The safety margin and perceived safety of pedestrians at unmarked roadway

Many pedestrians cross out of crosswalks (i.e., unmarked roadway) in developing countries, but researches about their safety are under reported. This study explored safety related factors and their casual relations at unmarked roadway. Videos of 254 pedestrians' crossing process were analyzed objectively on safety and evaluated subjectively on perceived safety. The two safety indexes are consistent on important factors, with higher running frequency reduce safety while bigger group size increase safety. The two factors had contrary effect on pedestrian speed, which is positively related with safety. Higher looking frequency before crossing also enhance safety, partly by reducing running frequency and increasing going backwards with its planning nature. Longer waiting time before crossing can facilitate this planning behavior while at the same time leads to bigger group size. Buses are safer than cars, but they are not perceived as safer. In situations where only some vehicles yield, yielding ones bring danger due to sight blocking of unyielding ones in adjacent lanes. These findings can be applied to the design of intelligent transportation systems and the education of drivers and pedestrians to improve safety. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.