PURPOSES :In this study, we analyzed the road crossing behavior of older pedestrians on a mid-block signalized crosswalk, and compared it to that of younger pedestrians. In addition, we analyzed the correlation between accidents involving older pedestrians while crossing roads and their behavioral characteristics. Finally, we confirmed the reasons for an increase in accidents involving older pedestrians.METHODS :First, 30 areas with the highest incidence of accidents involving older pedestrians while crossing roads were selected as target areas for analysis. Next, we measured the start-up delay (the time elapsed from the moment the signal turns green to the moment the pedestrian starts walking) and head movement (the number of head turns during crossing a road) of 900 (450 older and 450 younger) pedestrians. The next step was to conduct a survey and confirm the differences in judgment between older and younger pedestrians about approaching vehicles. Finally, we analyzed the correlation between the survey results and traffic accidents.RESULTS :The average start-up delay and head movement of the older pedestrians was 1.58 seconds and 3.15 times, respectively. A definite correlation was obtained between head movement and the frequency of pedestrian traffic accidents. The results of our survey indicate that 17.3% of the older pedestrians and 7.8% of the younger pedestrians have a high crash risk.CONCLUSIONS :Behavioral characteristics of older pedestrians were closely correlated with accidents involving older pedestrians while crossing roads in mid-block signalized crosswalks. Our study indicates that in order to reduce the number of accidents involving older pedestrians, it is necessary to develop an improvement plan including measures such as installation of safety facilities taking the behavioral characteristics of older pedestrians into consideration and their safety education.

PURPOSES : Low visibility caused by dark surroundings at nighttime affects the likelihood of accidents, and various efforts, such as installing road safety facilities, have been made to reduce accidents at night. Despite these efforts, the nighttime severity index (SI) in Korea was higher than the daytime SI during 2011-2014. This study determined the factors affecting daytime and nighttime accident severity through a discriminant analysis. METHODS: Discriminant analysis. RESULTS: First, drowsiness, lack of attention, and lighting facilities affected both daytime and nighttime accident severity. Accidents were found to be caused by a low ability to recognize the driving conditions and a low obstacle avoidance capability. Second, road conditions and speeding affected only the daytime accident severity. Third, failure to maintain a safe distance significantly affected daytime accident severity and nonsignificantly affected nighttime accident severity. The majority of such accidents were caused by rear-end collisions of vehicles driving in the same direction; given the low relative speed difference in such cases, the shock imparted by the accidents was minimal. CONCLUSIONS: Accidents caused by a failure to maintain a safe distance has lower severity than do accidents caused by other factors.