Effects of High-Visibility Enforcement on Driver Compliance with Pedestrian Yield Right-of-Way Laws
Abstract
This study examined the effects of a 1-year high-visibility pedestrian right-of-way enforcement program on yielding to pedestrians at uncontrolled crosswalks, some of which received enforcement and some of which did not. The program included four 2-week enforcement waves supported by education and engineering components that increased the visibility of enforcement. The study produced five results: (a) enforcement led to a slow and steady increase in the percentage of drivers yielding the right-of-way to pedestrians over the year; (b) the program produced a large change in yielding over the course of the year; (c) the program produced higher levels of yielding to natural pedestrian crossing than to staged crossings, and the changes in both were highly correlated; (d) the effects of the program generalized to crosswalks that were not targeted for pedestrian right-of-way enforcement; and (e) the amount of generalization to unenforced sites was inversely proportional to the distance from sites that received enforcement.
<a href="http://trb.metapress.com/content/4674380022131506/?p=fefc4e0168fd4b73a109ff63418aaa2a&pi=4">http://trb.metapress.com/content/4674380022131506/?p=fefc4e0168fd4b73a109ff63418aaa2a&pi=4</a>;
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[B' Spokes: Just something I would love to see around here rather than harassing just pedestrians for wearing headphones (not illegal) and jaywalking (not necessarily illegal). You can NOT improve safety by addressing only one side of the problem.]