Citation

Hochmuth J, Van Houten R. Transp. Res. Rec. 2018; 2672(35): 13-20.

Affiliation

Psychology Department, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI Corresponding Author: Address correspondence to Ron Van Houten: Ron.vanhouten@wmich.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0361198118776480

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A multiple-threat accident occurs when a pedestrian attempts to traverse a crosswalk on a multilane road, and the vehicle nearest to the pedestrian yields close to the crosswalk, obscuring the pedestrian's view of the next lane, and the motorist's view in the adjacent lane of the pedestrian. This set of circumstances may lead to pedestrians being struck at higher speeds by a vehicle in the adjacent oncoming lane, often resulting in serious injury or a fatality. The present study compared advanced placement of a gateway in-street sign configuration with a gateway deployed at the crosswalk, on two multilane roads. Data were collected using a reversal design, capturing alternating series of data points in each condition, and counterbalancing the order of those conditions. The advanced placement of the sign produced comparable levels of yielding to the crosswalk placement, but produced a large increase in the proportion of yielding 50 ft or further from the crosswalk. On multilane roads, increasing the distance at which vehicles yield from the crosswalk mitigates the sight distance issues that produce multiple-threat accidents, thereby reducing the likelihood of pedestrian fatalities or serious injuries. Advanced placement of the gateway configuration may also take the signs out of the turning radii of larger vehicles at a driveway or intersection, which may improve the longevity of the in-street signs.

Language: en