2013 Session: 459

• Using Smartphone App to Support Visually Impaired Pedestrians at Signalized Intersection Crossings
  Abstract: People with vision impairment rely heavily on walking and public transit for their transportation needs. A major challenge for this population is safe crossing of intersections. As a result of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), Accessible Pedestrian Signal (APS) systems at signalized intersections have improved significantly since 2000. However, these systems still have shortcomings for both users and municipalities, and new approaches are needed to adequately serve pedestrians with low vision. As part of our ongoing effort to develop a prototype Mobile Accessible Pedestrian Signal (MAPS) application for the blind and visually impaired, we interviewed ten blind and low-vision people to better understand what types of information they use at intersection crossings and to identify information types that could assist them. With these survey results, a MAPS system was developed that provides signal and intersection geometry information to smartphone users at signalized intersections. User interaction is via simple tactile input (single or double-tap) and Text-To-Speech (TTS) technology. Field experiment at two signalized intersections was conducted among 18 visually impaired participants to validate the use and functioning of the MAPS system in real-world application. The purpose is to identify if the smartphone app could effectively provide geometry and signal timing information and thus provide decision support for the visually impaired pedestrians. Objective and subjective measures were developed to evaluate the performance of visually impaired users while using the MAPS. Participants reported that the MAPS system provides helpful geometry information (82%) and helpful signal information (59%).
  Authors: Liao, Chen-Fu
  Authors: Liao, Chen-Fu
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 459
  Paper Number: 13-0231
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Development of National Pedestrian Crossing Control Guide
  Abstract: In 2010 the Transportation Association of Canada began the two-year process of updating the 1998 Pedestrian Crossing Control Manual. The resulting document, the Pedestrian Crossing Control Guide, is expected to promote uniformity across the country with respect to the approach used in the provision of pedestrian crossing control. This is done through the development of a decision support tool to assist in the decision-making process when establishing the need for pedestrian crossing control; and identifying the type of crossing control to use for the location’s characteristics. This paper discusses the design and development of the new Pedestrian Crossing Control Guide for Canada, and presents findings of the research that led to its development. The findings fall into two areas: (1) existing Canadian and international pedestrian crossing control practices; and (2) safety performance of different pedestrian crossing control devices.Principal conclusions from this research are: (1) international practice is changing towards providing “guidance” rather than formal, numerical warranting procedures in the decision making-process for pedestrian crossing control provision; (2) there are pedestrian crossing control treatments for which there is no available literature regarding their safety performance, while available literature for others lacks rigorous safety evaluations; and (3) further research is needed regarding the safety performance of pedestrian crossing control devices, particularly in the areas of understanding pedestrian collisions and developing accident prediction models.
  Authors: Montufar, Jeannette
  Authors: Montufar, Jeannette
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 459
  Paper Number: 13-1119
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Effectiveness of Audible and Tactile Heading Cues for Pedestrians Who Are Blind at Complex Intersections
  Abstract: This research extends the results of laboratory research on wayfinding at intersections for pedestrians who are blind. The effectiveness of standard accessible pedestrian signals (standard APS), a prototype beaconing APS, and a raised guidestrip were evaluated for their ability to assist in establishing and maintaining a heading for street crossings. Experiments were conducted at large, complex, signalized intersections in Alpharetta, GA, Austin, TX, and Towson, MD. Both the guidestrip and the beaconing APS resulted in more accurate street crossing performance than standard APS with respect to alignment (i.e., initial heading) accuracy, rates of being within the crosswalk, distance from the center of the crosswalk at various points during crossing, and the likelihood of being well outside of the crosswalk (6 or more feet). For the most part, performance with the guidestrip or the beaconing APS was equivalent. Limitations and additional concerns with respect to these two treatments are discussed.
  Authors: Barlow, Janet M.; Scott, Alan C.; Bentzen, Billie Louise; Guth, David; Graham, Jennifer
  Authors: Barlow, Janet M.; Scott, Alan C.; Bentzen, Billie Louise; Guth, David; Graham, Jennifer
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 459
  Paper Number: 13-4499
  Practice-Ready: Yes
• Using Smartphone App to Support Visually Impaired Pedestrians at Signalized Intersection Crossings
  Authors: Liao, Chen-Fu
  Authors: Liao, Chen-Fu
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 459
  Paper Number: 13-0231
• Development of National Pedestrian Crossing Control Guide
  Authors: Montufar, Jeannette
  Authors: Montufar, Jeannette
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 459
  Paper Number: 13-1119
• Study on Pedestrian Red-Time Crossing Behaviors: Integrated Field Observation and Questionnaire Data
  Authors: Sun, Jian
  Authors: Sun, Jian
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 459
  Paper Number: 13-3905
• Study on Pedestrian Red-Time Crossing Behaviors: Integrated Field Observation and Questionnaire Data
  Authors: Yang, Yan
  Authors: Yang, Yan
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 459
  Paper Number: 13-3905
• Effectiveness of Audible and Tactile Heading Cues for Pedestrians Who Are Blind at Complex Intersections
  Authors: Barlow, Janet
  Authors: Barlow, Janet
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Presentation
  Subject: Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 459
  Paper Number: 13-4499
• Study on Pedestrian Red-Time Crossing Behaviors: Integrated Field Observation and Questionnaire Data
  Abstract:

  Crash-prone drivers should be effectively targeted for various safety education and regulation programs because their over-involvement in crashes presents a big adverse effect on highway safety. By analyzing seven-years of crash data from Louisiana, this paper investigates crash-prone drivers’ characteristics and estimates their risk to have crashes in the seventh year based on these drivers' crash history of the past six years. The analysis results show that quite a few drivers repeatedly had crashes; seven drivers had 13 crashes in seven years; and the maximum number of crashes occurring in a single year to a single driver is eight. Actually, the 5% of drivers who had multiple crashes were responsible for 35% of the crashes that occurred in the seven years in Louisiana. Crash injury rate is also higher for drivers with multiple crashes. The probability of having crash(es) in any given year is closely related to a driver’s crash history; less than 4% for drivers with no crash in the previous six years; and slightly higher than 30% for drivers with nine or more crashes in the previous six years. There are variations in drivers’ age, gender, crash contribution factors, and type of crashes by the number of crashes. Based on the results, several suggestions are made on how to improve roadway safety through reducing crashes committed by drivers with much higher crash risk as identified by the analysis.

  Authors: Yang, Yan; Sun, Jian
  Authors: Yang, Yan; Sun, Jian
  Year: 2013
  Document Type: Paper
  Subject: Operations and Traffic Management; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors
  Session: 459
  Paper Number: 13-3905