Determinants of road user behavior at marked midblock crosswalks

Abstract

Drivers do not properly respect pedestrian priority at marked mid-block crosswalks. This study assesses pedestrians and vehicles behavior at such locations. Video recording at two mid-block crosswalks was used to analyze 12 crossing attributes and their correlations. Analysis of 884 pedestrians' and 2087 vehicle's data showed that all demographic and crossing related attributes affected the crossing speed and crossing time of pedestrians. The average crossing speed of pedestrians was 1.3 m/s. Only parked car at crosswalk affected the waiting and delay times of pedestrians. Lastly, gender and crossing related parameters were found to affect the accepted gap of pedestrians. The average accepted gap of pedestrians was 6.17 s. Vehicle speeds before, at, and after crosswalks were statistically different and had mean values of 19.38, 17.31, and 20.40 kmph, respectively. Driver yielding rate was found to be 40% and was statistically significantly influenced by gender, dressing style, crossing in-group, and rolling behavior.