Analysis of walking speeds and success rates on mid-block crossings using virtual reality simulation

• Published in: Accident analysis and prevention Vol. 183; p. 106987
• Main Authors: Figueroa-Medina, Alberto M., Valdés-Díaz, Didier, Colucci-Ríos, Benjamín, Cardona-Rodríguez, Natacha, Chamorro-Parejo, Andrés
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2023
• Subjects: Accidents, Traffic - prevention & control; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Gap-acceptance; Humans; Mid-block crossing; Pedestrian behavior; Pedestrians; Safety; Urban streets; Virtual Reality; Virtual reality simulation; Walking; Walking Speed; Gap-acceptance; Pedestrian behavior; Mid-block crossing; Virtual reality simulation; Walking speed; Urban streets
• ISSN: 0001-4575; 1879-2057; 1879-2057
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2023.106987

•Subjects accepted an average vehicle gap of 4.5 s to cross the street.•Subjects watched about 5 gaps on average before crossing the simulated street.•Persons 66–85 years old had the greatest problem deciding when to cross the street.•The age, gap selected and walking speed affect the probability of a person to safely cross a street.•Age and gender, number of lanes, and gap accepted to cross are factors of walking speed. A focus is set worldwide to study pedestrian behavior in road situations associated with a high frequency of crashes. This paper presents the results from a virtual reality simulation study that recorded pedestrians performing mid-block crossings on a straight segment of an urban street. The experiment was designed with eight scenarios with combinations of one or two lanes, two vehicle speeds, and constant or variable gaps between vehicles. The experiment was conducted with 48 subjects producing 538 crossing observations. The results show that subjects, on average, watched about 5 vehicle gaps in traffic before crossing the street and accepted a gap of 4.5 s between vehicles to cross. A regression model showed that the vehicle speed, the number of lanes, and subjects in the 66–85 years old group had a significant effect on the gap value accepted to cross. An interaction term based on gender and number of lanes also had a significant effect on the accepted gap. The study found average walking speeds between 4.1 and 4.8 ft/s (1.2–1.4 m/s) for different scenarios. A regression model revealed that the gender, the number of lanes, and the gap accepted to cross influenced the walking speed. Significant effects of interactions of the age with gender, number of lanes, and vehicle speed variables were also found that explain the differences in walking speed. The results for the success rate when crossing the street showed the overall worst performance in the scenario with traffic generated with a 25-mph (40 km/h) speed and a constant 3-s gap between vehicles. A Logit model showed that the probability of a pedestrian being hit by a vehicle increased with age, with traffic at the top vehicle speed, and with the constant 3-s vehicle gap. In contrast, the probability decreased with increases in the vehicle gap accepted to cross and the walking speed.