Pedestrians’ Beliefs about Road Crossing in Bogotá: Questionnaire Development

Abstract

Lope Hugo Barrero ** Leonardo a. Quintana *** aLfonso sáncHez **** aLejandro forero ***** juLián Quiroga ****** Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá saraH feLknor ******* University of Texas, Houston, Texas, United States a B s t r a c t Understanding the pedestrian choices is essential for the design of safe road systems. This study develops methods for self-reported assessment of pedestrian behavior. A self-report instrument was developed to investigate the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) constructs in relation to pedestrians' road crossing using a convenient sample. Internal consistency and factor analysis were conducted to test the reliability and construct validity of the instrument. Self-reported intention to execute risky behavior was compared with observed behaviors. The developed questionnaire showed high internal consistency for most of the TPB constructs (Chronbach's alpha>0.7). Factor analyses confirmed that questions grouped in constructs, as hypothesized. Pedestrians' intention to execute risky behavior was related to pedestrians' perceived physical capability and to the simultaneous crossing of other pedestrians. However, this intention correlated moderately with observed risky behavior (R s =0.35). The potential to understand the mechanisms of pedestrian choices using the developed instrument are considered exploratory, yet promising. r e s u m e n El poder entender las decisiones que toma un peatón es esencial para el diseño de sistemas viales seguros. Este estudio desarrolla métodos para la medición del comportamiento del peatón por medio de auto-reportes. Se desarrolló un instrumento de auto-reporte para investigar los constructos de la Teoría del Comportamiento Planeado (TPB, por sus siglas en inglés) en relación al cruce de las vías por parte de los peatones, usando una muestra conveniente. Se condujeron análisis de consistencia interna y de factores para probar la confiabilidad y validez de constructos del instrumento. La intención auto-reportada de ejecutar comportamientos riesgosos fue comparada con los comportamientos observados. El desarrollo del cuestionario mostró una alta consistencia interna para la mayoría de los constructos del TPB (alfa de Cronbach > 0.7). El análisis de factores confirmó que las preguntas se agrupaban en constructos, tal y como se hipotetizó; la intención de los peatones de ejecutar comportamientos riesgosos estuvo relacionada con Key words authors

Red light violation and pedestrians’ modal salient beliefs about unsafe road crossing behavior: a qualitative study

“…Although several studies have been conducted based on the TPB to investigate pedestrians’ unsafe crossing behavior, none of them have conducted a qualitative study as a prerequisite for the quantitative study. 19-26…”

“…6 Time-saving as an attitudinal question has been used in several studies in China, UK and Colombia. 19-25 In three studies conducted in UK and China, 20,21,25 researchers in addition to the time-saving, have used another item like get me to my destination more quickly, as one of the advantages of this behavior. But we combined these two items because of the overlap in their meanings and put them in a single sub-category called time savings.…”

“…16-18 The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is one of the most validated theories of individual-level behavior that has been used to predict pedestrians’ behavior. 19-26…”

“…33 To the best of our knowledge, no TPB-based qualitative study has ever been conducted to understand pedestrians' road crossing intention or behavior. 19,21-26,34…”

A Multidisciplinary Analytical Framework for Studying Active Mobility Patterns

“…For example, pedestrians are more likely to engage in risky behaviours such as crossing a busy intersection if they see other pedestrians engaging in the same risky behaviour (Barrero et al, 2013).…”