A Study on Jaywalking Behavior of Pedestrians and Drivers

Abstract

Although the number of traffic accidents and fatalities in Japan has been decreasing year by year, about 60% of pedestrians are involved in fatal accidents due to pedestrian crossing violations, and it is necessary to clarify the mechanism of crossing outside the pedestrian crossing. Since no existing study has clarified the mechanism of danger occurrence at locations where crossing outside the pedestrian crossing occurs despite the proximity of a pedestrian crossing, this study conducted a video observation survey at an unsignalized pedestrian crossing and analyzed the behavior of both pedestrians and drivers. The results showed that pedestrians crossing outside the pedestrian crossing tended not to check left and not to bail before crossing. It was also found that pedestrians tended to use crosswalks when automobile traffic was flowing in the far lane. In terms of the roadway environment, it was found that the walkable area is a factor in crossing outside the pedestrian crossing, suggesting the need to improve the location of pedestrian crosswalks and the walkable area together.