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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2014

Young and older pedestrians’ behaviors observed on marked crosswalks

Résumé

Older pedestrians are known to be over-involved in street-crossing fatalities. In France, about half of all pedestrians killed on the road (49%) are over 65 years of age, whereas this age group represents less than 17% of the population. International crash data show the same trends. This overrepresentation of older pedestrians in crash statistics is often explained by altered decision making processes (because of age-related functional deficits) in situations where no helping signals or markings are provided. If many studies show that older drivers are able to compensate for their reduced abilities to drive safely (e.g., in driving less, more slowly, etc.), such adaptive behaviors have been rarely examined in older pedestrians. Indeed, older pedestrians could also adapt their crossing strategies to adjust for sensory, cognitive and motor changes they are experiencing. The aim of the present study was to observe young and old pedestrians on marked crosswalks and examine if the older ones adopt more cautious behaviors to compensate for age-related difficulties. The behavior related to the compliance with the legal rules for road-crossing, as well as visual exploration of the road environment were particularly observed before and during the crossings. A total of 682 pedestrians (375 women) from two age groups (young and old adults) were observed in the city of Lille, France, on marked crosswalks (current section or intersection), with and without lights for pedestrians and/or vehicles. The results show that older pedestrians adopt more cautious behaviors, particularly in terms of compliance with traffic and pedestrian lights and waiting positions on the sidewalk. Moreover, looking behaviors before and during the crossings were significantly different between the two age groups, with older pedestrians more often focused on the ground and less on vehicles than the younger ones. These results illustrate compensation strategies of age-related sensorial, cognitive and motor difficulties among older pedestrians. Findings also promote the development of safer pedestrian infrastructures to improve safety and reduce the risk of crash.
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Dates et versions

hal-01064665 , version 1 (16-09-2014)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-01064665 , version 1

Citer

Aurélie Dommes, Marie-Axelle Granié, Marie-Soleil Cloutier, Cécile Coquelet, Florence Huguenin-Richard. Young and older pedestrians’ behaviors observed on marked crosswalks. 28th International Congress of Applied Psychology, Division 13: Traffic Psychology, Jul 2014, France. 1p. ⟨hal-01064665⟩
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