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When reconstructing pedestrian impacts, it is important to identify the time to impact available. One of the assumptions when calculating the time to impact is the speed of the pedestrian. Although the majority of pedestrian collisions (including fatalities) occur midblock, most of the research conducted for pedestrian speeds is based on pedestrians travelling in a controlled environment (i.e. crosswalks, sidewalks, etc.). When a pedestrian is crossing midblock or “jay-walking,” there may be a sense of urgency for the pedestrian due to approaching vehicles. The sense of urgency is dependent upon the proximity of vehicles that are approaching, and/or the lane of the approaching vehicle with respect to the pedestrian. In this study, 304 pedestrian movements were analyzed, as they crossed midblock across traffic. Pedestrian speeds in relation to the accepted gap and the positioning of approaching vehicles were analyzed.

Vehicle-pedestrian collisions account for 15% of fatal crashes in the USA, and there has been a twelve percent increase in fatal crashes in the USA from 2006 to 2015. Although research exists on the response time of drivers responding to pedestrian path intrusions, data on the response time of through drivers to jaywalking pedestrians crossing from the far side of the road has not been determined. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to quantify Driver Response Time (DRT) to a pedestrian that intrudes perpendicularly into the path of a vehicle from the far curb (adjacent to oncoming traffic). 50 (NFemale = 25; NMale = 25) licensed volunteer drivers took part in a study at the University of Guelph Driving Research in Virtual Environments (DRiVE) lab using an Oktal complete vehicle driving simulator.

Previously researched path intrusion scenarios include left-turning hazard vehicles which intrude laterally across the path of the through driver. A right turning vehicle, however, creates a scenario where a hazard which was initially travelling perpendicular to the driver can intrude into the through driver’s path without also occupying the adjacent through lanes. This hazard scenario has not been previously investigated. The purpose of this research was to determine driver response time (DRT) and response choice to a right turning vehicle that merges abruptly into the lane of the oncoming through driver. Using an Oktal full car driving simulator, 107 licenced drivers (NFemale = 57, NMale = 50) completed a five-minute practice drive followed by a ten-minute experimental drive containing two conditions of the right turn hazard, presented in a counterbalanced order.

Straight intersecting path or “side” collisions account for 12% of all motor vehicle crashes and 24% of fatalities. While previous research has examined driver responses to hazards striking from the right (near side), no research has quantified driver responses to hazards striking from the left (far side) of an intersection. The purpose of this study was to measure driver response time (DRT) and response choice for two versions of this scenario. In one condition, the hazard vehicle was initially stopped at the intersection before accelerating into the path of the participant driver. In the other condition, the hazard vehicle approached and entered the intersection while moving at a constant speed of 50 km/h.

A primary goal of crash reconstruction (or collision avoidance system) is to determine whether a crash is avoidable or not. A prerequisite for the determination of avoidance is knowledge of the time that is available to a driver. In a path intrusion crash scenario, a method to determine the time available for a major road driver is to know the time a minor road driver accelerated before impact. This research is an attempt to model the time based upon acceleration distance. The current study involved two parts. Part one was a naturalistic study of driver acceleration behavior at two-way-stop controlled intersections. In part two, ten drivers with instrumented vehicles were asked to drive a route that included four acceleration runs at two-way-stop sign control intersections. In the naturalistic study, the accelerations were measured using video recordings and videogrammetry at known distances.

Motor vehicle crashes with cyclists are on the rise, with a six percent increase in fatal crashes from 2006 to 2015 in the USA. Although some research exists on the response time of drivers to some types of path intrusions, data on the perception-response of through drivers to cyclists who fail to stop at a stop sign, and ride into the path of the vehicle has not been researched. The purpose of this study was to quantify the Driver Response Time (DRT) to a cyclist that intrudes perpendicularly in front of a through vehicle at an intersection where the driver has the right-of-way.

Left-turn crashes account for almost one quarter of all collisions. Although research has quantified the response time of drivers to left-turning vehicles with high acceleration profiles, research is lacking for driver responses to realistic left-turning vehicle acceleration. The purpose of this research was to determine the Driver Response Time (DRT) to a left-turning vehicle from the first lateral movement of the left-turning vehicle. The DRT was measured from first lateral movement of the left turning vehicle, until the through driver reacts, whether by touching the brake pedal, swerving, releasing/applying the accelerator, or a combination of these inputs. Ninety-eight (NFemale = 48; NMale = 50) licensed volunteer drivers took part in a study at the University of Guelph Driving Research in Virtual Environments (DRiVE) lab using an Oktal complete vehicle driving simulator.