Pedestrian crossing: Analysis of habits and compliance through unsignalized crosswalk in the city of Kigali

Abstract

Pedestrian safety is a global issue that can be improved by monitoring and adjusting walking behaviors. This study focuses on how people walk across streets without traffic signals. It looks at whether pedestrians follow the rules and regulations for safely crossing streets. The unique aspect of this research is that it examines pedestrian behaviors on roads with two lanes for two-way traffic at various informal crosswalks rather than on one-way streets. The researchers watched video recordings to study different instances of people crossing streets. They found that 27.21% of pedestrians followed the safety rules when crossing, but a significant number did not and should be taught better crossing practices. The study identified three main behaviors that often led to rule violations: not looking both ways before crossing, being distracted, and not crossing cautiously. Pedestrians who were cautious were much more likely to follow the crossing rules compared to those moving at any speed, and those not distracted were more likely to follow the rules than those who were cautious. Additionally, 32.05% of pedestrians were distracted by activities like using phones, talking, or wearing headphones. Among these, 17.7% walked directly across the crosswalk, and 26.21% crossed in a diagonal or zigzag pattern. The study also found that 60% to 87% of the observed behaviors could predict whether a pedestrian would follow crossing rules based on statistical models.