Pedestrian Behaviour at Road Crossings: There is no such thing as an “average” pedestrian

Walking is a major form of transport and crossing a road is a key element in a journey on foot. A pedestrian network is part of the transport system and cannot be separated from it. Therefore, during the journey, a pedestrian has to cross a carriageway, and in doing so enters the environment of the vehicles, where even a slight error may result in severe injury or death. The pedestrian population is not homogeneous, and consist of diverse group of travellers reflecting the full range of the general population. It means there is no such thing as an “average” pedestrian, as their size, speed, strength and judgement can vary significantly between individuals depends of age, gender, mobility, level of awareness or aggression. Pedestrian traffic is the most unpredictable component of the roadway environment due to the generally unrestricted mobility, travel paths, and action that a pedestrian can perform. The qualitative and quantitative design of a pedestrian environment requires a basic understanding of related human characteristics, capabilities and (crossing) behaviour.

Zoran Bakovic, MET (Traffic), MEng (Traffic & Logistic), is an enthusiastic traffic engineer with almost 20 years of combined Australian, New Zealand and European experience. He has published a number of articles and presented professional papers in prestigious professional journals and conferences respectively, both in Australia and New Zealand.