Understanding Of Pedestrian Behavior Research Articles

EVALUATING PEDESTRIAN CROSSING ATTRIBUTES AT INTERSECTIONS IN KABUL CITY, AFGHANISTAN: A COMPUTER VISION APPROACH

This study aims to evaluate pedestrian crossing attributes in heterogeneous traffic environments using computer vision. For this purpose, YoloV8 models were optimised to detect pedestrian crossing attributes. Moreover, an OpenCV-based Python programme was developed to track pedestrian trajectories manually. For accuracy, the inverse perspective mapping method is applied to obtain a bird's eye view. Finally, a heatmap of pedestrian trajectories was provided to visualise the pedestrian crossing attributes. The results show that more than three-quarters of pedestrians are engaging in noncompliance crossing behaviours at major intersections in Kabul City, Afghanistan. In addition, pedestrians tend to walk longer, more frequent routes at corners and outside of crosswalks. Furthermore, statistical analysis reveals that pedestrian crossing speed decreased by 5.8% when disobeying crossing rules, indicating the significant effect of pedestrian attributes on crossing speed. In conclusion, this study contributes to a better understanding of pedestrian behaviour in heterogeneous traffic environments using computer vision. The results would provide insightful information to traffic engineers and planners for traffic management.

Evaluating the Efficacy of Agent-Based Modeling in Analyzing Pedestrian Dynamics within the Built Environment: A Comprehensive Systematic Literature Review

The dynamics of pedestrian behavior within the built environment represent a multifaceted and evolving field of study, profoundly influenced by shifts in industrial and commercial paradigms. This systematic literature review (SLR) is motivated by the imperative to comprehensively investigate and assess the built environment through the lens of pedestrian modeling, employing advanced modeling tools. While previous scholarship has explored the interplay between the built environment and pedestrian dynamics (PD), there remains a conspicuous gap in research addressing the utilization of agent-based modeling (ABM) tools for a nuanced evaluation of PD within these contexts. The SLR highlights the essential and practical benefits of using ABM to study PD in built environments and combine related theories and practical projects. Beyond theoretical discussions, it emphasizes the real-world contributions of ABM in understanding and visualizing how people behave in urban spaces. It aims to provide deep insights for both researchers and urban planners. By thoroughly examining recent research, it not only explores the practical uses of ABM but also reveals its broad implications for various aspects of pedestrian behavior in built environments. As a result, this SLR becomes a key resource for understanding the crucial role of ABM in studying the complexities of our surroundings. The findings and discussion here highlight ABM’s vital role in bridging the gap between theory and practice, improving our understanding of pedestrian behavior in urban settings. Furthermore, this study outlines promising avenues for future research, thereby fostering continued exploration and innovation in the dynamic realm of pedestrian behavior within built environments.

Experimental study on pedestrian behavior in right-angled corners: Influence of departure position and passage width

This article presents an experimental investigation into pedestrian behavior while navigating through right-angled corners (defined as angles measuring exactly 90 degrees), emphasizing on the effects of departure position and path width, which have not been thoroughly explored in previous research. The study utilizes controlled experiments and introduces criteria for identifying the initiation and completion of turning maneuvers. Key findings reveal that participants adjust their trajectories based on their initial departure positions, with those farther from inner boundaries displaying more pronounced boundary-approaching behavior. Notably, the starting positions of turning are significantly influenced by the pedestrians’ initial departure positions, while the passage width has only a limited impact on the starting positions for turning. Conversely, the ending positions exhibit a consistent and substantial trend of increase with the widening of the path width, while showing minimal correlation with the initial departure position. Kinematic features, such as speed, acceleration, and angular speed, exhibit distinctive patterns during turning. These insights enhance our understanding of pedestrian behavior in corner navigation, offering implications for facility design and pedestrian dynamic modeling.

