Investigating the effects of Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons on pedestrian behavior and driver yielding on 25 mph streets: A quasi-experimental field study on a university campus |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Old Dominion University, USA;2. University of Brasília, Brazil;1. Engineering Ceramic Center, Korea Institute of Ceramic & Engineering Technology, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do 17303, South Korea;2. Core Technology Group, Power Systems R&D Center, Power System Division, Hanwha Techwin, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea;3. Agency for Defense Development, Yuseong P.O. BOX 35, Yuseong-gu, Dejeon 34188, South Korea;1. Centre of Expertise for the Development of Work and Organizations, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Tampere and Helsinki, Finland;2. Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland;3. UKCRC Centre of Excellence for Public Health (Northern Ireland), Queen''s University Belfast, Belfast, UK;1. State University of Health Sciences of Alagoas, UNCISAL, Alagoas, Brazil;2. Investigative Pathology Laboratory, Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil;3. Laboratory of Epidemiology and Public Health, Federal University of Alagoas, Arapiraca, Alagoas, Brazil;4. Department of Medicine, Federal University of Sergipe, Brazil;1. Safe Transportation Research and Education Center, University of California, Berkeley 2614, Dwight Way #7374, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA;2. Safe Transportation Research and Education Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA;3. Department of Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA;4. College of Engineering and Computer Science, California State University, Sacramento, CA, USA |
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| Abstract: | Rectangular Rapid-Flash Beacons (RRFBs) are safety measures that have become popular in recent years in the USA. Such equipment has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing vehicle speed and conflicts among road users, and increasing drivers’ yielding to pedestrians. However, RRFB effects on pedestrian behaviors are less well documented, and perhaps could produce contraindicated effects in crossing behavior. Specifically, RRFBs may give pedestrians a feeling of protection and induce them to more risk-taking when crossing the road. The current study was designed to investigate drivers and pedestrians’ reactions to a RRFB system installed at a university campus located in Virginia, USA. We deployed (a) field observation, using a multiple pretest/posttest non-equivalent control group quasi-experiment design and (b) interviews of students throughout the project’s multiple time periods. In total, 2454 pedestrians and 1312 drivers were observed and 265 students were interviewed. RRFB installations did not distinguish driver yielding likelihood between sites with or without RRFBs. However, driver yielding overall increased linearly over the five rounds of the study. Whether this was the result of the general presence of RRFBs on campus from the third round to the end of the fifth round is unknown. There is evidence from person interviews that students perceived increased safety for pedestrians over time. Being a RRFB chosen site or actual activation of the RRFBs did not have a significant relationship with pedestrian looking behavior either. The potential consequences of these results as well as the context of RRFB use on a university campus and generally low-speed roads are discussed. |
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| Keywords: | Pedestrian behavior Driver yielding Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons Field study |
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