For more than thirty years, pedestrian safety studies have considered pedestrian-vehicle collision patterns and pedestrian and driver behavior at marked and unmarked crosswalks at uncontrolled crossings. Recent research in this area conducted by the UC Berkeley Traffic Safety Center [aka SafeTREC] on behalf of Caltrans, and summarized in a 2008 Transportation Research Record paper by Mitman et al., “The Marked Crosswalk Dilemma: Uncovering Some Missing Links in a 35-Year Debate,” was designed to fill key gaps in the literature by analyzing driver/pedestrian behavior and knowledge of right-of-way laws regarding marked and unmarked crosswalks.

The Caltrans study, as with most previous crosswalk studies, focused on urban and suburban areas (in this case the San Francisco Bay Area), where the driver and pedestrian characteristics do not change significantly from day to day. Following this study was the recognition that similar research was needed in rural/recreational locations where the population frequently changes. As such, this paper summarizes results from field observations of driver and pedestrian behavior at marked and unmarked crosswalks at uncontrolled crossings during the summer in the Tahoe Basin of California.

This study, also funded by Caltrans, concludes that the behavior trends identified in the urban/suburban Bay Area study are largely similar in a rural/recreational context. This finding is significant for Caltrans, a statewide agency that is seeking to provide a consistent crosswalk installation/ treatment policy for its facilities across California. Other regional and state agencies may similarly benefit from this study.

Traffic safety researchers have long argued that driver behavior outweighs physical elements (such as road design) as a causal factor in motor vehicle collisions. A fundamental causal component of pedestrian-vehicle collisions is also behavior—that of the driver and that of the pedestrian. One determinant of this behavior may be whether the driver, the pedestrian, or both understand the motor vehicle code, which demarcates right-of-way in pedestrian-vehicle interactions. That is, inappropriate or unlawful behavior may occur because the law is not understood or is misunderstood. Previous studies have shown that drivers and pedestrians have a limited knowledge of pedestrian right-of-way laws. This research expands on these studies by specifically considering knowledge of right-of-way laws related to marked and unmarked crosswalks. Driver and pedestrian knowledge was assessed through intercept surveys and focus groups conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area. Results confirm that a substantial level of confusion exists with respect to pedestrian right-of-way laws. This confusion was exacerbated by intersections which had unstriped, or unmarked, crosswalks. Implications for engineering, education, and enforcement countermeasures in light of these findings are discussed and areas for further research are proposed.

Pedestrian injuries at crosswalk locations represent a significant problem. In 2002, 22.7 percent of US pedestrians involved in collisions were in a crosswalk at the time of the collision, and over 96% of these occurred at an intersection. Almost all crosswalk collisions resulted in pedestrian injury or fatality (98.6 percent), and about one-third resulted in severe or fatal injury (National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) and General Estimates System (GES) 2002).

As the owner of the California State Highway System, Caltrans is responsible for providing access to safe and convenient travel for pedestrians as users of a shared roadway network. Inadequate pedestrian safety in marked crosswalks at unsignalized intersections continues to challenge transportation engineers and planners. Results from thirty years of numerous localized studies have been confirmed by a nationwide study which indicate that marked crosswalks across multi-lane roads with travel volumes exceeding 10,000 average daily traffic (ADT) present a higher accident risk for pedestrians than do unmarked crossings.

Many other agencies around the nation have addressed this by removing marked crosswalks at unsignalized intersections. This approach results in unacceptable pedestrian mobility restrictions and should not be embraced as Caltrans’ policy.

The Traffic Safety Center (TSC) at the University of California, Berkeley, recently completed an extensive study of pedestrian and driver knowledge of right-of-way laws. This study focused on identifying potential human factors explanations for the crosswalk dilemma. Several statistically significant differences in marked versus unmarked crosswalks were identified: (1) Pedestrians and drivers lack an accurate knowledge of right-of-way laws related to marked versus unmarked crosswalks at unsignalized intersections. (2) Pedestrians and drivers exhibit different behaviors in marked versus unmarked crosswalks on multi-lane, higher volume roads.

In this report we will present our research and offer recommendations and analyses of countermeasures to improve pedestrian crosswalk safety.