Understanding pedestrian route choice behavior in the continuous space: Diversity and equilibrium

Exploring general rules from diverse motion choices in the real world is a pivotal area of study that deepens our understanding of pedestrian behavior. In this research, we conduct pedestrian circle antipode experiments, from which we extract pedestrians' trajectories from repeated trials. We focus on the symmetric features identified from these experiments and employ the K-Medoids trajectory clustering method alongside several behavioral indicators, namely route length, travel time, and comfort level, to distinguish and compare different trajectory route choice patterns. In doing so, we delve into the heterogeneous behaviors exhibited by pedestrians within a single experiment and the stochastic behaviors seen across different experiments for a single pedestrian. Additionally, we establish a linear model to scrutinize the equilibrium relationship among these behavioral indicators, and further deploy the Gaussian process to shed light on the equilibrium characteristics inherent in pedestrian route choice behavior. Our findings suggest that despite the inherent heterogeneity and stochastic nature of individual behaviors, pedestrian route choice overall operates in a dynamic equilibrium state. These insights offer valuable implications for the design of facilities in transport hubs and crowd management strategies in social activities, potentially leading to more effective and organized public spaces.

Pedestrians’ involvement on safe crossing by using facilities based on extended theory of planned behaviour

Malaysia is considered one of the countries experiencing rapid growth in motorization, automobile and transportation systems. Walking is a major mode of transportation in developing countries where most road user are pedestrians who spend significant time on roads and using the road facilities. Department of Road Safety (JKJR) Malaysia statistics recorded that pedestrian is the third highest category involved in traffic accident after the car and motocycle drivers. The potential cause of death to the pedestrian was lack of using crossing facilities and careless crossing. The main strategy can be used to reduce the severity of pedestrian fatalities by using proper safe crossing facilities. To have better understanding of pedestrian behaviour, extended theory of planned behaviour used to predict the behavioral intention and to increase the proper usage of crossing facilities among Malaysian pedestrians. Full structured models are proposed and to be tested so that, the significant predictor can be identified. In future works, a factor analysis, known as Structural Equation Model (SEM) will be used in modeling exercise. The hypothesis testing will be conducted to determine the significance of the constructs. Furthermore, it will have great significance for the future on how to better utilize and enhance the pedestrian to use crossing facilities.

Footbridge usage in high-traffic flow highways: The intersection of safety and security in pedestrian decision-making​

In the Decade of Action for Road Safety, the vulnerability of pedestrians to severe outcomes from road crash is well-recognised. This study explored the factors that are influential in pedestrians’ decisions to cross a high-traffic highway in Barranquilla, Colombia, by using a footbridge over the highway, or by cutting across the highway in close proximity to a footbridge. Participants were recruited at each crossing (n=105 footbridge, n=105 ground; n=117 males; M(SD) age=23.28(5.98) years) and completed a paper survey exploring demographics, highway crossing behaviour, and attitudes regarding the safety and security of the crossing. Despite the majority of participants reporting the ground crossing was dangerous, and that the footbridge crossing was safe, one third of participants never or rarely (approximately 0% and 25% of the time) used the footbridge to cross the highway. Logistic regression revealed that the decision regarding the highway crossing mode (footbridge or ground) was predicted by (a) the frequency in which the footbridge is crossed, (b) the perception of footbridge security in relation to crime, (c) the perception of footbridge safety about traffic conflicts in general, (d) the proximity of the footbridge to the highway ground crossing, and (e) if the subject had experienced an injury during a previous highway crossing. The findings extend our understanding of pedestrian behaviour in crossing highways, not only in relation to the use of footbridges which separate both road user groups, but also ground crossings which place the pedestrians at significant risk especially those in areas with high traffic flow density. Moreover, the findings highlight the complexity involved in improving pedestrian road safety, particularly as the provision of an engineering solution (a footbridge) in close proximity to a high-risk zone (highway) is clearly not the only solution in the much larger road safety system.

The impact of walking while using a smartphone on pedestrians’ awareness of roadside events

