Modeling pedestrian gap crossing index under mixed traffic condition

IntroductionThere are a variety of challenges faced by pedestrians when they walk along and attempt to cross a road, as the most recorded accidents occur during this time. Pedestrians of all types, including both sexes with numerous aging groups, are always subjected to risk and are characterized as the most exposed road users. The increased demand for better traffic management strategies to reduce the risks at intersections, improve quality traffic management, traffic volume, and longer cycle time has further increased concerns over the past decade.MethodThis paper aims to develop a sustainable pedestrian gap crossing index model based on traffic flow density. It focusses on the gaps accepted by pedestrians and their decision for street crossing, where (Log-Gap) logarithm of accepted gaps was used to optimize the result of a model for gap crossing behavior. Through a review of extant literature, 15 influential variables were extracted for further empirical analysis. Subsequently, data from the observation at an uncontrolled mid-block in Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was gathered and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Binary Logit Model (BLM) techniques were employed to analyze the results.Results and conclusionsFrom the results, different pedestrian behavioral characteristics were considered for a minimum gap size model, out of which only a few (four) variables could explain the pedestrian road crossing behavior while the remaining variables have an insignificant effect. Among the different variables, age, rolling gap, vehicle type, and crossing were the most influential variables. The study concludes that pedestrians’ decision to cross the street depends on the pedestrian age, rolling gap, vehicle type, and size of traffic gap before crossing.Practical applicationsThe inferences from these models will be useful to increase pedestrian safety and performance evaluation of uncontrolled midblock road crossings in developing countries.     

Situational characteristics of fatal pedestrian accidents involving vehicles traveling at low speeds in Japan

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the situational characteristics of fatal pedestrian accidents involving vehicles traveling at low speeds in Japan. We focused on vehicles with 4 or more wheels. Such characteristics included daytime or nighttime conditions, road type, vehicle behaviors preceding the accident, and vehicle impact locations.

Methods: Pedestrian fatality data on vehicle–pedestrian accidents were obtained from the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis of Japan (ITARDA) from 2005 to 2014. Nine vehicle classifications were considered: Trucks with gross vehicle weight (GVW) ≥7.5 tons and <7.5 tons, buses, box vans, minivans, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), sedans, light passenger cars (LPCs), and light cargo vans (LCVs). We compared the situational daytime or nighttime conditions, road type, vehicle behaviors preceding the accident, and vehicle impact locations for accident-involved vehicles traveling at low and higher speeds across all vehicle types.

Results: The results indicate that pedestrian fatalities involving vehicles traveling at low speeds occurred more often under daytime conditions across all vehicle types. At signalized intersections, the relative proportions of pedestrian fatalities were significantly higher when vehicles were traveling at low speed, except when the accidents involved box vans or SUVs. Similarly, when vehicles turned right, the relative proportions of pedestrian fatalities were significantly higher when vehicles traveling at low speed were involved across all vehicle types. In terms of the frontal right vehicle impact location, the relative proportions of pedestrian fatalities were significantly higher when trucks with GVW ≥7.5 tons or <7.5 tons, sedans, or LCVs traveling at low speed were involved.

Conclusions: The situational characteristics of fatal pedestrian accidents involving vehicles traveling at low speeds identified in this study can guide targeted development of new traffic safety regulations or technologies specific to vehicle–pedestrian interactions at low vehicle travel speeds (i.e., driver alert devices or automated emergency braking systems). Ultimately, these developments can improve pedestrian safety by reducing the frequency or severity of vehicle–pedestrian accidents for vehicles turning right at intersections and/or reducing the number of resultant pedestrian fatalities.     

