Modeling Pedestrian Crossing Paths at Unmarked Roadways

At the unmarked roadway, pedestrians cross the road with changing speeds and directions that result in curved paths and high chances of road accidents. However, few computational models have been built to address the mechanisms underlying the curved paths in crossing unmarked roadways. To better understand pedestrian behaviors and finally facilitate their safety, this paper modeled pedestrian paths at the unmarked roadway as a result of the decision-making process in which pedestrians try to minimize discomfort by weighing perceived risk (PR) with efficiency. PR is assumed to come from vehicles and specific positions on the road. Efficiency is modeled by the deviation from destination. The modeling mechanisms are consistent with existing theories, enhancing the understanding of pedestrian crossing behavior mechanisms at the unmarked roadway rather than treating the crossing process as a black box. The observed 135 pedestrian paths at two unmarked roadways in the real world were compared with the model's predictions. The potential applications of the model in exploring pedestrian position distribution at a crossing site and improving pedestrian presentation in existing driving simulators and intelligent transportation systems are discussed, as well as its limitations.