Investigating Driver Decision-Making in Pedestrian Crossing Scenarios

Abstract

Pedestrians are considered one of the most vulnerable groups in the traffic environment. In recent years, pedestrian fatalities have shown an increasing trend, drawing substantial public attention to pedestrian safety. Drivers’ decision-making and behavioral responses when encountering pedestrians are critical determinants of pedestrian safety. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate drivers’ decision-making processes in pedestrian crossing scenarios. A total of 30 licensed adult drivers aged 18 and 40 years were recruited for this study. A driving simulator was used to present pedestrian crossing events under varying traffic density conditions. Drivers’ decision-making process was examined across varying traffic density conditions. In addition, different pedestrian warning lead times were introduced to investigate the effects of time budget on drivers’ decision-making. A significant interaction between traffic density and warning lead time was found to affect longitudinal acceleration variability. Under low traffic density, the shortest lead time (3s) resulted in the greatest variability in longitudinal acceleration. Conversely, in high traffic density, the variability was highest at the intermediate 5-second lead time, suggesting that intermediate time budgets may impair timely hazard perception under high-complexity conditions. Drivers in the medium EI group demonstrated improved lateral stability with a 3-second lead time, while no significant effects were found for low or high EI groups. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into drivers’ decision-making processes in pedestrian crossing situations and may serve as a reference for future research on driver–pedestrian interactions, as well as for the development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Ultimately, the results may contribute to improving safety for both drivers and pedestrians and provide a foundation for further investigations into driver–pedestrian interaction processes.

Keywords: Driver Decision-making, Pedestrian Safety, Driving Performance

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007885