Yielding the Right of The Way: A Mixed Design Study for Understanding Drivers’ Yielding Behavior

Abstract

To understand drivers' yielding behavior, field observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Cramer's V and logistic regression analyses of the field observation on 1140 drivers and pedestrians demonstrated that driver gender and pedestrian age have significant relationships with the tendency to yield the right of way. Other than gender and age, road characteristics were also investigated to understand the nature of this relationship between drivers and pedestrians to a broader extent. From the interviews' thematic analysis, four themes related to participants' thoughts about yielding behavior were obtained: "Places of Interaction," "Trust in Rules," "Factors Affecting Yielding Behavior", and "Future Solutions." Both the analysis of interviews and the observations showed that driver-pedestrian interaction is an essential factor regarding traffic safety.