title: Influence of approaching tram on behaviour of pedestrians in signalised crosswalks in Poland.
abstract: Research done in two Polish cities has uncovered an influence of an approaching tram on pedestrian behaviour. The measurements were done by counting pedestrians waiting for a green signal, crossing on red signal safely, or crossing on red signal taking a risk of being hit by a car, differentiating between pedestrians attempting to board a public transport vehicle and other pedestrians. It was expected, that pedestrian behaviour might be influenced by traffic control predictability, therefore two cities were chosen for the task: Wrocław with fixed time traffic control and Poznań with a majority of traffic responsive traffic signals. Data from the measurements was compared in order to find behaviour patterns - the comparison led to a conclusion, that an attempt to get on board of an incoming public transport vehicle can be a major cause for pedestrians to violate a red signal, including an increase of unsafe behaviour. These pedestrians may provoke other pedestrians to cross on a red signal. On the other hand if traffic control guarantees boarding the public transport vehicle, passengers-to-be may be even more obedient than other pedestrians.
authors.affiliation: Wrocław University of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering, Wybrzeze Wyspianskiego 27, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland. maciej.kruszyna@pwr.wroc.pl
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kruszyna
authors.forename: Jeremi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rychlewski
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001288:Attention; D002755:Choice Behavior; D006801:Humans; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D011044:Poland; D011890:Railroads; D012309:Risk-Taking; D016138:Walking / Q000523:psychology*