Driver's visual attention (eye movements) and driving behaviour (kinematic data) were assessed when approaching an experimental crosswalk that included flashing white in-curb LED strips, flashing orange beacons, backlit 'Yield here to pedestrians' vertical signs, and enhanced lighting when a staged pedestrian attempted to cross. An experimental condition in which all devices were active was compared with a control condition in which only enhanced lighting and backlit vertical signs were active. The results showed a significant increase of motorists' yielding compliance, distance of first fixation to the pedestrian area, standard deviation for horizontal eye movements in the experimental condition. The introduction of flashing in-curb LED strips and flashing orange beacons proved to be very effective in increasing the night-time safety of the pedestrian crossing.
This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of some mid-block bicycle crossing elements by analyzing the drivers’ behavior, when approaching the bicycle crossings in a real road experiments with 18 participants. The eye-tracking instrument has been used to monitor the driver’s visual behavior during the test in an instrumented vehicle with GPS (global positioning system) and an inertial measurement unit (IMU). In particular, the drivers’ gaze was investigated frame by frame while approaching the mid-block bicycle crossings. The results showed that the red colored pavement increased the visibility of the mid-block crossing zone to 65.3% with respect to zebra crossing 59.6%. The drivers’ visual field was also narrowed by the portal overhead bicycle crossing sign and, consequently, drivers reduced their velocity and looked more to the vertical signs by 28%. The drivers’ speed reduction helped drivers to see the mid-block crossing elements from a greater distance with a higher fixation duration.
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