行人过街空间违章行为特性及安全影响分析

为探究提前右转车道处不同因素与人车冲突的相关性,以及行人空间违章对过街安全的影响。采集2 062个行人及人车冲突的样本数据,获取行人和机动车的时空信息,对比分析不同类型行人过街轨迹的特征;综合考虑人车冲突时间和速度指标构建人车冲突严重度指标,从行人生理特征、车流条件、道路环境等方面选取8个因素作为自变量,构建人车冲突严重度的多元有序Logistic模型。研究结果表明：空间违章过街的行人平均过街速度和速度离散程度都明显高于其他行人;年龄、车速、人行横道长度、车辆到达率以及过街轨迹类型都是影响人车冲突严重程度的重要因素。各类型空间违章行为使严重冲突占比均提升75%以上。研究结果有助于交管部门采取措施保障行人过街安全。     

现代环形交叉口安全性分析和安全设计

传统环形交叉口存在很多缺点,而国外目前采用一种现代环形交叉口替代传统环形交叉口,其安全性大大提高。根据冲突点数目采用理论安全影响分析法,再根据实际交通事故数据采用前后对比法,分析现代环形交叉口对车辆和弱势群体的安全影响。结果显示现代环形交叉口提高了汽车运行的安全性,但是在改善行人和自行车交通安全性方面却不如信号交叉口。最后,提出现代环形交叉口的适用条件、设计要点,以及自行车道安全设计方法。     

Understanding complex traffic road scenes: The case of child-pedestrians’ hazard perception

IntroductionUnderstanding the shortcomings of child-pedestrians in evaluating traffic situations may contribute to producing intervention techniques that may increase their awareness to potential hazards as well as inform and inspire designers of autonomous vehicle and infrastructure systems to deal with the complications of crossing pedestrians. Method: The present work examined pedestrians’ hazard-perception (HP) skills in complex traffic scenes. Two experiments explored how pedestrians’ HP abilities vary with age and experience. In the first, adults and youngsters (7–13-year-olds) were presented with pairs of photographs displaying traffic situations and instructed to compare between the hazard levels of the two. Findings revealed a marked trend where experienced-adults tended to rate photographs depicting field of view partially obscured by parked vehicles as more hazardous. Moreover, adults tended to rate photographs depicting vehicles closer to the crossing site as more hazardous. Lastly, adults tended to rate photographs depicting complex configurations like traffic circles, as more hazardous than T-junctions. Results: Findings suggested that youngsters may be highly influenced by cueing. Next, pedestrians’ HP was tested using a crossing decision task. Participants observed traffic scenes presented in a dynamic simulated environment of an urban road from a pedestrian’s perspective and pressed a response button whenever they assumed it was safe to cross. Compared to experienced-adults and 7–8-year-olds, 9–13-year-olds presented a less decisive performance. Compared to previous findings regarding simpler road crossing configurations, most participants, regardless of age, related more to the approaching vehicles and presence of a pedestrian crossing while refraining from addressing the road configuration. Implications for road-safety are discussed.     

An examination of the increases in pedestrian motor-vehicle crash fatalities during 2009–2016

IntroductionPedestrian fatalities increased 46% in the United States during 2009–2016. This study identified circumstances under which the largest increases in deaths occurred during this period.MethodAnnual counts of U.S. pedestrian fatalities and crash involvements were extracted from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and General Estimates System. Poisson regression examined if pedestrian fatalities by various roadway, environmental, personal, and vehicle factors changed significantly during 2009–2016. Linear regression examined changes over the study period in pedestrian deaths per 100 crash involvements and in horsepower per 1000 pounds of weight among passenger vehicles involved in fatal single-vehicle pedestrian crashesResultsPedestrian deaths per 100 crash involvements increased 29% from 2010, when they reached their lowest point, to 2015, the most recent year for which crash involvement data were available. The largest increases in pedestrian deaths during 2009–2016 occurred in urban areas (54% increase from 2009 to 2016), on arterials (67% increase), at nonintersections (50% increase), and in dark conditions (56% increase). The rise in the number of SUVs involved in fatal single-vehicle pedestrian crashes (82% increase) was larger than the increases in the number of cars, vans, pickups, or medium/heavy trucks involved in these crashes. The power of passenger vehicles involved in fatal single-vehicle pedestrian crashes increased over the study period, with larger increases in vehicle power among more powerful vehicles.ConclusionsEfforts to turn back the recent increase in pedestrian fatalities should focus on the conditions where the rise has been the greatest.Practical applicationsTransportation agencies can improve urban arterials by investing in proven countermeasures, such as road diets, median crossing islands, pedestrian hybrid beacons, and automated speed enforcement. Better road lighting and vehicle headlights could improve pedestrian visibility at night.     

