Assessing pedestrian behaviour: evaluation of a survey of Portuguese residents

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the pedestrian behaviour of a sample of Portuguese residents. For this, a questionnaire was published online and disseminated through e-mails and social media to Portuguese residents. It was answered by 502 people (318 women and 184 men) between 15 and 64 years of age. Principal component analysis differentiated four axes into factors: (1) ‘transgression’, which included violations of the rules of the road and legal errors; (2) ‘lapses’, referring to errors caused by lack of attention; (3) ‘aggressive behaviours’; and (4) ‘positive behaviours’ in relation to other road users. From the original, a shorter version with 20 items, referring to each factor's four largest factor loads, was developed, and its internal reliability was tested and approved. The effects of demographic variables were investigated alongside how demographic variables could impact the ‘transgression’ item, as observed from the discussion of the results. This study helps recognise risk behaviours and adapt user-preventive actions.