Hazard perception test for pedestrians

• This research was aimed to construct and develop a unique system for training of pedestrians.
• An interactive computerized program has been inspired by the format of the popular HPT (hazard perception test) for drivers.
• Children and adults who went through practice and/or discussion elevated their scores in the posttest compared to the pretest.
• Also, children in both experimental groups and adults in one of the experimental groups elevated the level of usage of the arrows in the posttest compared to the pretest.
• Men in all age groups scored higher in HPTP than did women.

Research GoalThis research was aimed to construct and develop a unique system for training of pedestrians – children, adults and older persons – to cross streets safely and especially to detect successfully on-road hazards as pedestrians. For this purpose, an interactive computerized program has been inspired by the format of the popular HPT (hazard perception test) for drivers.MethodsThe HPTP (hazard perception test for pedestrians) includes 10 pairs of video clips that were filmed in various locations but had a similar hazardous element. The clips presented potentially dangerous crossing scenarios such as a vehicle merging from the right side of the road from the perspective of the pedestrian who is trying to cross the street. The participants were asked to press the spacebar key every time they identified an approaching hazard. The participants were instructed to use the arrow keys for moving the viewing panel to the left or to the right in order to enlarge the field of view accordingly. Totally, 359 participants took part. Adults, children, and elders were assigned to two practice groups and three control groups in a 3 (age groups) × 5 (experimental groups) design. One practice group underwent pretest, practice, discussion and posttest, the second experimental group through pretest, practice and posttest, one control group that underwent posttest only, the second control group underwent pretest, discussion and posttest and the third control group underwent both pretest and posttest.FindingsThe most important finding was that children and adults who underwent practice received higher scores in the posttest compared to the pretest. Also, children who underwent practice increased their use of the arrow keys in the posttest compared to the pretest. Across conditions men scored higher than women on the HPTP, and used the keys more often. Age differences were found, with adults scoring being the highest, followed by children and the older persons.