Child pedestrian behaviors: Influence of peer social norms and correspondence between self-reports and crossing behaviors

Objective: The aims of this study were to determine if children's perception of peers' behavioral norms for crossing streets relates to their personal norms for doing so and if children's self-reports about crossing relates to their actual crossing in a virtual traffic situation. Method: Children (8–10 years, N = 86) completed questionnaires about peer's norms and their personal norms about crossing streets, and also reported on their recent crossing behaviors. These self-reports about crossing were then related to children's actual crossing behaviors measured using a fully immersive virtual reality (VR) system. Results: Children's perception of peers' behavioral norms for crossing related to their personal norms for doing so, and their norms related to their reports of how they have crossed in the past few weeks. When crossing virtual streets, children with higher scores on self-reports about risky crossing behaviors selected smaller (riskier) inter-vehicle gap sizes to cross into, showed less start delay (less time appraising traffic before starting), and experienced more hits. Conclusion and practical applications: Children's perception of peers' behavioral norms for crossing are relevant to their crossing behaviors and may be one way that peers elevate children's risk of pedestrian injury. Children's self-reports about crossing risk may be useful for identifying at-risk youth and strategically targeting interventions to these children.     

“Like it’s wrong,but it’s not that wrong:” Exploring the normalization of risk-compensatory strategies among young drivers engaging in illegal smartphone use

Introduction: Young drivers are the most vulnerable road users and most likely to use a smartphone illegally while driving. Although when compared with drink-driving, attitudes to illegal smartphone risk are nearly identical, smartphone use among young drivers continues to increase. Method: Four in-depth focus groups were conducted with 13 young (18–25 years) drivers to gain insight into their perceptions of the risks associated with the behavior. Our aim was to determine how drivers navigate that risk and if their behavior shapes and informs perceptions of norms. Results: Three key themes emerged: (a) participants perceived illegal smartphone use as commonplace, easy, and benign; (b) self-regulatory behaviors that compensate for risk are pervasive among illegal smartphone users; and (c) risk-compensation strategies rationalize risks and perceived norms, reducing the seriousness of transgression when compared with drink-driving. Young drivers rationalized their own use by comparing their selfregulatory smartphone and driving skills with those of “bad drivers,” not law abiders. Practical Applications: These findings suggest that smartphone behaviors shape attitudes to risk, highlighting the importance for any countermeasure aimed at reducing illegal use to acknowledge how a young person’s continued engagement in illegal smartphone use is justified by the dynamic composition of use, risk assessment and the perceived norms.     

Social environment versus cycling competency predicting risk-taking in 11- to 13-year-old cyclists in The Netherlands

Abstract

Objectives: From age 12 onwards, cycling injuries begin rising in The Netherlands. A known contributing factor is younger children’s underdeveloped competency to deal with complex and hazardous traffic situations, and their exposure to such situations strongly increases after transitioning to secondary school. Little is known about intentional risk-taking as a contributing factor. In this developmental stage, children become increasingly vulnerable because of intentional risk-taking, affecting their safety and health. The incidence, predictors in the child’s social environment, and trends of such risks are systematically monitored; for instance, for alcohol use, smoking, and cyber bullying. Such monitors do not include risky road behavior. This exploratory field study examined the frequency of intentional risky cycling, its relationship with the perceived social environment, and relative to cycling competency measured as the ability to detect emerging hazards quickly.

Methods: Three hundred thirty-five students between 11 and 13 years of age (51% male) completed computerized tests of hazard perception skill and surveys on crashes, risk-taking, peer pressure, perceived risk-taking by parents or friends, and exposure to risky driving as passenger.

Results: Frequent risk-taking was associated with higher crash frequency. Stepwise regression confirmed that children who more often took risks on the road were also more sensitive to peer pressure, had more often been passengers of risky drivers, had parents and friends who exhibited risky behaviors in traffic more often, and perceived hazards as less dangerous but, in contrast to expectations, did not do worse on the detection of hazards. The predictors explained 28% of the variance in total risk-taking but varied from 6 to 20% depending on the specific risk-taking behavior concerned.

