Effect of a community-based pedestrian injury prevention program on driver yielding behavior at marked crosswalks

Abstract

TitleEffect of a community-based pedestrian injury prevention program on driver yielding behavior at marked crosswalks a b s t r a c tBackground: Few studies have comprehensively evaluated the effectiveness of multi-faceted interventions intended to improve pedestrian safety. "Watch for Me NC" is a multi-faceted, community-based pedestrian safety program that includes widespread media and public engagement in combination with enhanced law enforcement activities (i.e., police outreach and targeted pedestrian safety operations conducted at marked crosswalks) and low-cost engineering improvements at selected crossings. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of the law enforcement and engineering improvement components of the program on motor vehicle driver behavior, specifically in terms of increased driver yielding to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. Methods: The study used a pre-post design with a control group, comparing crossing locations receiving enforcement and low-cost engineering treatments (enhanced locations) with locations that did not (standard locations) to examine changes in driver yielding over a 6-month period from 2013 to 2014. A total of 24,941 drivers were observed in 11,817 attempted crossing events at 16 crosswalks in five municipalities that were participating in the program. Observations of real pedestrians attempting to use the crosswalks ("naturalistic" crossing) were supplemented by observations of trained research staff attempting the same crossings following an established protocol ("staged" crossings). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to model driver yielding rates, accounting for repeated observations at the crossing locations and controlling other factors that affect driver behavior in yielding to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. Results: At crossings that did not receive enhancements (targeted police operations or low-cost engineering improvements), driver yielding rates did not change from before to after the Watch for Me NC program. However, yielding rates improved significantly (between 4 and 7 percentage points on average) at the enhanced locations. This was true for both naturalistic and staged crossings. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that enhanced enforcement and low-cost engineering improvements, as a part of a broader program involving community-based outreach, can increase driver yielding to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. These data are important for the staff and decision-makers involved in pedestrian safety programs to gain a better understanding of the different engineering and behavioral mechanisms that could be used to improve driver yielding rates.

The Perspective Projects Promoting Sustainable Mobility by Active Travel to School on the Example of the Southern Poland Region

“…However, in the case of taking actions in the educational policy, it is more related to the drivers' behavior when approaching places frequented by pedestrians. The estimated effects of enforcement by drivers yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks are shown by Sandt et al [88,89]. According to Pichayapan et al [90], sometimes reducing the number of road accidents in these places may be the result of minor modernization, such as crosswalk repainting, installing additional lighting to improve visibility, or the use of speed bumps, and additional information signs.…”

Examining the Effect of Pedestrian Crashes on Vulnerable Populations in North Carolina

“…Vision Zero is a collaborative initiative to eliminate roadway deaths and injuries in North Carolina [24]. The pedestrian-focused initiative Watch For Me NC uses public education and community engagement to reduce pedes- trian and bicycle crashes and appears to positively influence driver behavior [25,26]. Finally, WalkSmartNC is a study focusing on crowd-sourcing pedestrian safety information in downtown Raleigh [27].…”

Road Users’ Behavior at Marked Crosswalks on Channelized Right-Turn Lanes at Intersections in the State of Qatar

“…In previous studies, low driver yielding rates were observed at non-signalized marked crosswalks at mid-blocks and near junctions [22][23][24]. The effect of pedestrians' gestures, smile, advance yield markings, and low-cost engineering improvements on driver yielding behavior at marked crosswalks was studied by Zhuang and Wu [22], Guéguen et al [23], Samuel et al [24], and Sandt et al [25] respectively. In case of low driver yielding rates, pedestrians must use their own judgment when they cross the road.…”