Title

Pedestrian Safety at Enhanced Crosswalks: Insights from Road User Behavior

Abstract

Overview: this seminar will provide a guided discussion on a recently completed study. The study examined how real-world road users behave around pedestrian hybrid beacons (PHBs) and rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs). Participants will gain insights and practical lessons that can be used in their own research.

Study Motivation: the safety and operational effectiveness of PHBs and RRFBs are well established, but dependent upon pedestrians actuating the devices prior to crossing. By improving our understanding of the factors that influence pedestrians’ actuation and drivers’ yielding, future installations of these devices could be optimized for better safety performance.

Study Design and Development: A cross-sectional observational study using field video footage and a survey of pedestrians at 15 urban locations in North Carolina. Locations were selected at random using unequal probabilities to balance covariates between TCDs using Propensity Score Weights.

Data and Analysis: From the video footage, a total of 3,624 crossings were recorded. Key variables were manually coded for each crossing. The survey of pedestrians yielded a total of 343 responses. Crossings were analyzed using Generalized Linear Mixed Effects Models, and Survey responses using Homogeneity Tests of Frequency Tables.

Results: Statistical evidence of a link between the presence of pedestrian refuges and increased actuation and yield rates, whereas pedestrian and driver behaviors worsen at locations where a sidewalk is absent on one side. Factors such as increased traffic and longer crossing distances were associated with more actuations. Survey responses suggest that pedestrians are more likely to actuate devices in the presence of conditions and roadway elements that increase friction or risk perception (i.e., heavy traffic, fast cars, and longer crossing distances). Finally, driver yielding was higher at PHBs, while pedestrian actuation was lower for those devices compared with RRFBs. One reason for that might be that pedestrian waiting times were 52.0% shorter at actuated RRFBs compared with actuated PHBs.

Presentation

TBD

Speaker Bio

Raul Avelar is a senior research transportation engineer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Dr. Avelar’s expertise spans highway design, roadway operations, traffic control devices, bicyclist and pedestrian safety, and technical assistance for agencies to implement research results. Prior to joining the Institute in 2023, Dr. Avelar worked for 10 years as a researcher at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, where he worked on multiple transportation research projects for federal and state stakeholders.

Dr. Avelar received a doctorate in civil engineering from Oregon State University and is a licensed professional engineer registered in Texas.

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