Distractions or long waits? Impacts on risky crossing behaviour

Pedestrian-vehicle conflicts at intersections are considered as a major source of injuries and fatalities. Intersections are a critical part of roadway design since pedestrians are exposed to different and potentially dangerous activities due to how an intersection is designed, but also what the pedestrian is doing and where in the city they are. In this study, various influences on risky crossing behaviour are examined. At the individual level, the influence of distractions and where people are looking before crossing are tested. Further, various intersection design variables including wait time, intersection size and speed limits, and contextual variables such as the built environment nearby and traffic flow are examined. The data was gathered by observing pedestrians at 24 intersections in Montreal and Quebec City (12 each). Logistic regression models were estimated to determine the influencing variables on four dangerous behaviours: a) start on red, b) finish on red, c) finish on red having started on green, and d) cross completely on red. Results demonstrate the importance of wait time on risky crossing behaviour with short wait times (< 30s) decreasing the likelihood of such behaviours considerably. For individual behaviour, having a cellphone in one's hand reduces the likelihood of starting to cross on red. In contrast, looking at traffic was over four times more associated with crossing illegally.