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The Influence of Traffic Signal Solutions on Self-Reported Road-Crossing Behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2015

Leandro L. Di Stasi ,
Alberto Megías ,
Antonio Cándido ,
Antonio Maldonado  and
Andrés Catena
Leandro L. Di Stasi*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Alberto Megías
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Antonio Cándido
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Antonio Maldonado
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
Andrés Catena
Affiliation:
Universidad de Granada (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Leandro Luigi Di Stasi, Ph.D., “Mind, Brain, and Behavior Research Center. University of Granada 18071 Granada - Spain” E-mail: distasi@ugr.es
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Abstract

Injury to pedestrians is a major safety hazard in many countries. Since the beginning of the last century, modern cities have been designed around the use of motor vehicles despite the unfavourable interactions between the vehicles and pedestrians. This push towards urbanization resulted in a substantial number of crashes and fatalities involving pedestrians every day, all over the world. Thus, improving the design of urban cities and townships is a pressing issue for modern society. The study presented here provides a characterization of pedestrian safety problems, with the emphasis on signalized crosswalks (i.e. traffic signal) design solutions. We tested the impact of seven different traffic light configurations (steady [green, yellow, and red], flashing [green, yellow, and red], and light off) on pedestrian self-reported road-crossing behavior, using a 11-point scale -ranging from 0 (“I never cross in this situation”) to 10 (“I always cross in this situation”). Results showed that mandatory solutions (steady green vs. steady red) are the best solutions to avoid unsafe pedestrian behaviors while crossing controlled intersections (frequency of crossing: Mgreen = 9.4 ± 1 vs. Mred = 2.6 ± 2). These findings offer important guidelines for the design of future traffic signals for encouraging a pedestrian/transit-friendly environment.

Keywords

traffic psychologyroad safetycrosswalkpedestrianjaywalking
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 17 , 2014 , E103
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2014 

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