Citation

Krizsik N, Pauer G. Transp. Res. F Traffic Psychol. Behav. 2023; 98: 216-225.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.trf.2023.09.009

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyday life in many areas, including transport. As a result of the reduction in traffic and epidemic measures, the number of traffic accidents and the number of people injured in accidents have decreased worldwide. However, the available research results are mainly limited to the investigation of the number of accidents and injuries. The aim of our research was to determine the impact of Covid-19 on pedestrian accidents, focusing also on the characteristics of injured pedestrians, and the willingness of drivers to give priority to pedestrians. We performed a multi-aspect analysis and used statistical methods to examine the characteristics of pedestrian accidents and injured pedestrians in Budapest between 2018 and 2021, and the changes caused by the epidemic. During the analysis of the accidents, we also created maps using the Kernel Density Function based on the severity index of the accident outcome. Pedestrian and driver behaviour were assessed based on the rates of giving the priority to pedestrians at pedestrian crossings, using the results of our own measurements before and during the Covid-19 period. As the main result of our research, we found that although the epidemic and related measures reduced the number of pedestrian accidents, there was no significant change in accident characteristics. In the case of injured pedestrians, we showed a significant change in the reduction of injuries between the ages of 0 and 18 and in case of the injuries of foreign citizens. In addition, we found that the willingness to give priority for pedestrians was negatively affected by the period of Covid-19.

Keywords: CoViD-19-Road-Traffic

Language: en

Keywords

Covid-19; Driver behaviour; Pedestrian; Road safety; Vulnerable road user