Street Crossing by Sighted and Blind Pedestrians at a Modern Roundabout
Publication: Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 131, Issue 11
Abstract
Pedestrian behavior and safety at roundabouts are not well understood, particularly for pedestrians with sensory or mobility impairments. A previous study in which participants indicated when they would cross suggested that blind pedestrians miss more crossing opportunities and make riskier judgments than sighted pedestrians. The present study replicated these findings and analyzed actual street crossings. Six blind and six sighted pedestrians negotiated a double-lane urban roundabout under high and low traffic volumes. Blind participants waited three times longer to cross than sighted participants. About 6% of the blind participants’ crossing attempts were judged dangerous enough to require intervention, compared to none for sighted pedestrians. Drivers yielded frequently on the entry lanes but not the exit lanes. Sighted participants accepted drivers’ yields, whereas blind participants rarely did so. Blind-sighted differences are interpreted in terms of auditory access to information about traffic, and policy implications are discussed regarding accessibility of transportation systems.
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Acknowledgments
The writers thank the participants for completing a challenging street crossing task; Bob Weithofer, Transportation Manager for Metro Nashville Public Works, for guidance on working at the test site; Alice Ashmead for assistance with data collection; Janet Barlow, Billie Louise Bentzen, Duane Geruschat, David Harkey, Ron Hughes, and Nagui Rouphail for helpful discussions; and Brasfield & Gorrie construction company for building access to photograph the roundabout. The project was supported by Grant No. R01 EY12894-04 from the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health. Contents of this paper are solely the responsibility of the writers and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Eye Institute.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Transportation Engineering
Volume 131 • Issue 11 • November 2005
Pages: 812 - 821
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Aug 4, 2004
Accepted: Feb 7, 2005
Published online: Nov 1, 2005
Published in print: Nov 2005
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