Abstract
Pedestrians cross at uncontrolled intersections and mid-blocks through gap acceptance. The absence of traffic enforcement and sufficient safety measures increases the chances of severe road crashes. These days, mobile phone use on roads has become customary for everyone. Often, it causes inattentiveness of pedestrians and increases the risk of collisions, particularly when they cross a road at intersections and mid-block. For years researchers took some initiatives to understand the impact of mobile phone usage on drivers’ cognitive, physical or visual distractions. There have been limited studies that attempted to investigate these effects on pedestrians who prefer to use mobile phones while walking. Hence, it appears highly relevant to diagnose proper research aiming at assessing the impacts of (a) mobile phone usage, (b) panic-stricken behaviour and (c) the tendency to cross at mid-block road sections devoid of any zebra markings among part of pedestrians that may lead to road crashes and even fatalities. The paper attempts to provide a comprehensive review of past literature on traffic characteristics, human factors and road environment and its association with pedestrian safety and identify research gaps where intervention is needed. Further, it illustrates the need to evaluate the chances of a driver or a pedestrian to act as the offender and initiate systematic investigations.
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Mukherjee, D., Saha, P. Walking behaviour and safety of pedestrians at different types of facilities: a review of recent research and future research needs. SN Soc Sci 2, 76 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-022-00384-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-022-00384-x