Evaluation of driver performance with a prototype cyber physical mid-block crossing advanced warning system

Introduction: Using connected vehicle technologies, pedestrian to vehicle (P2V) communication applications can be installed on smart devices allowing pedestrians to communicate with drivers by broadcasting discrete safety messages, received by drivers in-vehicle, as an alternative to expensive fixed-location physical safety infrastructure. Method: This study consists of designing, developing, and deploying an entirely cyber-physical P2V communication system within the cellular vehicle to everything (C-V2X) environment at a mid-block crosswalk to analyze drivers’ reactions to in-vehicle advanced warning messages, the impacts of the advanced warning messages on driver awareness, and drivers’ acceptance of this technology. Results: In testing human subjects with, and without, advanced warning messages upon approaching a mid-block crosswalk, driver reaction, acceptance, speed, eye tracking data, and demographic data were collected. Through an odds ratio comparison, it was found that drivers were at least 2.44 times more likely to stop for the pedestrian with the warning than without during the day, and at least 1.79 times more likely during the night. Furthermore, through binary logistic regression analysis, it was found that driver age, time of the day, and the presence of the advanced warning message all had strong, significant impacts with a confidence value of at least 98% (p < 0.02) on the rate at which drivers stopped for the pedestrian. Conclusions: The results from this study indicate that the advanced warning message sent within the C-V2X had a strong, positive impact on driver behavior and understanding of pedestrian intent. Practical Applications: Pedestrian crashes and fatality rates at mid-block crossings continue to increase over the years. Connected vehicle technology utilizing smart devices can be used as a means for communications between pedestrians and drivers to deliver safety messages. State and local city planners should consider geofencing designated mid-block crossings at which this technology operates to increase pedestrian safety and driver awareness.     

二次过街路口行人违反交通法规规律的研究

为了解在不同类型二次过街路口行人违反交通法规闯红灯的违法率,找出二次过街路口不同参数对行人违法率的影响,从而找出降低路口行人违法率的对策,保障路口行人交通安全和人车流畅通,本文选取上海市5种类型的二次过街路口调查行人在路口的违法率.通过分析调查数据,行人在路口一次穿越车道数为2～7,两次穿越车道总数为6～12,违法率随车道数的增加而降低.在红灯等待时间90 s之内,行人违法率随等待时间的升高呈一定的下降趋势.红灯等待时间在90～150 s之间,行人违法率没有确定的规律.安全岛、引导护栏、中继信号灯等设施具有明显降低行人违法率的作用.根据二次过街路口设置安全岛、引导护栏、中继信号灯、车道数以及是否从路边穿越5个影响因素的安全评价系数之和建立综合安全评价系数,得到行人在二次过街路口违法率随综合安全评价系数的增大而降低.研究表明,完善和优化二次过街路口的设施参数可以降低路口行人违法率.     

斑马线“人-车”博弈仿真

我国自2017年开展“车让人”活动以来,斑马线事故得到有效控制。但本文经统计发现,近两年交通事故量并未明显降低,即“车让人”虽有效控制了斑马线事故,但并未明显影响整体交通安全形势。为此论文设计了3种人车博弈仿真实验,分析不同典型情况下的礼让司机心态:在没有规定车让人时,积极礼让率约20%;在规定车让人时,积极礼让率约50%;当给予司机正向反馈时,积极礼让率约70%,仿真结果验证了:如果没有很好地兼顾司机情绪,“车让人”并不能实现本质安全,即大量交通事故只不过是从斑马线推移到了公路的其他地方(事故外溢)。论文最后建议在斑马线处分别设计给司机和行人阅读的2套标语,综合调控司机心境,有效防控“斑马线事故外溢”。     

混合交通条件下行人左侧通行的安全性研究

听觉是人接受外部刺激的重要信息通道,然而实验表明,行人依靠听觉察觉身后危险的能力很弱,在道路混合交通条件下容易出现行人未及时发现身后驶来的车辆而引发交通事故。由于我国实行车辆靠右侧通行制度,因此,在目前机动车行驶噪声日益受到严格控制的情况下,让行人在混合交通的道路上靠道路的左侧通行,可以使其始终与距离自己最近的车辆保持相互面向,从而充分利用行人视觉对道路危险的良好感知能力,增强行人躲避危险的主动性,减少行人与车辆之间的危险冲突及事故发生。     