Conclusions: At least 20% of children sometimes or more often take risks in traffic. Children who feel peer pressure to behave in a risky manner, observe parents and friends behaving in a risky manner in traffic, and have been exposed as passengers to risky driving more often take risks in traffic themselves. These results provide support for including items on risky road behavior in health monitors and to design interventions that address the risk factors in the child’s perceived social environment.     

A qualitative study of college students' perceptions of risky driving and social influences

Objectives: Young adults and teens are documented as the riskiest drivers on the road, and newer issues such as texting and driving are a growing concern. This study sought to determine the risk perceptions of young adults regarding various driving behaviors, their past experiences, how their social circles are structured, and how this might affect their driving. Methods: This study conducted qualitative research with 25 college undergraduate students to determine their peer and social influences regarding distracted driving. Data were analyzed and related to the health belief model and past research on social influence. Results: Though most participants felt that their behaviors were set after learning to drive, they were, in fact, quite susceptible to the influence of those in their social circles (e.g., fear of judgment and accountability) and, more broadly, to social norms. Texting and driving was the largest and most topical distracted driving issue and was also identified as very difficult to stop due to perceived barriers and the idea that intervening is rude. Participants identified low perceived susceptibility and severity (perceived threat) for a number of risky driving behaviors, including texting and driving. Conclusions: Training is needed to encourage people to intervene and speak up regarding behaviors other than drinking and driving, and cues to action and campaigns should target intervention to increase self-efficacy, as well as norms, susceptibility, and common rationalizations for risky behavior.     

Social norms of accompanied young children and observed crossing behaviors

Introduction

Social norms for accompanied young children and crossing behaviors were examined in two studies conducted in an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel.

Method

In Study 1, road behaviors of young children crossing with and without accompaniment and older children were observed, and the actual social norm for accompanied school children younger than 9-years-old was examined. In Study 2, the perceived norm of accompaniment was tested by questionnaires.

Results

Young children who crossed without accompaniment exhibited poorer crossing skills compared to older children and to young children crossing with accompaniment. In the four locations observed, the actual accompaniment rate ranged between 15%-60%. The perceived social norm for child accompaniment was lower than the actual norm.

Conclusions

The discussion refers to both theoretical issues and their practical implications.     

Pedestrian crossing behavior,an observational study in the city of Ushuaia,Argentina

Objectives: Pedestrian crashes are a critical problem in Latin American countries. However, little research has been published about pedestrians and even less about their behaviors in a naturalistic context. The objective of the present research was to explore risky pedestrian crossing behaviors in traffic intersections in an argentine city (Ushuaia). It is focused in different stages of the crossing process, traffic code violations, and other potentially risky behaviors such as distractions. A high frequency of risky behaviors among pedestrians was expected. Moreover, according to previous findings, it was hypothesized that men and younger pedestrians would show riskier behaviors.

Methods: Participants were 802 pedestrians (53.9% females) observed at several intersections (with and without traffic lights) in the city of Ushuaia. Behaviors were codified following a standardized observation protocol. Observers documented information on behavior previous to, during, and after crossing. Gender and age were also registered. Data were gathered through video recording. Frequency analyses of observed behaviors were conducted for the total sample, as well as by gender and by age group. A general crossing risk index was calculated to facilitate comparisons between the genders and age groups. We conducted an analysis of variance to evaluate gender and age differences for this index.

Results: A high proportion of risky behaviors were observed among pedestrians. The majority of pedestrian waited in the street (as opposed to on the sidewalk) before crossing, did not comply with traffic lights, or crossed outside the crosswalk. A large number of pedestrians were distracted while crossing. Men presented higher scores on risky behaviors than women. No differences were observed by age group.

