A Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Road Markings on Driving Behavior when Approaching an Unsignalized Crosswalk

Abstract

The majority of traffic fatalities in Japan occurs during road crossings, partly due to the low rate of vehicles stopping at unsignalized crosswalks. One of these measures to prevent such accidents is the installation of road markings. Road markings have an advantage that they can be installed at a low cost, but there is also a problem that the markings and color schemes are not standardized across regions. In this study, driving experiments using a driving simulator was conducted to clarify the effects of the proposed road markings on drivers’ driving behavior and driving awareness when approaching an unsignalized crosswalk, using “Slow Down”, “Be Careful of Pedestrians”, colored pavement, and no countermeasure. In addition, factor analysis was conducted to understand the influence of the countermeasures on drivers’ driving behavior, and it was shown that drivers mainly shift to deceleration behavior when they see the road markings and that the visibility of the road markings affects the promotion of deceleration behavior.