Pedestrian Neglect of Highway Footbridges and Safety Countermeasures: A Case Study from Ghana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2957-3645/11674Keywords:
Ghana, pedestrian safety, pedestrian-crossing behaviour, footbridge non-use, road-crossing structuresAbstract
In Africa, pedestrian deaths count for the majority of road traffic deaths, mainly resulting from bad crossing habits, including the neglect of footbridges. However, pedestrian behaviour remains understudied in Africa. In this article, we investigate the reasons for the non-use of footbridges along a major highway in Accra, Ghana, and test possible interventions. Using an intercept survey, we sampled 320 pedestrian violators by means of a questionnaire and structured interviews. Two decision trees were analysed using the chi-squared automatic interaction detection algorithm. The results indicated that men and students are more likely to disregard footbridges compared to other pedestrians. The length of the footbridge was cited as the main reason for non-compliance at designated crossings. Nonetheless, 93% of the respondents showed intentions to use the footbridges premised on some interventions. Pedestrian safety would be improved if shorter access points, adequate lighting and visibility are provided for footbridges and other road-crossing facilities. In this study, we propose countermeasures and reinforce the need for engineers and urban planners to carefully consider human behaviour in the design of urban road infrastructure.
References
Anciaes, P. R., & Jones, P. (2018). Estimating preferences for different types of pedestrian crossing facilities. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 52, 222–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2017.11.025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2017.11.025
Barajas, J. M., Beck, K. M., Cooper, J. F., Lopez, A., & Reynosa, A. (2019). How effective are community pedestrian safety training workshops? Short-term findings from a program in California. Journal of Transport & Health, 12, 183–194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2019.01.002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2019.01.002
Black, J., Tara, K., & Pakzad, P. (2016). Mainstreaming green infrastructure elements into the design of public road reserves: Challenges for road authorities. International Journal of Environmental Protection, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.5963/IJEP0601001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5963/IJEP0601001
Bordarie, J. (2019). Predicting intentions to comply with speed limits using a “decision tree” applied to an extended version of the theory of planned behaviour. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 63, 174–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2019.04.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2019.04.005
Cambon de Lavalette, B., Tijus, C., Poitrenaud, S., Leproux, C., Bergeron, J., & Thouez, J.-P. (2009). Pedestrian crossing decision-making: A situational and behavioral approach. Safety Science, 47(9), 1248–1253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2009.03.016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2009.03.016
Dada, M., Zuidgeest, M., & Hess, S. (2019). Modelling pedestrian crossing choice on Cape Town’s freeways: Caught between a rock and a hard place? Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 60, 245–261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.10.005 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.10.005
Hasan, R., & Napiah, M. (2018). The perception of Malaysian pedestrians toward the use of footbridges. Traffic Injury Prevention, 19(3), 292–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2017.1373768 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15389588.2017.1373768
Hasan, R., Oviedo-Trespalacios, O., & Napiah, M. (2020). An intercept study of footbridge users and non-users in Malaysia. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 73, 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2020.05.011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2020.05.011
Herawaty, H., & Shirly, W. (2017). The impact of vegetation on the arterial road median to the convenience of the road users in Pangkep Regency South Sulawesi Province. International Journal of Engineering Inventions, 6(5), 20–26.
