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Pedestrians being the most vulnerable road users account for a large proportion of injuries and fatalities from road traffic crashes. Pedestrians are involved in around one-third of the whole fatalities coming from the road traffic crashes in the state of Qatar. In areas with uncontrolled midblock crosswalks, it is very crucial to improve drivers' alertness and yielding behavior. The objective of this driving simulator study is to investigate the impact of pedestrian detection strategies and pavement markings on driving behavior at high-speed uncontrolled crosswalks. To this end, an untreated condition (i.e. Control) was compared with three treatment conditions. The three treated conditions included two detection strategies, i.e., advance variable message sign (VMS) and LED lights, and road markings with pedestrian encircled. Each condition was tested with a yield/stop controlled marked crosswalk for two situations, i.e. with vs. without a pedestrian present. The experiment was conducted using the driving simulator at Qatar University. In total, 67 volunteers possessing a valid Qatari driving license participated in the study. Different analyses were conducted on vehicle-pedestrian interactions, driving speed, variations in acceleration/deceleration and lateral position. The results showed that both the LED and VMS conditions were helpful in increasing yielding rates up to 98.4 % and reducing the vehicle-pedestrian conflicts significantly. Furthermore, both treatments were effective in motivating drivers to reduce vehicle speed in advance. Considering the findings of this study, we recommend LED and VMS conditions as potentially effective solutions to improve safety at yield/stop controlled crosswalks., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This paper aims to explore three walking behaviors of older pedestrians that may increase their crash risks when crossing urban streets. Older and younger pedestrians' start-up delay in initiating a crossing and number of head turns during street crossing are observed at 30 pedestrian crossings in Seoul, South Korea, using video recorders. In addition, their estimation of the safe crossing distance to an approaching vehicle is collected in a survey. Our study shows that older pedestrians have a shorter start-up delay time than younger pedestrians, older pedestrians crossing streets turn their heads less frequently, and older pedestrians provide less reliable estimates about the distance of an approaching vehicle. Safety technologies, campaigns and environmental designs should target these behaviors to improve the safety of older pedestrians., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper presents the design, analysis and results of a driving simulator experiment conducted to study the interaction between drivers and pedestrians in a mixed-street environment. Ninety-six students of the American University of Beirut (AUB) participated in the experiment that took place in the Transportation and Infrastructure Laboratory of AUB. The study looked at the driver-pedestrian interaction from the driver's perspective, by quantifying the effects of different scenario variables on the driving behavior of the participants. Kruskall-Wallis test shows that drivers' behavior in proximity of pedestrians tends to be statistically significantly less aggressive when their approach velocity is lower, curb-side parking is not allowed, a crosswalk exists, and the number of pedestrians crossing the street is higher. A discrete choice model for the yielding behavior of the drivers was also developed as a function of different predictor variables. Five out of the six predictors considered (except for gender) had a statistically significant effect on the yielding behavior, particularly the effects of curb-side parking, number of pedestrians crossing, and approach velocity. The model was then used to evaluate the effect of policy variables on the yielding probabilities of the drivers. The results of this study enrich current knowledge and understanding of drivers' behavior and their interaction with pedestrians, especially with studying the effects of scenario variables that were not addressed before; this would help planners propose and evaluate safety measures and traffic calming techniques to reduce the risks on pedestrians. The study also confirms the effectiveness of driving simulators in studying driver-pedestrian interactions., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Walking is encouraged by many transportation agencies as a sustainable mode that contributes to livable downtowns. Since pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users, safe and comfortable crosswalks are essential to ensure that pedestrian travel becomes an appealing alternative. In this context, the goal of this research is to study the traffic and vehicle trajectory factors that affect crosswalk law compliance and stopping distance from the crosswalk. The results of this research provide new insights into the relationships between traffic conditions, vehicle trajectory, and compliance rates. Results indicate that vehicle origin, vehicle type, stopping at upstream traffic lights, and changes in vehicle speed and headways are key factors to predict pedestrian crosswalk law compliance and stopping behavior; changes in vehicle speed and headways have the highest explanatory power., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)