Introduction: A new market trend offers long canes for individuals with visual impairments in a variety of colors; however, the impact of these colors is unknown to orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists and individuals who are blind or who have low vision. The authors examined the impact of cane color on drivers' yielding behaviors; also,…

This study evaluated an in situ pedestrian safety skills intervention for three individuals with autism, as implemented by their parents. Specifically, this study examined the utility of behavioral skills training (BST) in helping parents implement most-to-least prompting procedures in training their children to use pedestrian safety skills in…

Skills and awareness of young pedestrians can be improved with on-street practical pedestrian training, often delivered in schools in the UK by local authorities with the intention of improving road safety. This training is often supplemented by in-class paper-based worksheet activities that are seen to be less effective than practical training in…

Pedestrian navigation through public spaces reflects the nature of interaction between behavior and environment. This study compared pedestrian choice behavior at shopping mall intersections in China and the United States. The study found that in both countries (a) pedestrians chose movement patterns that involved the fewest steps and (b) there…

Traffic lights are an important part of the transportation infrastructure, regulating traffic flow and maintaining safety when crossing busy streets. When they go awry or become nonfunctional, a great deal of havoc and danger can be present. During power outages, the street lights go out all over the affected area. It would be good to be able to…

Pedestrians with visual impairments need to cross streets where traffic signals and traffic signage are not present. This study examined the influences of several interventions, including a pedestrian's use of a mobility cane, on the behavior of drivers when they were expected to yield to a pedestrian crossing at an uncontrolled crossing.…

Background: The prevalence of obesity in children is high, and many do not meet physical activity recommendations. The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program encourages school-aged children to walk and bike to school. We assessed the condition of the walking/biking environment around schools in Louisiana prior to the state's first SRTS program.…

Pedestrian safety is a serious concern at busy intersections and pedestrian campuses across the nation. Although crosswalks and signs inform pedestrians where to cross, there is no standard protocol for pedestrians to signal drivers that they wish to use the crosswalks, except to stand in or at the crosswalk. We examined the effects of two…

Adolescent pedestrians are a particularly vulnerable group of road users. This research tested the applicability of the recently developed Adolescent Road user Behaviour Questionnaire (ARBQ) amongst a sample of 2006 Spanish adolescents. Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the full scale found that the original three factors did not adequately fit the…

Street intersections are a source of accidents--for both automobiles and pedestrians. This article presents an intersection challenge that allows students to explore some possible ways to change the traditional intersection. In this challenge, teachers open up the boundaries and allow students to redesign their world. The first step is to help…

The process of integrating visual information and planning a safe crossing is cognitively demanding for many young children. We assessed relations between traffic characteristics, aspects of children's executive functioning (EF), and pedestrian behavior, with the aim being to determine whether well-developed EF would predict safer pedestrian…

Driving speed is an important traffic safety issue. The lack of adherence to posted speed limits is a safety concern, especially on university campuses where the populations of drivers are at increased risk for crashes involving speeding due to their young age. Thus, driver speed and knowledge of speed limits on university campuses is an important…

An important pedestrian skill that young people with intellectual disabilities (ID) (mental retardation) find difficult is the ability to find a safe place to cross the road. Safe pedestrian behaviour relies on cognitive skills, including the ability to focus attention on the traffic environment and ignore irrelevant stimuli. Individuals with ID…

It has been nearly 400 years since Harvard College was created, and since then, thousands of colleges and universities have been built across the United States. From the classically inspired lines of Thomas Jefferson's University of Virginia to the Spanish architecture at Stanford University, every campus has its own personality. It's not unusual,…

Schools and universities looking to be safer and prevent accidents should review their pedestrian-safety efforts. Over the last several years, a variety of research has assessed the effectiveness of pedestrian-safety programs. In one study, researchers found that marked crosswalks had no effect on reducing pedestrian accidents. Even more…