Pedestrian Visual Characteristics during Twilight and Increase in Traffic Accidents

Abstract

Traffic accidents between pedestrians and vehicles increase during twilight. This study addresses this issue from the perspective of pedestrian visual characteristics. Experiments were conducted during daytime, twilight, and nighttime in which pedestrians wearing an eye tracker walked along a sidewalk while passing vehicles. Introducing an index called ETTC (Extended Time to Collision), analysis of the time at which pedestrians first saw approaching vehicles revealed that there was a delay in visually noticing the approaching vehicles during twilight.