Pedestrian accident is a serious problem in Jordan. Pedestrian deaths in 2005 were 319. It is believed that walking environment is a contributory factor to this high toll of death. This study looks into pedestrian environment in schools' vicinity. A sample of 17 schools was selected and 231 students were followed from the moment they have left the school until they arrived home. Pedestrian walking environment for each student trip was assessed by considering the sidewalk and crossing facilities, driver and pedestrian behaviour, attractiveness and school location. The study indicated that pedestrian environment is rather poor and a very few walking paths are in good conditions. Behaviour of each pedestrian was observed by considering the trip time, walking time on sidewalk and on pavement, crossing time, number of crossing, involvement of conflicts. The results showed that 15 per cent of observed subjects where involved in conflicts. The average walking time of going back home trip is 17 minutes, the pedestrian spent almost have of this time either by walking on street or cross the street, which indicates high exposure to risky situations. The results indicated that females are involved in more conflicts even if they spend less time in traffic. Drivers give priority to pedestrian in one-thirds of all observed crossing and they more often give it to male pedestrian. (A). For the covering abstract of the conference see E216632.
Abstract