Exploring the Pedestrian’s Behaviors in Crossing the Street Based on Gender

Background: Pedestrians are at high risk of traffic accidents in urban areas. Difference in gender can influence pedestrians' behavior in crossing the street. This research aims to explore the behavior of pedestrians crossing the street based on their gender, Kerman, Iran. Materials and Methods: A total of 403 pedestrians were observed when crossing the street. The data were collected through a check list by a trained observer. Factors such as adherence to traffic lights, waiting before crossing, running across the road, and looking before crossing were examined. Statistical analyses of pedestrians' behavior were carried out using the Chi-Square test. The analytical results were considered to have a significant level of 0.05. Results: About half of the observed subjects 54.3% (n=219) crossed the street within the marked lines. These behavior were 52.1% (n=135) among male and 58.3% (n=84) among female. Approximately half of the observed pedestrians, 49.1% (n=198), were distracted in some way. Among them men were found to be more distracted than women (64.3%, vs. 35.7%, p=0.21 respectively). Men were observed to be more likely to run when crossing the street than women (27.1%, vs., 13.3%, p=0.001). Conclusions: Female pedestrians behave more carefully than males. Therefore educating population sounds very necessary, with higher stress and enforced in men. Also, if it is the case, the results might be useful to policy makers to review the adequacy and efficiency of rules and regulation regarding pedestrian behaviors over crossing the road.