ACT ON OBLIGATION TO GIVE WAY TO PEDESTRIANS AT UNCONTROLLED CROSSINGS: EFFECT ON ACCESSIBILITY AND BEHAVIOUR

On 1 May 2000 an Act was promulgated making it obligatory for drivers to give way to pedestrians at uncontrolled crossings. The aim of the Act was to improve access for pedestrians. The Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) was commissioned by the Swedish Road Administration to investigate the effect on accessibility and behaviour. The video material of the Institute from urban studies was utilised for this purpose. The sites selected from this represented different environments and different parts of the country. Repeated video recordings were made at the selected sites shortly after the entry into force of the Act. Studies were made of changes in waiting time for pedestrians and vehicles, and changes in the proportion of vehicles and pedestrians who were forced to wait. Waiting time for pedestrians decreased by two thirds. The reduced waiting time for pedestrians resulted in a corresponding increase in waiting time for vehicles. The proportion of vehicles which stopped for pedestrians increased from 20 to 50 per cent. The aim is to repeat the measurements in order to monitor development over a longer period. (A) This publication is also available on the Internet; URL: http://www.vti.se/pdf/reports/R468.pdf