Conclusions: The high level of risk behaviors during the different stages of street crossing is worrisome and reinforces the idea that pedestrians are responsible for many of the conflicts with motorists. Many of the risky behaviors seem to be associated with gender, which is in line with the previous literature showing more risk behaviors among men than among women. No differences were found for age group. Findings are interpreted considering some features of the Argentine road culture.     

Pedestrian distraction: The effects of road environment complexity and age on pedestrian’s visual attention and crossing behavior

Introduction: Little is known about how characteristics of the environment affect pedestrians’ road crossing behavior. Method: In this work, the effect of typical urban visual clutter created by objects and elements in the road proximity (e.g., billboards) on adults and children (aged 9–13) road crossing behavior was examined in a controlled laboratory environment, utilizing virtual reality scenarios projected on a large dome screen. Results: Divided into three levels of visual load, results showed that high visual load affected children’s and adults’ road crossing behavior and visual attention. The main effect on participants’ crossing decisions was seen in missed crossing opportunities. Children and adults missed more opportunities to cross the road when exposed to more cluttered road environments. An interaction with age was found in the dispersion of the visual attention measure. Children, 9–10 and 11–13 years old, had a wider spread of gazes across the scene when the environment was highly loaded—an effect not seen with adults. However, unexpectedly, no other indication of the deterring effect was found in the current study. Still, according to the results, it is reasonable to assume that busier road environments can be more hazardous to adult and child pedestrians. Practical Applications: In that context, it is important to further investigate the possible distracting effect of causal objects in the road environment on pedestrians, and especially children. This knowledge can help to create better safety guideline for children and assist urban planners in creating safer urban environments.     

The Development of Risky Driving in Adolescence

The driving attitudes and self-reported behaviors of New Zealand adolescents in Year 10 of school (n = 168, mean age = 14.2 years) were compared with students in Year 12 (n = 109, mean age = 16.4 years). School year group differences were found for three out of the eight measures of risky attitudes and behaviors, with the older students having riskier responses in each case. Gender differences were found for four of these measures, with males consistently demonstrating riskier attitudes. Suggestions are made about appropriate interventions and the timing of these.     

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.     

“They’re lunatics on the road”: Exploring the normative influences of parents,friends, and police on young novices’ risky driving decisions

PurposeYoung novice drivers experience significantly greater risk of being injured or killed in car crashes than older more experienced drivers. This research utilised a qualitative approach guided by the framework of Akers’ social learning theory. It explored young novice drivers’ perspectives on risky driving including rewards and punishments expected from and administered by parents, friends, and police, imitation of parents’ and friends’ driving, and advantages and disadvantages of risky driving.MethodsTwenty-one young drivers (12 females, 9 males) aged 16–25 years (M = 17.71 years, SD = 2.15) with a Learner (n = 11) or Provisional (n = 10) driver licence participated in individual or small group interviews.Findings and conclusionsContent analysis supported four themes: (1) rewards and (2) punishments for risky driving, and the influence of (3) parents and (4) friends. The young novice drivers differed in their vulnerability to the negative influences of friends and parents, with some novices advising they were able to resist risky normative influences whilst others felt they could not. The authority of the police as enforcers of road rules was either accepted and respected or seen as being used to persecute young novices. These findings suggest that road safety interventions should consider the normative influence of parents and friends on the risky and safe behaviour of young novices. Police were also seen as influential upon behaviour. Future research should explore the complicated relationship between parents, friends, the police, young novices, and their risky driving behaviour.     

Predicting pool safety habits and intentions of Australian parents and carers for their young children

