Crossing Dangerously
Abstract
Pedestrian fatalities in the United States totaled 57,578 in the last 10 years, increasing 53%, while other traffic fatalities experienced a slight 2% increase in deaths (NHTSA, 2021). Research in traffic psychology acknowledges pedestrian and driver behavior interactions contribute to the risk of pedestrian injury. Examples that adversely impact road safety are crossing against signals and distractions. The objective of this study is to add current data on pedestrians’ behaviors when crossing streets in a downtown city environment. The study utilizes naturalistic observations of pedestrian crossings and their interactions with their environment. A logistic regression model will calculate the likelihood of an unsafe crossing act (e.g., distraction) using demographic and environmental variables thought to influence such behavior as the predictors. The resulting model will be compared to other models published in the literature on predicted unsafe pedestrian crossing.
References
National Safety Council and The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2021). Pedestrians. https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/road-users/pedestrians/data-details/