they were, for various reasons, regarded as sub-standard. The sample of crossings is therefore not representative of all pedestrian crossings in Oslo. Factors influencing the number of accidents were studied by means of negative binomial regression. Factors that were studied included the volume of pedestrians and vehicles, the number of traffic lanes at the crossing, the location of the crossing (midblock or junction), the type of traffic control, the share of pedestrians using the crossing and the speed of approaching vehicles. The analysis confirmed the presence of a “safety-in-numbers” effect, meaning that an increase in the number of pedestrians is associated with a lower risk of accident for each pedestrian. Crossings located in four-leg junctions or roundabouts had more accidents than crossings located in three-leg junctions or on sections between junctions. A high share of pedestrians crossing the road outside the marked crossing was associated with a high number of accidents. Increased speed was associated with an increased number of accidents.     

Pedestrians’ crossing behaviors and safety at unmarked roadway in China

Pedestrians’ crossing out of crosswalks (unmarked roadway) contributed to many traffic accidents, but existing pedestrian studies mainly focus on crosswalk crossing in developed countries specifically. Field observation of 254 pedestrians at unmarked roadway in China showed that 65.7% of them did not look for vehicles after arriving at the curb. Those who did look and pay attention to the traffic did so for duration of time that followed an exponential distribution. Pedestrians preferred crossing actively in tentative ways rather than waiting passively. The waiting time at the curb, at the median, and at the roadway all followed exponential distributions. During crossing, all pedestrians looked at the oncoming vehicles. When interacting with these vehicles, 31.9% of them ran and 11.4% stepped backwards. Running pedestrians usually began running at the borderline rather than within the lanes. Pedestrians preferred safe to short paths and they crossed second half of the road with significantly higher speed. These behavioral patterns were rechecked at an additional site with 105 pedestrians and the results showed much accordance. In terms of safety, pedestrians who were middle aged, involved in bigger groups, looked at vehicles more often before crossing or interacted with buses rather than cars were safer while those running were more dangerous. Potential applications of these findings, including building accurate simulation models of pedestrians and education of drivers and pedestrians in developing countries were also discussed.     

右转车辆与过街行人交互过程的影响因素研究

目的 探究在城市交通路口影响右转车辆与过街行人交互过程的因素。方法 采用实地视频拍摄的方法,分析统计右转车辆与过街行人在交互过程中的行为方式。分别检验性别、年龄、同行人数及红绿灯状态4个指标是否对二者交互过程有显著性影响。结果 性别对右转车辆与过街行人的交互过程无显著影响;年龄、同行人数及红绿灯状态对右转车辆与过街行人的交互过程有显著影响。结论 由于老年人生理退化导致步行速度降低,可以通过设置文字或图片标识来提示右转车辆停车礼让,以缓解老年群体等待时间过久的问题;或根据路口交通流量及行人不同同行人数,动态规划过街行人与右转车辆通行顺序。此外,可以根据行人流量动态规划右转车辆方的交通灯状态及时间。本研究结果对改善交通路口交通运行状况、使右转车辆与过街行人在交通路口有序通行有重要的理论意义和实用价值,同时可为无人驾驶右转车辆与行人交互提供重要参考。     

Developmental differences in auditory detection and localization of approaching vehicles

Pedestrian safety is a significant problem in the United States, with thousands being injured each year. Multiple risk factors exist, but one poorly understood factor is pedestrians’ ability to attend to vehicles using auditory cues. Auditory information in the pedestrian setting is increasing in importance with the growing number of quieter hybrid and all-electric vehicles on America's roadways that do not emit sound cues pedestrians expect from an approaching vehicle. Our study explored developmental differences in pedestrians’ detection and localization of approaching vehicles. Fifty children ages 6–9 years, and 35 adults participated. Participants’ performance varied significantly by age, and with increasing speed and direction of the vehicle's approach. Results underscore the importance of understanding children's and adults’ use of auditory cues for pedestrian safety and highlight the need for further research.     

Distance between speed humps and pedestrian crossings: does it matter?

Speed humps are a common physical measure installed at pedestrian crossings to reduce vehicle speeds therefore improve the safety and mobility of pedestrians at the crossing.The aim of this study was to determine whether variations in distance between speed humps and pedestrian crossings contribute differently to the safety and mobility of pedestrians and cyclists, especially children and the elderly, and if so, how. Three sites in Sweden were studied, where vehicle speed measurements and video filming at the site resulted in manually coded, road user behaviour of 1972 pedestrians and cyclists.Road user behaviour at three test sites and two comparison sites equipped with speed cushion at distances of about 5 m and 10 m from the pedestrian crossing, i.e. about one or two car lengths, were studied. As vehicle speeds were somewhat lower at the pedestrian crossing when the distance between the speed cushion to the pedestrian crossing was greater, and there were positive aspects regarding the mobility of the pedestrians and cyclists, a greater distance of about 10 m or two car lengths between the hump and the pedestrian crossing is suggested. The present study only covers speed cushions, but the same distance is also regarded as important when installing other types of physical measures to reduce vehicle speed.     

Gap acceptance of violators at signalised pedestrian crossings

Gap acceptance of violating pedestrians was studied at seven stretches of signalised pedestrian crossings in Singapore. The provision of the traffic light signals provide a ‘safer’ crossing option to these pedestrians, as compared to uncontrolled crossings and mid-block arterial roads. However, there are still people choosing to cross at the riskier period (Red Man phase). The paper discusses about the size of traffic gaps rejected and accepted by pedestrians and the behaviour of riskier pedestrians (those adapting partial gap). The likelihood of pedestrians accepting gaps between vehicular traffic as a combination of different influencing independent variables such as traffic, environmental and personal factors was studied and modelled using logistic regression.