Abstract
Traffic accident statistics in urban areas, both locally in Croatia and at the European level, identify children as a group of vulnerable road users. The analysis of the parameters that influence the interaction of child pedestrians and other road users requires special attention. This paper presents the results of research about the reaction time of children, measured both in laboratory conditions, via a computer reaction time test, and in actual traffic conditions. The results of the reaction time test in a situation with expected stimuli (a computer test) of children aged 6 to 10 years were compared with the results of the reaction time of adult traffic participants, drivers, who also took part in the computer test. Standard deviations of the reaction times between the control group (drivers, adults) and each subgroup of children were significantly different (p < 0.05). The results suggest that the largest developmental jump occurs between preschool children and first-grade children. In actual traffic conditions, the reaction time of children aged 4 to 16 years at the signalized intersection was measured. The model for predicting the reaction time of children in real traffic conditions was created using a neural network. The model prediction results matched well with the values measured in actual traffic conditions, for the observed intersection (correlation coefficient is 94.56%) and for the validation intersection (correlation coefficient is 92.29%). Parameters influencing children’s reaction times in real traffic conditions were identified by applying both statistical analysis and the neural network model developed. Using both methods, the same key distractors were identified—the movement of children in the group and the use of mobile phones. The case study was conducted at selected signalized intersections in the city of Osijek, Croatia.
Highlights
One of the global goals of improving the transport system is to increase traffic safety
A basic statistical analysis was performed to identify which independent variables have no significant effect on the observed dependent variable
Increasing traffic safety, as a general goal of every urban environment, has different aspects, and Increasing safety, a general goal of every urban environment, has different aspects, and one of them is totraffic increase theas safety of children, who are, according to the statistics of road accident one of them is to increase the safety of children, who are, according to the statistics of road accident
Summary
One of the global goals of improving the transport system is to increase traffic safety. A vulnerable group of road users in the urban transport network are children, who participate in traffic as pedestrians, cyclists, and passengers in vehicles. In a potential pedestrian-vehicle conflict, the reaction times of drivers and pedestrians significantly influence the outcome of such traffic situations. The reaction time of children is affected by age, gender [2,3], control of inhibitors, parental supervision [4], the complexity of the situation, the distraction of attention [4,5], and developmental difficulties, such as hyperactivity [6]. Numerous studies suggest that children’s development of different cognitive skills, such as attention to the relevant stimuli in traffic situations [7], selective attention/attention switching [8], and decision-making, are related to increased pedestrian safety, and Safety 2020, 6, 22; doi:10.3390/safety6020022 www.mdpi.com/journal/safety
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