Highways England. (2020). CD 353 Design criteria for footbridges. Retrieved from https://www.standardsforhighways.co.uk/dmrb/search/7be571c3-bcd5-414c-b608- 48aa19f7f4a1
Huemer, A. K., & Vollrath, M. (2011). Driver secondary tasks in Germany: Using interviews to estimate prevalence. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 43(5), 1703–1712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.03.029 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.03.029
Im, J. (2019). Green streets to serve urban sustainability: Benefits and typology. Sustainability, 11(22), 6483. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226483 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11226483
Joewono, T. B., Vandebona, U., & Susilo, Y. O. (2015). Behavioural causes and categories of traffic violations by motorcyclists in Indonesian urban roads. Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, 7(2), 174–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2014.952467 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2014.952467
Kass, G. V. (1980). An exploratory technique for investigating large quantities of categorical data. Applied Statistics, 29(2), 119. https://doi.org/10.2307/2986296 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2986296
Kim, S., & Ulfarsson, G. F. (2019). Traffic safety in an aging society: Analysis of older pedestrian crashes. Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, 11(3), 323–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2018.1430087 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2018.1430087
Kwayu, K. M., Kwigizile, V., & Oh, J.-S. (2019). Evaluation of pedestrian crossing-related crashes at undesignated midblock locations using structured crash data and report narratives. Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2019.1679306 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2019.1679306
Landa-Blanco, M., & Ávila, J. (2020). Factors related to the use of pedestrian bridges in university students of Honduras. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 71, 220–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2020.04.016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2020.04.016
Li, X., Oviedo-Trespalacios, O., & Rakotonirainy, A. (2020). Drivers’ gap acceptance behaviours at intersections: A driving simulator study to understand the impact of mobile phone visual-manual interactions. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 138, 105486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2020.105486 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2020.105486
Marisamynathan, S., & Vedagiri, P. (2018). Estimation of pedestrian safety index value at signalized intersections under mixed traffic conditions. Transportation in Developing Economies, 4(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40890-018-0058-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40890-018-0058-0
Ojo, T. K., Appiah, A. B., Obiri-Yeboah, A., Adebanji, A. O., Donkor, P., & Mock, C. (2022). An intercept survey of the use and non-use of footbridges in Ghana. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 10(3), 1581–1590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2022.05.016 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2022.05.016
Oviedo-Trespalacios, O., & Scott-Parker, B. (2017). Footbridge usage in high-traffic flow highways: The intersection of safety and security in pedestrian decision-making. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 49, 177–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2017.06.010 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2017.06.010
Rahimian, P., O’Neal, E. E., Zhou, S., Plumert, J. M., & Kearney, J. K. (2018). Harnessing vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication technology: Sending traffic warnings to texting pedestrians. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 60(6), 833–843. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720818781365 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0018720818781365
Räsänen, M., Lajunen, T., Alticafarbay, F., & Aydin, C. (2007). Pedestrian self-reports of factors influencing the use of pedestrian bridges. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 39(5), 969–973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2007.01.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2007.01.004
Razi, H. M. N. (2017). Pedestrians’ behavior towards the use of footbridges under the impact of motivational alerting posters: The case of Ipoh city, Malaysia. Advances in Transportation Studies: An International Journal, Section B, 42. https://doi.org/10.4399/978882550352458
Shaaban, K., Muley, D., & Mohammed, A. (2021). Modeling pedestrian gap acceptance behavior at a six-lane urban road. Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, 13(8), 842–859. https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2019.1691100 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19439962.2019.1691100
Stefanova, T., Oviedo-Trespalacios, O., Freeman, J., Wullems, C., Rakotonirainy, A., Burkhardt, J.-M., & Delhomme, P. (2018). Contextual factors explaining risk-taking intentions at Australian level crossings. Safety Science, 110, 145–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.03.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.03.004
Truong, L. T., Nguyen, H. T. T., Nguyen, H. D., & Vu, H. V. (2019). Pedestrian overpass use and its relationships with digital and social distractions, and overpass characteristics. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 131, 234–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2019.07.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2019.07.004
Ujjwal, J., & Bandyopadhyaya, R. (2021). Development of pedestrian level of service assessment guidelines for mixed land use areas considering quality of service parameters. Transportation in Developing Economies, 7(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40890-021-00113-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40890-021-00113-8
United Nations Development Programme (2020). Human Development Reports. The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene. https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/GHA.pdf
World Health Organization. (2018). Global status report on road safety 2018: Summary. Geneva (WHO/NMH/NVI/18.20).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Unisa Press
