Pedestrian travel experiences: Assessing the impact of traffic on behaviour and perceptions of safety using an in-depth interview technique

Abstract

This paper identifies the potentially useful role that qualitative interview techniques can play in assessing the impact of traffic on pedestrian behaviour and perceptions of safety. Findings from a study where personal in-depth interviews were used in conjunction with a specially edited videotape recording of five different traffic conditions in one street environment are reported. This method enabled the link between perceptions and behavioural response to be explored more fully in the context of objective traffic flow conditions obtained from the video. It is concluded that this technique offers added insights into the link between perceptions and behaviour and can be used to complement other techniques which may be based on observations of pedestrian behaviour, and traffic flow and speed in different environmental circumstances.