Pedestrians Accept Shorter Distances to Light Vehicles Than Dark Ones When Crossing the Street

Feldstein I, Peli E. Pedestrians Accept Shorter Distances to Light Vehicles Than Dark Ones When Crossing the Street. Perception. 2020;49(5):558–566.

Abstract

Does the brightness of an approaching vehicle affect a pedestrian's crossing decision? Thirty participants indicated their street-crossing intentions when facing approaching light or dark vehicles. The experiment was conducted in a real daylight environment and, additionally, in a corresponding virtual one. A real road with actual cars provides high face validity, while a virtual environment ensures the scenario's precise reproducibility and repeatability for each participant. In both settings, participants judged dark vehicles to be a more imminent threat-either closer or moving faster-when compared with light ones. Secondary results showed that participants accepted a significantly shorter time-to-contact when crossing the street in the virtual setting than on the real road.
Last updated on 03/06/2023