Analysis of Vehicle Speed Change at Non-signalized Crosswalks Based on Driving Behavior

The probability of accidents at crosswalks in the city depends more on vehicles’ speed. Drivers’ behavior, therefore, is of great significance. The study aims to reveal the interrelationship between vehicle speed and the onset of yielding when encountering a crossing pedestrian, and analyzes how the pedestrian behavior influences the speed of the approaching vehicle. A two-lane branch road (Southern College Road) in Beijing is chosen as place for traffic conflict observation and video collection. Video recordings were made in order to obtain a more detailed description of the speed and positional condition and the interaction between vehicles and pedestrians, and the behavioral characteristics of vehicles were analyzed. The result has demonstrated the onset of deceleration that drivers are more likely to decelerate 30m-37m ahead of crosswalk at a speed of 40-50 km/h, and decelerate 23m-30m ahead of crosswalk at a speed of 30-40 km/h. An average distance is about 25m away from the crosswalk. Upon the result, recommendations have been given for improving traffic efficiency and lower accident rate at crosswalks.