The influence of a pedestrian countdown display on pedestrian behavior at signalized pedestrian crossings

• Published in: Transportation research. Part F, Traffic psychology and behaviour Traffic psychology and behaviour, 2013-09, Vol.20, p.121-134
• Main Authors: Lipovac, Krsto, Vujanic, Milan, Maric, Bojan, Nesic, Miladin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Behavior; Categories; Children; Countdown; Females; Location; Pedestrian; Pedestrian countdown display; Pedestrian crossings; Pedestrians; Traffic engineering; Traffic flow; Traffic lights
• ISSN: 1369-8478; 1873-5517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.trf.2013.07.002

•A countdown display reduces statistically significantly the total number of violators.•Reduction is not the same at various categories of pedestrians.•A countdown display does not change the distribution form of the number of offences.•There is a difference in certain intervals (first and last 4s) in the total distribution.•A countdown display does not reduce the overall number of “slow” pedestrians. Pedestrian behavior has been a subject of surveys carried out at two signalized pedestrian crossings, in the city of Doboj (BIH, Republic of Srpska). The analysis is made on the basis of video recordings, and includes behavior at pedestrian crossings, in various conditions (two locations, different vehicle flows, with or without a countdown display). The analysis also includes the distribution of illegal crossings (at the pedestrian red light) of different categories of pedestrians (gender, age), before and after the installation of a pedestrian countdown display, at two different pedestrian crossings. The results of the study have shown that a countdown display reduces statistically significantly the total number of violators, regardless of its location and traffic flow. However, this reduction is not the same at various categories of pedestrians (male, female, elderly, young people). The influence of the display has been particularly dominant at the pedestrian crossing located outside the centre of the city, with the smaller intensity of traffic. Children pedestrians do not accept the behavior in accordance with the countdown display in case of a reduced intensity of traffic, at a pedestrian crossing located in the backstreet. A countdown display does not statistically significantly change the distribution form of the number of offences during the red light for pedestrians, regardless of the pedestrian environment. However, there is a statistically significant difference in certain intervals (during the first and last 4s) in the total distribution, as well as in the categories (female pedestrians, children). A countdown display does not reduce the overall number of “slow” pedestrians, but the impact on certain categories of “slow” pedestrians (gender/children), as well as on pedestrian violators, per age categories, varies depending on the location and traffic flow at an intersection.