道路运营安全性评价方法与指标

笔者从道路交通设施系统客观安全性和道路用户主观安全性的角度,应用交通冲突分析技术、运行车速预测方法、行车动力学仿真分析[空间视距模型、人工神经网络(ANN)模型],研究并分析车辆在自由流和非自由流两种状态下运营安全性,提出跟驰风险指数、变换车道风险指数、高速行车风险指数,建立了服务于道路安全运营管理的道路交通设施系统及其运营安全性的分析评价方法和指标。     

行人违规过街行为的激励理论模型

为减少行人违规过街现象,提高行人过街的安全性,从社会心理学角度研究行人违规过街行为的动因。基于内容型激励理论和过程型激励理论对行人违规过街的行为机理进行研究。首先,将行人过街需求按照不同的层次和类别划分为安全需要、省时省力需要、社会认同需要、尊重需要和自我实现需要。然后,基于期望理论,对行人违规过街行为激励水平、效价、期望值进行建模,得出行人违规过街的行为机理。最后,对模型结果的应用分析发现,通过降低违规过街需要的效价、增加交通规则制裁的期望和增加危险感知的期望能够减少行人的违规过街行为。     

Evaluating safety-influencing factors at stop-controlled intersections using automated video analysis

Introduction: Although stop signs are popular in North America, they have become controversial in cities like Montreal, Canada where they are often installed to reduce vehicular speeds and improve pedestrian safety despite limited evidence demonstrating their effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of stop-control configuration (and other features) on safety using statistical models and surrogate measures of safety (SMoS), namely vehicle speed, time-to-collision (TTC), and post-encroachment time (PET), while controlling for features of traffic, geometry, and built environment. Methods: This project leverages high-resolution user trajectories extracted from video data collected for 100 intersections, 336 approaches, and 130,000 road users in Montreal to develop linear mixed-effects regression models to account for within-site and within-approach correlations. This research proposes the Intersection Exposure Group (IEG) indicator, an original method for classifying microscopic exposure of pedestrians and vehicles. Results: Stop signs were associated with an average decrease in approach speed of 17.2 km/h and 20.1 km/h, at partially and fully stop-controlled respectively. Cyclist or pedestrian presence also significantly lower vehicle speeds. The proposed IEG measure was shown to successfully distinguish various types of pedestrian-vehicle interactions, allowing for the effect of each interaction type to vary in the model. Conclusions: The presence of stop signs significantly reduced approach speeds compared to uncontrolled approaches. Though several covariates were significantly related to TTC and PET for vehicle pairs, the models were unable to demonstrate a significant relationship between stop signs and vehicle–pedestrian interactions. Therefore, drawing conclusions regarding pedestrian safety is difficult. Practical Applications: As pedestrian safety is frequently used to justify new stop sign installations, this result has important policy implications. Policies implementing stop signs to reduce pedestrian crashes may be less effective than other interventions. Enforcement and education efforts, along with geometric design considerations, should accompany any changes in traffic control.     

Factors affecting pedestrian behaviors at signalized crosswalks: An empirical study

Introduction: Safety of pedestrians depends, among other factors, on their behavior while crossing the road. This study aims to assess behaviors of pedestrians at signalized crosswalks. Method: Following a literature review and a pilot study, 25 vital pedestrian crossing factors and behaviors were determined. Then data was randomly collected for 708 pedestrians at 10 lighted crossings in Sharjah (UAE), five at road intersections and five mid-block crossings. Results: Results indicated that 17.4% of pedestrians observed crossed partly or fully on red and that crossing speed was 1.22 m/s, on the average, which is slightly faster than most speeds recorded in the literature. Moreover, female pedestrians were more likely to cross while chatting with others, less likely to cross on red, and more likely to walk slower than male pedestrians. Results also showed that pedestrians who crossed at road intersections walked slower than those who crossed at mid-block crossings. It was also found that longer red pedestrian times and narrower roads tended to encourage pedestrians to cross on red and that the majority of pedestrians did not look around before crossing. Practical implications: Use of the Health Belief Model for pedestrian safety are discussed.     

