Road Crossing at Unmarked Mid-Block Locations: Exploring Pedestrians’ Perception and Behavior

Abstract

Violations, risky behaviors and perceptions may largely contribute to crashes involving pedestrians, particularly at unmarked mid-block locations. The likelihood and severity of crashes at mid-block locations are higher compared to intersections. This study explores pedestrians’ behaviors at and perceptions about unmarked mid-block locations. The data were collected through an online questionnaire survey that included 24 questions with 5-point Likert-type responses on behaviors, mobility patterns, preferences, perceptions and attitudes of pedestrians along with demographic questions. Two hundred and twenty responses were collected from various regions (developing and developed countries). Exploratory factor analysis was performed, and four underlying factors, namely “risk-taking,” “wrong-perceptions,” “walking-for-pleasure,” and “walking-pattern,” that describe perceptions and behaviors associated with unmarked mid-block crossings were identified. The influence of demographic parameters on the factor scores was also examined. Males displayed higher wrong-perceptions about crossing the road at unmarked mid-block locations as compared to females. The region was found to have a significant impact on wrong-perceptions between developing and developed countries. Further, cluster analysis on the factor scores resulted in four distinct clusters of pedestrians, namely; non-risky walkers, non-walkers, risk-takers and unaware walkers. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into pedestrian behavior and perceptions towards crossing at unmarked mid-block locations and could be useful in enhancing pedestrian safety at such locations.