Abstract
Pedestrian safety is one of the most challenging issues in road networks. Understanding how pedestrians maneuver across an intersection is the key to applying countermeasures against traffic crashes. It is known that the behaviors of pedestrians at signalized crosswalks are significantly different from those in ordinary walking spaces, and they are highly influenced by signal indication, potential conflicts with vehicles, and intersection geometries. One of the most important characteristics of pedestrian behavior at crosswalks is the possible sudden speed change while crossing. Such sudden behavioral change may not be expected by conflicting vehicles, which may lead to hazardous situations. This study aims to quantitatively model the sudden speed changes of pedestrians as they cross signalized crosswalks under uncongested conditions. Pedestrian speed profiles are collected from empirical data and speed change events are extracted assuming that the speed profiles are stepwise functions. The occurrence of speed change events is described by a discrete choice model as a function of the necessary walking speed to complete crossing before the red interval ends, current speed, and the presence of turning vehicles in the conflict area. The amount of speed change before and after the event is modeled using regression analysis. A Monte Carlo simulation is applied for the entire speed profile of the pedestrians. The results show that the model can represent the pedestrian travel time distribution more accurately than the constant speed model.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.