Behavior of pedestrians when using a pedestrian crossing with traffic lights

Abstract

Reducing the number of road accidents and the number of fatalities involving pedestrians remains a topical topic in Poland and European Union countries. It should be noted that the last 10 years have seen an increase in the use of electrical devices by pedestrians or cyclists, which may affect the behavior of pedestrians crossing the road. Undoubtedly, such behavior may lead to an increase in road accidents involving pedestrians, in particular when crossing pedestrian crossings. In order to investigate this problem, surveys were carried out on a group of 820 people and observational studies on 4 selected pedestrian crossings. Observational studies were conducted at fixed times on different days of the week. Particular attention was paid to whether pedestrians use a mobile phone when crossing a pedestrian crossing. The main purpose of the article is to draw attention to the problem of distraction of pedestrians by telephones. Undoubtedly, it should be emphasized that this type of behavior is very dangerous and can cause a road accident, because the pedestrian focuses his attention on the mobile phone and not on the surroundings. Surveys have shown that 15% of respondents always use their mobile phone when crossing a pedestrian crossing. However, experimental studies have shown that approximately 21% of pedestrians crossing pedestrian crossings use a mobile phone.