The role of cultural factors and attitudes for pedestrian behaviour in an urban Turkish sample

Abstract

There is a limited number of studies that examine the role of cultural factors and attitudes related to pedestrian behaviour. The aim of this study was to explore the role of cultural variables (i.e. vertical and horizontal collectivism, and individualism, as well as uncertainty avoidance) and attitudes towards pedestrian safety for reported risk-taking pedestrian behaviour in a sample of urban Turkish road users. An additional aim was to test whether the cultural factors had mediated relations to pedestrian behaviour through attitudes towards pedestrian safety. The results are based on an urban Turkish sample (n=289, response rate=64%) established in Izmir and Istanbul. The sample consisted of 169 females and 120 males. Their age ranged from 15 to 78years (M=32.00, SD=13.89). A regression analysis showed that the cultural factors added to the explained variance of risky pedestrian behaviour above demographic and exposure-relevant control variables as well as attitudes towards pedestrian safety. Structural Equation Modeling showed that a mediated model had good fit and explained about 60% of the variance in attitudes towards pedestrian safety and 24% in pedestrian behaviour. Within this model, vertical collectivism related to lower levels of pedestrian risk-taking behaviour, while horizontal collectivism was related to higher levels of risk-taking behaviour. As expected, safe attitudes were related to lower levels of risk-taking pedestrian behaviour. The results are discussed in relation to hierarchy and authority orientations facilitated by the specific cultural factors and how such tendencies may relate to pedestrian risk-taking behaviour.