Phase 2 - High Visibility Crosswalk Pedestrian Study:Concept to Countermeasure – Research to Deployment Using the SHRP2 Safety Data

This study was focused on evaluating the effectiveness that high-visibility crosswalk (HVC) markings have on improving pedestrian safety. Naturalistic driving data was used to analyze vehicle kinematics and driver behavior in relation to the approach and traversal of HVC locations before and after their implementation. Traffic safety surrogates were developed and evaluated in the presence of different marking types, configurations, and for varying driver characteristics. The findings indicate that the placement of pedestrian crossing signs in advance of the HVC significantly improved the safety surrogates, ladder type configurations were the most effective overall in affecting driver behavior including external scanning patterns, and that targeting education and awareness programs towards young and older drivers could prove to be successful in enhancing the effectiveness of HVC implementations. This study, utilizing naturalistic driving data, provides a more comprehensive analysis on the overall effectiveness of all types and implementations of HVCs