This paper presents a study of how the behaviour of pedestrians in Japan changed when the pedestrian clearance time, the duration of pedestrian green wink, was increased; the `impatience' felt by pedestrians was also investigated. In a Japanese pedestrian crossing, pedestrians can start crossing during a pedestrian green, but must promptly complete or abandon their crossing during a pedestrian green wink. Videotaped pedestrian images were played back to gather data for analysis. Data were collected on the start time of each signalling step, the volume of pedestrian traffic in each direction, and the crossing abort, start, and end times. Pedestrians were given a questionnaire about individual attributes, daily crossing habits, and activities, attitudes, and experiences while waiting for the signal to change from red to green. The results of the investigation are discussed in moderate detail. It was found that an increase in pedestrian wink time will not encourage pedestrians to cross in that phase, so that safety will be increased by setting pedestrian green and wink according to pedestrian behaviour patterns. The waiting time, involving a feeling of impatience, is shorter than the waiting time preset for general pedestrian crossings, so that use of an ergonomic impatience scale could reduce accidents.
Samenvatting