Investigation on the effect of impact location height on pedestrian safety using a legform impactor dynamic model

Because of rapid increase in the urban population and hence road traffic, the vehicle–pedestrian crashes are more frequent and have become a major concern in road traffic safety. Though the bumper of a vehicle plays an important role to protect the vehicle body damage in low speed impacts, many bumpers particularly in larger vehicles are too stiff for pedestrian protection and safety. To prevent lower extremity injuries in car–pedestrian collisions, it is important to determine the loadings that car front structures impart on the lower extremities and the mechanisms by which injuries are caused. In the present work, a dynamic legform impactor model is introduced and validated against EEVC/WG17 criteria. The collision mechanism between a GMT bumper and the legform impactor model is investigated numerically using LS-DYNA software. The effect of the height of the impact point of bumper assembly to lower extremity injuries is also investigated. In this paper, it is shown that changing the local stiffness of bumper assembly due to the change in the height of the bumper and distribution of stiffness from upper parts of the bumper assembly to lower parts are the most important parameters in the pedestrian’s leg injuries. As lower extremity injuries are related to the lower bumper height, developing special legform impactors for different countries with different average person height seems essential in investigating the effect of people’s height on lower extremity injuries.     

Contributing factors of crash injury severity at public highway-railroad grade crossings in the U.S.

IntroductionThe Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) includes a separate program that supports safety improvements to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries at public highway-railroad grade crossings (HRGCs). This study identifies the significant factors affecting crash injury severity at public HRGCs in the United States.MethodCrashes from 2009 through 2013 on 5,528 public HRGCs, extracted from the Federal Railroad Administration database, were used in the analysis. A comprehensive list of risk factors was explored. Examples include predictors related to geographic region of crash, geometry (e.g., area type and pavement marking type), railroad (e.g., warning device type and railroad class), traffic (e.g., train speed and vehicles annual average daily traffic “AADT”), highway user (e.g., driver age and gender), and environment (e.g., lighting and weather conditions). The study used the mixed logit model to better capture the complex highway user behavior at HRGCs.ResultsFemale highway users were at higher risk of involvement in injuries and fatalities compared to males. Higher train speeds, very old drivers, open areas, concrete road surface types, and railroad equipment striking highway users before crash, were all found to increase the injury likelihood. On the other hand, young and middle-age drivers, non-passing of standing vehicles at HRGCs, industrial areas, and presence of warning bells were found to reduce injuries and fatalities.ConclusionsThe mixed logit model succeeded in identifying contributing factors of crash severity at public HRGCs and potential countermeasures to reduce both fatalities and injuries are suggested.Practical applicationsIt is important to install warning bells at public HRGCs, especially at those with high number of injury and fatality crashes. Enforcement of traffic nearby HRGCs is necessary to prevent vehicles from overtaking of standing vehicles.     

Urban road space allocation incorporating the safety and construction cost impacts of lane and footpath widths

Introduction: Walkability continues to attract great attention from urban planners, designers, and engineers as they recognize not only the merits of pedestrian facilities in terms of the health benefits but also their demerits in terms of accident risk to pedestrians. Wide footpaths improve the pedestrian environment and experience, and thereby motivate travelers to walk as much as possible. However, if footpaths are too wide, they may leave a smaller space for the roadway. On the other hand, wide road lanes may lead to higher road vehicle safety but are costly to construct and maintain and also may leave little space for the footpath. Evidently, for a fixed urban space, what is needed is an optimal balance between the vehicle lane and pedestrian path. This problem is encountered routinely in dense cities including Hong Kong where land availability is severely limited. Method: To address the issue, this paper first establishes safety performance functions (SPFs) for the pedestrian space and the road space, using the random-parameter negative binomial regression. The results indicate the extent to which road lane and footpath width changes are associated with changes in in-vehicle occupant and pedestrian casualties. Then the paper uses the SPFs to develop a methodology for optimizing the width allocations to the road lanes and footpaths, duly considering the user (safety) costs and agency (construction) costs associated with each candidate allocation of the widths. Finally, the paper analyzes the sensitivity of the optimal solution to the relative weights of user cost and agency cost. Results: When user and agency costs are considered equally important, the optimal lane width is 5.4 m. Conclusion: It is observed that the road space allocation ratio used by the Hong Kong road agency suggests that the agency places a higher weight to user cost compared to agency cost. Practical Application: The findings can help incorporate design-safety relationships, and the stakeholders (agency and users) perspectives in urban road and footpath design.     

