Risk analysis and pedestrian crossing behaviour

Abstract

The article presents a study conducted for analyzing pedestrian risk at three locations in the city of Chandigarh, India. Pedestrians are major component of traffic flow in urban areas. The major safety problem discussed now-a-days in most of the developing nations is traffic accidents related to pedestrian. This is due to the complexity of present road environment which is formed mainly by vehicle dominance, increasing speed and rapid traffic growth. Female pedestrians were observed accepting higher gaps and lower risk compared to male pedestrians. Similarly, an individual pedestrian was found waiting for more time at curb and accepting larger gaps to cross a road or an intersection as compared to a group of pedestrians. The group of pedestrians forced the vehicles to slowdown or to stop until they have crossed the road. Safety margin is defined as the time interval between the arrival of a pedestrian at a crossing point and the next vehicle approaching that point.