Exploration of Pedestrian Assertiveness and Its Association with Driver Yielding Behavior at Uncontrolled Crosswalks

Improving driver yielding to pedestrians at crosswalks may help prevent pedestrian fatalities, which have increased over the last decade in the United States. The level of assertiveness exhibited by pedestrians when they arrive at a crosswalk may have a significant impact on driver yielding behavior, but assertiveness is not defined clearly or studied thoroughly in the literature. This study defined three levels of pedestrian assertiveness and collected naturalistic video data at two uncontrolled crosswalks in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin to explore the relationship between pedestrian assertiveness and driver yielding behavior. Driver yielding rates were 71% for pedestrians exhibiting Level 1 (high), 30% for Level 2 (moderate), and 3% for Level 3 (low) assertiveness. The pedestrian assertiveness definitions were also used to assess the potential impact of a high-visibility enforcement (HVE) program in the communities where the study took place. Observations taken after the HVE program showed a significantly higher rate of driver yielding to pedestrians exhibiting a moderate level of assertiveness. This result is promising, since a moderate level of assertiveness may be reasonable for pedestrians to adopt, especially if supported by educational messages for pedestrians to clearly indicate their intent to cross within a crosswalk. This exploratory study provides a framework for future analysis and highlights the need for additional research on the relationship between pedestrian assertiveness and driver yielding behavior.