Pedestrian injuries at crosswalk locations represent a significant problem. In 2002, 22.7 percent of US pedestrians involved in collisions were in a crosswalk at the time of the collision, and over 96% of these occurred at an intersection. Almost all crosswalk collisions resulted in pedestrian injury or fatality (98.6 percent), and about one-third resulted in severe or fatal injury (National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) and General Estimates System (GES) 2002).

As the owner of the California State Highway System, Caltrans is responsible for providing access to safe and convenient travel for pedestrians as users of a shared roadway network. Inadequate pedestrian safety in marked crosswalks at unsignalized intersections continues to challenge transportation engineers and planners. Results from thirty years of numerous localized studies have been confirmed by a nationwide study which indicate that marked crosswalks across multi-lane roads with travel volumes exceeding 10,000 average daily traffic (ADT) present a higher accident risk for pedestrians than do unmarked crossings.

Many other agencies around the nation have addressed this by removing marked crosswalks at unsignalized intersections. This approach results in unacceptable pedestrian mobility restrictions and should not be embraced as Caltrans’ policy.

The Traffic Safety Center (TSC) at the University of California, Berkeley, recently completed an extensive study of pedestrian and driver knowledge of right-of-way laws. This study focused on identifying potential human factors explanations for the crosswalk dilemma. Several statistically significant differences in marked versus unmarked crosswalks were identified: (1) Pedestrians and drivers lack an accurate knowledge of right-of-way laws related to marked versus unmarked crosswalks at unsignalized intersections. (2) Pedestrians and drivers exhibit different behaviors in marked versus unmarked crosswalks on multi-lane, higher volume roads.

In this report we will present our research and offer recommendations and analyses of countermeasures to improve pedestrian crosswalk safety.

For more than thirty years, pedestrian safety studies have considered pedestrian-vehicle collision history and pedestrian and driver behavior at marked and unmarked crosswalks at uncontrolled crossings. From 2005-2007, the UC Berkeley Traffic Safety Center, in a study funded by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), focused on developing a better understanding of driver and pedestrian behavior and safety in both marked and unmarked crosswalks in an effort to recommend more informed crosswalk policies. As a part of these efforts, a 2007 paper, “The Marked Crosswalk Dilemma: Uncovering Some Missing Links in a 35-Year Debate” was designed to fill key gaps in the literature by analyzing pedestrian and driver behavior and knowledge of right-of-way laws regarding marked and unmarked crosswalks throughout the Bay Area.

The UC Berkeley study, as with most previous studies, focused on urban or suburban areas where the driver characteristics do not change significantly from day to day.Following this study was the recognition that similar research was needed in rural and recreational locations. As such, this paper summarizes results from field observations of driver and pedestrian behavior at marked and unmarked crosswalks at uncontrolled crossings during the summer in the Tahoe Basin of California.

This study concludes that the behavior trends identified in the urban/suburban Bay Area study are largely similar in a rural/recreational context. The multiple threat scenario, however, is detected less frequently for the observed multi-lane roads.

Largely in response to several landmark safety studies, as an official or unofficial policy, many agencies across the U.S. have elected to remove marked crosswalks at uncontrolled intersections, or have shown resistance to installing them in the first place. This approach results in unacceptable pedestrian mobility restrictions, yet such restrictions are often not considered in policy-making. As such, there is a need for roadway system owners to develop strategic safety guidelines to address the marked crosswalk dilemma.

Since 2005, the UC Berkeley Traffic Safety Center, in a study funded by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), has focused on developing a better understanding of driver and pedestrian behavior and safety in both marked and unmarked crosswalks in an effort to recommend more informed crosswalk policies. The study was designed to fill key gaps in the literature by analyzing pedestrian and driver behavior and knowledge of right-of-way laws regarding marked and unmarked crosswalks. The study also focused on driver and pedestrian behavior with regard to multiple threat scenarios, the most common type of pedestrian collisions at uncontrolled intersections.

This paper summarizes results from field observations of driver and pedestrian behavior at marked and unmarked crosswalks on low speed, two-lane and multi-lane roads. The behavioral observations are interpreted in light of findings reported by Mitman and Ragland (2007) from surveys and focus groups regarding driver and pedestrian knowledge of right-of-way laws. The paper concludes with recommendations for a comprehensive crosswalk safety policy to strategically address crash risk at uncontrolled crosswalks.