At signalised intersections, pedestrians are considered to be amongst the most vulnerable. When in the crosswalk at intersections without protected left-turn phasing, pedestrians are particularly at risk from left-turning vehicles. Until recently, a wide variety of indications were in use across the US to indicate a permissive left-turn condition to the driver. In Oregon, the Flashing Yellow Arrow (FYA) has been used to indicate the permissive left-turn condition for approximately 10 years. With the addition of the FYA in the 2009 MUTCD, it is likely that its use will continue to increase nationally. Though many operational and safety issues have been studied about the FYA indication, this research proposes to fully investigate factors that influence driver behaviour in the context of the permissive left-turn conflict with pedestrians. Specifically, the research seeks to study driver glance behaviour to identify reasons why drivers are, "looking at but not seeing" pedestrians in or near the crosswalk or not searching for the presence of pedestrians at all. (Author/publisher)
Abstract