Evaluation of the effectiveness of traffic calming measures on vehicle speeds and pedestrian injury severity in Ghana

Objectives: Each year, pedestrian injuries constitute over 40% of all road casualty deaths and up to 60% of all urban road casualty deaths in Ghana. This is as a result of the overwhelming dependence on walking as a mode of transport in an environment where there are high vehicular speeds and inadequate pedestrian facilities. The objectives of this research were to establish the (1) impact of traffic calming measures on vehicle speeds and (2) association between traffic calming measures and pedestrian injury severity in built-up areas in Ghana.

Method: Vehicle speeds were unobtrusively measured in 38 selected settlements, including 19 with traffic calming schemes and 19 without. The study design used in this research was a matched case–control. A regression analysis compared case and control casualties using a conditional logistic regression.

Results: Generally, the mean vehicle speeds and the proportion of vehicles exceeding the 50?km/h speed limit were significantly lower in settlements that have traffic calming measures compared to towns without any traffic calming measures. Additionally, the proportion of motorists who exceeded the speed limit was 30% or less in settlements that have traffic calming devices and the proportion who exceeded the speed limit was 60% or more in towns without any traffic calming measures. The odds of pedestrian fatality was significantly higher in settlements that have no traffic calming devices compared to those that have (odds ratio [OR]?=?1.98; 95% confidence interval, 1.09–4.43). The protective effects of a traffic calming scheme that has a speed table was notably higher than those where there were no speed tables.

Conclusion: It was clearly evident that traffic calming devices reduce vehicular speeds and, thus, the incidence and severity of pedestrian injuries in built-up areas in Ghana. However, the fact that they are deployed on arterial roads is increasingly becoming a road safety concern. Given the emerging safety challenges associated with speed calming measures, we recommend that their use be restricted to residential streets but not on arterial roads. Long-term solutions for improving pedestrian safety proposed herein include bypassing settlements along the highways to reduce pedestrians’ exposure to traffic collisions and adopting a modern way of enforcement such as evidence-based laser monitoring in conjunction with a punishment regime that utilizes the demerit points system.     

Analyzing pedestrian crash injury severity under different weather conditions

Objective: Pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users due to the lack of mass, speed, and protection compared to other types of road users. Adverse weather conditions may reduce road friction and visibility and thus increase crash risk. There is limited evidence and considerable discrepancy with regard to impacts of weather conditions on injury severity in the literature. This article investigated factors affecting pedestrian injury severity level under different weather conditions based on a publicly available accident database in Great Britain.

Method: Accident data from Great Britain that are publicly available through the STATS19 database were analyzed. Factors associated with pedestrian, driver, and environment were investigated using a novel approach that combines a classification and regression tree with random forest approach.

Results: Significant severity predictors under fine weather conditions from the models included speed limits, pedestrian age, light conditions, and vehicle maneuver. Under adverse weather conditions, the significant predictors were pedestrian age, vehicle maneuver, and speed limit.

Conclusions: Elderly pedestrians are associated with higher pedestrian injury severities. Higher speed limits increase pedestrian injury severity. Based on the research findings, recommendations are provided to improve pedestrian safety.     

倒计时信号灯绿灯间隔时间设置研究

就保障倒计时信号交叉口交通安全而言,适当设置倒计时信号灯绿灯间隔时间具有重要意义。选择南京一个道路交叉口,利用交通冲突理论,分析产生严重交通冲突的条件,考虑车流不饱和与饱和2种情况,得到在不发生严重交通冲突条件下的绿灯间隔时间,并通过实例说明。研究结果显示,在车流饱和状态下,头车与尾车均为大车时,头车以初速度零开始加速进入交叉口时绿灯间隔时间应最短;在不饱和状态下,头车与尾车均为大车时,头车以一定速度通过交叉口时绿灯间隔时间应最长;车流饱和时绿灯间隔时间应较短,车流不饱和时绿灯设置间隔时间应较长。