Identifying association between pedestrian safety interventions and street-crossing behavior considering demographics and traffic context

Abstract

Pedestrian fatalities are becoming a larger percentage of overall fatalities in the United States, therefore better understanding of the expected effects of any interventions/treatments aimed at modifying pedestrian behavior is essential for improving safety. This study used pedestrian safety interventions to assess their effect on respondents’ stated crossing behavior. Also, specific demographic data was used to identify behavioral trends regarding street-crossing behavior. Results show that safety interventions are significantly associated with changes in crossing behavior. The effect of interventions was predominantly positive, because the respondents’ behavior after the interventions showed improvement relative to comparison group. This study found significant association between demographic variables and the compliance rate. Women were more compliant than men, and respondents age 25 or younger were more compliant after the interventions. Married respondents were more compliant than unmarried ones. Respondents who drive often were more compliant, but having been involved in a car accident as a pedestrian (or knowing someone who was) was not significant in explaining crossing behavior. The findings from this study could serve as a guide of potential factors/variables to be taken into consideration when studying street-crossing behavior and consequently could help to improve pedestrian street-crossing behavior models.