Previous studies have shown that using a cell phone to talk or text while walking changes gait kinematics and encourages risky street-crossing behaviors. However, less is known about how the motor-cognitive interference imposed by smartphone tasks affects pedestrians’ situational awareness to environmental targets relevant to pedestrian safety. This study systematically investigated the influence of smartphone use on detection of and responses to a variety of roadside events in a semi-virtual walking environment. Twenty-four healthy participants completed six treadmill walking sessions while engaged in a concurrent picture-dragging, texting, or news-reading task. During distracted walking, they were required to simultaneously monitor the occurrence of road events for two different levels of event frequency. Performance measures for smartphone tasks and event responses, eye movements, and perceived workload and situational awareness were compared across different dual-task conditions. The results revealed that during dual-task walking, the reading app was associated with a significantly higher level of perceived workload, and impaired awareness of the surrounding environment to a greater extent compared with the texting or picture-dragging apps. Pedestrians took longer to visually detect the roadside events in the reading and texting conditions than in the dragging condition. Differences in event response performances were mainly dependent on their salient features but were also affected by the type of smartphone task. Texting was found to make participants more reliant on their central vision to detect road events. Moreover, different gaze-scanning patterns were adopted by participants to better protect dual-task performance in response to the changes in road-event frequency. The findings of relationships between workload, dual-task performances, and allocation strategies for visual attention further our understanding of pedestrian behavior and safety. By knowing how attentional and motor demands involved in different smartphone tasks affect pedestrians’ awareness to critical roadside events, effective awareness campaigns might be devised to discourage smartphone use while walking.

Human factors of pedestrian walking and crossing behaviour

Abstract Human factors related to pedestrians have received somewhat less attention in the literature compared to other road users, although it is often underlined that road and traffic factors appear to explain only a small part of pedestrian walking and crossing behaviour in urban areas. The understanding of pedestrian behaviour in urban areas may assist in the improved design and planning of the road and traffic environment, and consequently to the improvement of pedestrian comfort and safety. The objective of this research is the exploration of human factors of pedestrian walking and crossing behaviour in urban areas. More specifically, this research aims to capture and analyse key components affecting pedestrian walking and crossing behaviour, namely the pedestrians’ attitudes, perceptions, motivations, behaviour and habits. A questionnaire was designed aiming to capture key human factors of pedestrian walking and crossing behaviour including their mobility characteristics and travel motivations, their risk perception and their value of time, their attitudes towards walking and related preferences, their walking and crossing behaviour and compliance to traffic rules, their self-assessment, their opinion on drivers etc. The questionnaire included 54 questions and the responses were given on a 5-point Likert scale (e.g. from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”, from “never” to “always”), plus some basic questions on demographics. The questionnaire was filled by 75 survey young and middle-aged participants, out of which 40 were males. A thorough descriptive analysis of the questionnaire data was carried out, in order to identify main trends and patterns. A principal component analysis of the data was then implemented, in order to identify underlying factors (“components”) of pedestrian walking and crossing behaviour. The descriptive analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed that most pedestrians have positive attitudes, preferences and behaviours (e.g. risk-conscious and compliant); nevertheless, there is a non-negligible proportion of pedestrians who have negative attitudes and are willing to make dangerous actions (e.g. cross diagonally or at mid-block). A PCA results suggest that there are three dimensions of human factors of pedestrian behaviour: the first two concern their risk perception and risk taking (one reflecting risky attitudes behaviours and the other one reflecting conservative attitudes and behaviours) and the third one concerns walking motivations. There are also two groups of pedestrians identified by a cluster analysis over the dimensions scores: “positive and motivated” vs. “negative and unmotivated” pedestrians.

Pedestrian age and gender in relation to crossing behavior at midblock crossings in India

Abstract Pedestrians have unique needs to ensure their safety as they interact with others within a transportation system. Since this is especially true in third world context, it is imperative to gain a better understanding of pedestrian behaviors in developing countries. The goal is to have planners and engineers create appropriate design guidelines and inform policy decisions. Data on pedestrian characteristics and behavior metrics were gathered from midblock crossings in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Quadratic and logistic regressions suggest that pedestrian delay and utilization of crossings increase with age, while conflicts decrease with it. Male waiting time is approximately half of female waiting time, and males are twice as likely to cause conflicts with motor vehicles. These strong patterns will hopefully aid in the understanding of pedestrian behavior in relation to motor vehicle traffic in urban areas of developing countries, encouraging safer crossings to be designed.

Modeling air passengers’ rescheduling strategies for airport service lines based on an empirical study with the aid of a virtual 3-D computer graphic environment

This study investigates the rescheduling behavior of pedestrians using airport services based on air passengers’ socio-demographic information and environmental attributes of the airport. It is a part of an overall project involving the development of an intermodal simulator for analyzing pedestrian traffic within intermodal facilities, which requires an understanding of pedestrian behavior. This paper presents a Multinomial Logit (MNL) model for simulating the rescheduling decision making behavioral responses of air passengers. A stated preference survey incorporating the use of a virtual 3D computer-graphic model is employed for data collection. The resulting data is then used for model estimation and validation. The empirical results show that the MNL model is able to predict air passengers’ rescheduling strategies.

