Drivers’ Behavior in Pedestrian Detection: Effects of Road Types

The current study was aimed to study the driver’s behavior while approaching zebra crossings under different types of roads. A driving simulator experiment was carried out to collect drivers’ behavior in response to a pedestrian crossing in different road environments (urban, suburban and rural road). The speed profile of each driver was plotted 150 m in advance of each one of the crossroads and the variables of the driving behavior were analyzed by a set of ANOVAs. Results showed that the driver had similar behavior in the urban and suburban road, while in the rural environment the driver compensates the higher risks due to the higher speeds by advancing the yielding maneuver. Such findings should be considered for the development of driving assistance systems for pedestrian detection in the different types of road environments.