Introduction
Legally pedestrians in the United States always have the “right of way” when interacting with vehicle traffic, and therefore factors like location should not impact pedestrian safety. We wanted to observe if there are any location-based norms of pedestrian-driver interactions and assess whether these differences suggest different allocations of road sharing between pedestrians and drivers.
A 2005 paper by Kameda, Takezawa, and Hastie, examines an adaptationist approach to social norms of communal sharing. Our study expands upon this approach by observing how decisions about resource allocations are made in real-world situations. Crosswalks without traffic lights present an uncertain resource allocation scenario. While vehicles …show more content…
These cross walks were clearly marked to drivers and pedestrians with white lines and yellow crossing signs. Vehicles were considered to have “stopped” when they approached but did not cross a crosswalk when a pedestrian was on the first 85% of the crosswalk (no more than approximately two white lines from the end). Vehicles that were “not stopped” approached and crossed the lines of the crosswalk while a pedestrian was on the crosswalk and no more than 85% of the way across. Pedestrians were only considered as “crossing” if they were walking along the white lines of the crosswalk on foot.
Procedure
We conducted a naturalistic observational study at the two crosswalks between 8:00 am and 9:30 am on a weekday. We recorded data at each location in intervals of 20 minutes. While collecting data, we sat near bus stops within view of the crosswalks in order to reduce subject reactivity. Data was collected by each researcher according to the previously stated and agreed upon operational definitions. Each researcher recorded one variable: car type, car color, group size, and car stopping. The data was then compiled in a Google
Legally pedestrians in the United States always have the “right of way” when interacting with vehicle traffic, and therefore factors like location should not impact pedestrian safety. We wanted to observe if there are any location-based norms of pedestrian-driver interactions and assess whether these differences suggest different allocations of road sharing between pedestrians and drivers.
A 2005 paper by Kameda, Takezawa, and Hastie, examines an adaptationist approach to social norms of communal sharing. Our study expands upon this approach by observing how decisions about resource allocations are made in real-world situations. Crosswalks without traffic lights present an uncertain resource allocation scenario. While vehicles …show more content…
These cross walks were clearly marked to drivers and pedestrians with white lines and yellow crossing signs. Vehicles were considered to have “stopped” when they approached but did not cross a crosswalk when a pedestrian was on the first 85% of the crosswalk (no more than approximately two white lines from the end). Vehicles that were “not stopped” approached and crossed the lines of the crosswalk while a pedestrian was on the crosswalk and no more than 85% of the way across. Pedestrians were only considered as “crossing” if they were walking along the white lines of the crosswalk on foot.
Procedure
We conducted a naturalistic observational study at the two crosswalks between 8:00 am and 9:30 am on a weekday. We recorded data at each location in intervals of 20 minutes. While collecting data, we sat near bus stops within view of the crosswalks in order to reduce subject reactivity. Data was collected by each researcher according to the previously stated and agreed upon operational definitions. Each researcher recorded one variable: car type, car color, group size, and car stopping. The data was then compiled in a Google