Microscopic Pedestrian Interaction Behavior Analysis Using Gait Parameters

A better understanding of pedestrian behavior is needed to enhance existing pedestrian simulation models. A study was conducted on microscopic pedestrian behavior during several interactions, with pedestrian walking speed and gait parameters (step frequency and length) as variables. Pedestrian trajectories at a signalized intersection in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, were extracted from video recordings by means of computer vision techniques. Walking speed and gait parameters were estimated by analyzing pedestrian speed profiles. The study provided detailed analysis of seven interactions. The variations in walking speed and gait parameter values across group size and gender during the seven interactions were also investigated. Results showed that, for some of the studied interactions, pedestrian speed alone may not be adequate to describe pedestrian behavior and that gait parameters can help to provide better understanding of pedestrian behavior in these particular interactions. Furthermore, a specific set of parameters was identified that can be extracted from the results and can be used to calibrate a microscopic pedestrian behavior-modeling platform currently being developed.

Pedestrian Crossing Behavior at Signalized Intersections in New York City

Crosswalks are vital links in a city’s pedestrian network. They provide a right-of-way for pedestrians and separate them from vehicular traffic to reduce conflicts. However, pedestrians must often compete for space with other road users. On a microlevel, an understanding of pedestrian behavior on the basis of use patterns is an important tool for transportation professionals as they identify improvement measures and best practices for the best design of pedestrian facilities. A study on the crossing behavior of pedestrians at signalized intersections was undertaken at five locations in New York City. The areas of focus were (a) pedestrian reaction times and (b) the effect of pedestrian characteristics and walking environments on walking speed. Reaction times were studied for two pedestrian groups: (a) those who waited on the sidewalk and (b) those who waited in the crosswalk. Hypothesis testing revealed no significant difference between these two pedestrian groups. The study found that a high percentage o...

Using Virtual Reality to Determine how Visual Factors Impact Pedestrian Behavior - A Case Study in Hubin Road, China

This paper investigates a comprehensive system to apply the spatial-temporal grid method based on a visual, virtual model to collect adequate information for an in-depth understanding of pedestrian behavior affected by the landscape elements in an empirical study of the Hubin Road area (closed to West Lake) of Hangzhou, Capital of Zhejiang Province, one of most famous tourist cities in China. Using some well-known benchmarks of pedestrian practices, the paper presents the temporal distributions of walking activities and behaviors. This paper has four parts: (1) introduces the present research on the spatial-temporal method and the problems with the concept to analyze the effects on the pedestrian behavioral study, (2) defines the new model assembled by spatial modeling linked QTVR technology for presenting pedestrian behaviors in central sightseeing destinations, (3) summarizes the results of sequential pedestrian movement collected from the spatial-temporal grid investigation and the virtual experiences during sightseeing and strolling activities on the case study area, and finally, (4) make suggestions for the spatial planning of the study area, and implementing a vision of future studies based on this system.

Pedestrian flow data collection and analysis

Although considerable work has been undertaken in the past to establish the principles of pedestrian flow, it has been the personal computer and the hand-held data logger than have enabled modelling of the pedestrian movement to be undertaken. Hitherto, most work had concentrated on what might be called the ‘street scene’. London Underground Limited wanted to extend and modify, where appropriate, the understanding of pedestrian behaviour. This would enable them to build computer models that reflected more accurately the behaviour of pedestrians within their rail stations. Before modelling could be undertaken, a series of surveys had to be carried out in order to establish the relationships between flow and journey times on various facilities encountered within stations-passageways, platforms, stairs, escalators and concourses. Subsequently, while modelling station changes that would improve passenger safety and amenities, observations were made of a variety of factors required by the model: train loadings, platform congestion, service regularity and reliability, in addition to volumetric counts and journey times on foot within the station. This Paper describes the background to the London Underground studies, and the work that had to be undertaken to help form an understanding of pedestrian behaviour within stations. It then describes the data collection and analysis aspects, including factors such as the training of enumerators for the tasks. It also discusses the requirement to model a base day, and the procedures adopted in order to produce a statement of annual worth of a scheme from a modelled base day.