Introduction: Children under five years are most at risk of experiencing fatal and nonfatal drowning. The highest proportion of drowning incidents occur in private swimming pools. Lapses in adult supervision and failures in pool barriers are leading contributory factors for pool drowning in this age group. Methods: We investigated the role of the theory of planned behavior social cognitions (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) as well as perceived barriers, planning, role construction, and anticipated regret on parents’ and carers’ intentions and habits toward two pool safety behaviors: restricting access and supervising children around private swimming pools. The study adopted a cross-sectional correlational design. Participants (N = 509) comprised Australian parents or caregivers with children aged under five years and access to a swimming pool at their residence. Participants completed a battery of self-report measures of social cognitive variables with respect to the swimming pool safety behaviors for their children. Results: Path analytic models controlling for past behavior indicated that subjective norm, planning, anticipated regret, and role construction were important predictors of habit, and subjective norm was a consistent predictor of intentions, for both behaviors. Planning predicted intentions in the restricting access sample, while attitudes, barriers, and role construction also predicted intentions in the supervising sample. Both models controlled for past behavior. Conclusion: Current findings indicate the importance of psychological factors for restricting access and supervising behaviors, with normative factors prominent for both reasoned (intentions) and non-conscious (habits) behavioral antecedents. It seems factors guiding restricting access, which likely require regular enactment of routine behaviors (e.g., ensuring gate is not propped open, pool fence meets standards), may be governed by more habitual than intentional processes.     

Implicit attitudes towards risky driving behaviors: Evidence of validity for the implicit association test

Introduction: Attitudes toward risky driving behaviors are commonly evaluated through direct self-report measures. Nevertheless, these instruments have limitations, such as socially-desirable responding. This study examines the validity of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) as an indirect measure of attitudes towards risky driving. An IAT with “risky” vs. “safe” driving behaviors categories was evaluated. Method: A sample of 100 participants (ranging from 18 to 70 years of age) completed the IAT and measures of attitudes, driving styles, personality traits, risk-taking (IOWA Gambling Task), and social desirability (Driver Social Desirability Scale). Results: A high level of internal consistency was found for IAT scores. The IAT was correlated with driving styles (risky, dissociative, and careful dimensions), risk-related personality traits (impulsive/sensation seeking and aggression/hostility) and risk-taking measures. IAT scores were also associated with self-reported risky driving behaviors (r = 0.33). As expected, a higher level of negative implicit attitudes was found among young drivers. The driver social desirability scale was correlated with most self-report measures, but not with the IAT. Conclusion: The present study provides reliability and validity evidence for the IAT as an indirect measure of attitudes towards risky driving. The IAT can serve as an important complement to conventional self-report measures of driving attitudes. Practical Applications: Potential use of global measure of implicit attitudes toward risky driving behaviors in the evaluation, education, and training of drivers are discussed.     

Assessing the impact of risk-taking behavior on road crash involvement among University students residing in two Mediterranean countries

Surveillance systems are indispensable for injury prevention; yet, detailed electronic records are rarely available. The “Student’s Health Card” is a self-reporting electronic tool addressing health issues of University students, while aiming to actively involve them in preventive practices and health promotion. Utilizing data from the injury prevention related section, this study sought to investigate the impact of risk-taking behavior on road crash involvement among University students residing in two Mediterranean countries. A total of 978 University students, 451 Greek and 527 Italian, provided information on prior road crash involvement, as well as on eight behavioral variables, comprising a risky behavior score. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed. The already known tendency for clustering of risky behaviors was evident. One degree increment in the risky behavior score was found to increase the risk of road crash involvement by 35%. Driving after drinking (OR = 2.55, CI = 1.53–4.26), riding with a drunk driver (OR = 2.19, CI = 1.08–4.45) and tobacco smoking (OR = 1.95, CI = 1.18–3.22) significantly multiplied the risk. Despite their better compliance with safety measures, Italian students, compared with Greek, reported worse alcohol-related driving habits and engaged more frequently in mobile phone use while driving. Clustering of risky behaviors was found to be an important predictor of road crash involvement. Screening and awareness of risk-taking propensity of University students could guide early intervention. The “Student’s Health Card” could provide, at minimal cost, reliable risk-taking and road crash involvement information, which is needed for both personal risk assessment and surveillance purposes.     

