In 1984, the Traffic Research Center (VSC) started research on residents' subjective experience of the traffic environment in residential areas. In the third part of the project, four so-called "greyspots" were observed. A greyspot is an intersection in a residential area which is thought to be dangerous by at least 40% of the residents. From previous research it had become evident that an intersection can be a greyspot as well as a black spot. To avoid the influence of accidents on the behaviour of traffic participants, it was decided to exclude greyspots that are also black spots. Previous parts of this research had shown that in particular the traffic function of a street was one of the main variables, so it was decided to choose an intersection from each street type. The aim of this research was to find the relation between the residents' opinion and the behaviour of traffic participants by using observation techniques. Four research methods were used. The first was a video observation for 10 consecutive hours. The second was a phenomenological description in which two observers put the most characteristic behaviour plus their explanation of this behaviour on tape. In addition, observation forms were filled in with regard to the street-crossing behaviour of pedestrians and cyclists. In additional research, the number of registered accidents, and the intensity and speed of traffic were collected.
Samenvatting