Investigating Effectiveness of Raised Hand and Extended Arm to Increase Motorist Yielding at Uncontrolled Crosswalks.

Drivers frequently do not yield to pedestrians. The purpose of this studyis to examine whether drivers will yield more if drivers indicate their intention to cross uncontrolled crosswalk locations. Pedestrians communicated the intention to cross by either extended their arm in front of them orby raising an arm in a raised hand gesture with the palm facing the driver. Both methods of communicating with the driver led to higher yielding levels with the raised hand gesture producing the highest level of yielding behavior.