Higher-order cycling skills among 11- to 13-year-old cyclists and relationships with cycling experience,risky behavior,crashes and self-assessed skill

IntroductionIn the Netherlands, young cyclists are extremely vulnerable in traffic, which may partly be due to their still underdeveloped higher-order cycling skill. So far, knowledge on their actual level of skill is lacking. Using a computerized test battery mimicking real-life risky traffic conditions, this study assessed the level of higher-order cycling skill in children 11 and 12 years of age and tested the hypothesis that these skills show caveats. Furthermore, factors potentially influencing the development and impact of these skills were studied, such as cycling experience, risky road behavior, crash involvement, and self-assessed skill.MethodA total of 335 students (49% female) completed computerized tests on hazard perception, gap acceptance, blind spot strategies, and priority decisions in traffic, and completed questionnaires on cycling experience, risky cycling behavior, crashes, and self-assessment of cycling skill.ResultsOn the hazard perception test, one-third of the participants missed at least half of the number of hazards. They made errors in about 50% of the priority decisions, accepted critical gaps when crossing the road, and conversely rejected safe gaps; only 1% of the participants identified all blind spots of a truck correctly, while 69% made unsafe decisions when interacting with trucks in traffic scenarios. Overall, in complex traffic situations performance was worse than in simple ones. The hypothesis of lack of skills was therefore accepted. However, the study failed to demonstrate consistent relationships between subtest performance and cycling experience, risky behavior, crashes, and self-assessed skill, which weakens the theoretical assumptions concerning the subtests.ConclusionsThe results suggest that children at the end of primary school are still lacking elementary skills for safe cycling, calling for measures to accelerate skill development.Practical applicationsTest batteries are essential tools for systematically monitoring skill development in cyclists, evaluating education programs, and for guiding the development of effective road safety education. The next step is the validation of such batteries.     

Adolescent, and their parents, attitudes towards graduated driver licensing and subsequent risky driving and crashes in young adulthood

Problem

Although Graduated Driver Licensing Systems (GDLS) have helped reduce young driver crash rates, they remain significantly over-represented in crash statistics. To be effective GDLS rely heavily on support for the legislation by those directly involved; parents to enforce the restrictions and adolescents to comply. There is some evidence that practices regarding GDLS restrictions influence adolescent driving outcomes in the early stage of licensure. However there has been no examination undertaken on the influence of parent and adolescent attitudes toward GDLS on adolescents’ driving behavior and crash experiences as they move into their young adult years. The aim of this research was to examine these relationships.

Method

This investigation was based on a longitudinal study of a birth cohort, and uses data collected when the cohort members were aged 15, 18, and 21 years. At age 15 both adolescent and their parent attitudes toward GDLS were measured. At age 18 adolescent GDLS attitudes were measured again. The association between these measures and self-reported risky driving behavior and crash involvement at age 21 were examined.

Results

Negative attitudes toward the learner supervisor restriction for males, and negative attitudes toward a GDLS for females were strongly associated with risky driving and crash involvement as young adults.

Impact on industry

Targeting interventions to improve adolescents and parents understanding of the reasons for graduated licensing and the specific restrictions may improve attitudes and views and thereby contribute to a reduction in risky driving behaviors and crash risk among young adults.     

Children’s fear in traffic and its association with pedestrian decisions

Introduction: Research on risk for child pedestrian injury risk focuses primarily on cognitive risk factors, but emotional states such as fear may also be relevant to injury risk. The current study examined children's perception of fear in various traffic situations and the relationship between fear perception and pedestrian decisions. Method: 150 children aged 6–12-years old made pedestrian decisions using a table-top road model. Their perceived fear in the pedestrian context was assessed. Results: Children reported greater emotional fear when they faced quicker traffic, shorter distances from approaching traffic, and red rather than green traffic signals. Children who were more fearful made safer pedestrian decisions in more challenging traffic situations. However, when the least risky traffic situation was presented, fear was associated with more errors in children’s pedestrian decisions: fearful children failed to cross the street when they could have done so safely. Perception of fear did not vary by child age, although safe pedestrian decisions were more common among the older children. Conclusions: Children’s emotional fear may predict risk-taking in traffic. When traffic situations are challenging to cross within, fear may appropriately create safer decisions. However, when the traffic situation is less risky, feelings of fear could lead to excessive caution and inefficiency. Practical applications: Child pedestrian safety interventions may benefit by incorporating activities that introduce realistic fear of traffic risks into broader safety lessons.     

