Impact of pavement type on speed behavior of turning vehicles at crosswalk of a signalized intersection: Brick and red color

ABSTRACT

Left- and right-turning vehicles are allowed to make a turn through the crosswalk allocated for pedestrians to cross the road safely. When drivers share this space with pedestrians, they are expected to travel at a low or near-walking speed. Before approaching the crosswalk, left- and right-turn drivers must adapt their speed so as to not endanger the pedestrians. This article presents a study comparing the effectiveness of brick and red-colored pavement on changing the speed of the driver when they make a turn through the crosswalk at a signalized intersection. Three intersections with different pavement design scenarios (no pavement design, brick pavement, and red-colored pavement) were selected for the field study. The speed at three situations—free flow condition, at yellow onset, and when accepting the gap with a pedestrian—were analyzed to evaluate the speed behavior. This data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results show a positive effect of brick pavement on the crosswalk on reducing a driver's speed in left and right turns.

KEYWORDS:

• brick pavement
• crosswalk
• pedestrian
• turning speed behavior
• yellow onset

Funding

This study was conducted under the “Communication Promoting Cooperative Behavior for Other Road Users and Traffic Safety” project (Principal Investigator: Ayako Taniguchi, Tsukuba University) supported by The General Insurance Association of Japan.