The effects of co-presence on risk perception and intention to engage in risky behaviors

IntroductionThis study investigated the relation between co-presence and bicyclists' riding behavior. We assumed that the presence of peer riders would either facilitate or inhibit risky behaviors depending on bicyclists' perceptions of three traffic contexts conducive to risk taking (i.e., red-light, go straight, and turn to left).MethodYoung bicyclists (N = 207) were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions (alone vs. with peers). They filled in a scenario-based questionnaire about their intentions to adopt risky behaviors in three specific traffic situations as well as their risk perception of these situations and their general self-perceived efficacy as a bicyclist. We hypothesized that the presence of peer riders engaged in a risky behavior will facilitate the intention to adopt risky behaviors in situations where group risk is evaluated as lower than individual risk. In opposition, the presence of peer riders engaged in a risky behavior will inhibit the intention to adopt risky behaviors in situations where group risk is evaluated as higher than individual risk.ResultsThe results confirmed the hypotheses.Practical ApplicationsThe findings offer insights for developing new effective education and intervention programs in order to reduce the frequency of dangerous behavior among bicyclists.     

Pedestrian road crossing behavior (PEROB): Development and psychometric evaluation

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a theory-based questionnaire to measure road crossing attitudes and potentially risky pedestrian behavior.

Methods: A cross-sectional validation study was carried out on a total sample of 380 young adults aged 18 to 25 years who live in Tehran, Iran. Data were collected from January 27 to May 20, 2015, using a self-administered structured pool of 76 items that was developed from research on the theory of planned behavior. A panel of subject-matter experts evaluated the items for content validity index and content validity ratio, and the questionnaire was pretested. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to test construct validity. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analyses were done to assess internal consistency and stability of the scale.

Results: From the initial 76 items, 38 items were found to be appropriate for assessing the pedestrian road crossing behavior (PEROB) of young adults in Tehran. A 9-factor solution revealed an exploratory factor analysis that jointly accounted for 63.8% of the variance observed. Additional analyses also indicated acceptable results for the internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha value ranging from 0.67 to 0.88 and ICC values ranging from 0.64 to 0.96.

Conclusions: This psychometric evaluation of a self-administered instrument resulted in a reliable and valid instrument to assess young adult pedestrians' self-reported road crossing attitudes and behaviors in Tehran. Further development of the instrument is needed to assess its applicability to other road users, particularly older pedestrians.     

Developing a theoretical foundation to change road user behavior and improve traffic safety: Driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC)

Objectives: This study explored a theoretical model to assess the influence of culture on willingness and intention to drive under the influence of cannabis (DUIC). This model is expected to guide the design of strategies to change future DUIC behavior in road users.

Methods: This study used a survey methodology to obtain a nationally representative sample (n = 941) from the AmeriSpeak Panel. Survey items were designed to measure aspects of a proposed definition of traffic safety culture and a predictive model of its relationship to DUIC.

Results: Although the percentage of reported past DUIC behaviors was relatively low (8.5%), this behavior is still a significant public health issue—especially for younger drivers (18–29 years), who reported more DUIC than expected. Findings suggest that specific cultural components (attitudes, norms) reliably predict past DUIC behavior, general DUIC willingness, and future DUIC intention. Most DUIC behavior appears to be deliberate, related significantly to willingness and intention. Intention and willingness both appear to fully moderate the relationship between traffic safety culture and DUIC behavior.

Conclusions: This study explored a theoretical model to understand road user behavior involving drug (cannabis)-impaired driving as a significant risk factor for traffic safety. By understanding the cultural factors that increase DUIC behavior, we can create strategies to transform this culture and sustain safer road user behavior.