الفهرس 
INTRODUCTIONOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Pedestrians are one of the most vulnerable elements of the transportation system. Pedestrian injuries and fatalities have increasing trend in Egypt during the last decade due to either pedestrian, traffic and/or road characteristics. A good understanding of pedestrian behaviors and their road safety background is a key to improve traffic safety levels, especially in developing countries. The interaction between drivers’ and pedestrians’ behavior also has a great role in pedestrian crossing-related crashes. This study provides an investigation of pedestrian behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions by using two types of data sources that can be considered as two main parts of this thesis. One part is based on investigating pedestrian behaviors through a questionnaire, and the other is through direct observation using video recording.
Firstly, the primary aim of the questionnaire is to examine the validation of the international Pedestrian Behavior Scale (PBS) to investigate pedestrian behaviors in Egypt as a case study of a developing country. About 567 participants over 16 years old responded to the questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into five main sections. The first section contained social and demographic characteristics items (gender, age, education and the possession of a driving license). The second section was about pedestrian behaviors based on the (PBS) divided into five groups (Violations, Errors, Lapses, Aggressive behaviors and Positive behaviors). The third section contained the questions related to the historical pedestrian-related crashes. The fourth section asks respondents to evaluate traffic safety from a pedestrian’s perspective. The fifth section contained items about daily walking distance and walking reasons. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was applied to assess the behavioral factors that express pedestrian behaviors. In addition, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to find the best fit factor structure to the pedestrian behavior. Parametric and non-parametric tests were conducted to explore the significant differences in pedestrian behaviors across demographic data, crashes and walking behavior. The study validated the applying of (PBS) to investigate pedestrian behaviors in Egypt based on four validated categories: Transgressions, Lapses, Aggressive and Positive behaviors. The findings displayed that in Egypt, males reported a higher level of aggressive behaviors than females. All pedestrian behaviors varied by age; adolescents and young adults reported higher transgressions in comparison with adults. Adolescents reported more frequent lapses in comparison with young adults and adults.
Secondly, an investigation of pedestrian crossing safety at five types of mid-blocks pedestrian crossing locations at urban streets in Cairo city, Egypt as one of the developing countries has been provided. Pedestrians crossing were video recorded in real traffic conditions. A total of 400 crossings were considered in this study. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression models. The models considered pedestrian crossing safety and drivers’ yielding decision while pedestrian crossing. Phi and Cramer’s V coefficients were used to avoid multi-collinearity. The data collected included individual characteristics (Gender, Age groups, Carrying Items, Using Phone, group Crossing, Crossing Speed, Crossing Side) and traffic characteristics (Vehicle Type) across different pedestrian crossing locations (Uncontrolled, Marked-only, Illegal, Raised (Speed Tables) and Signalized). The presence of forced pedestrian crossing facilities, such as raised pedestrian crossings or traffic signals, significantly reduced the number of unsafe crossings when compared to uncontrolled pedestrian crossings. Raised pedestrian crossings presented the highest level of safety of pedestrian crossing locations, which were safer 12.5 times more than uncontrolled and marked-only locations, followed by the signalized sites, which were safer by 8.6 times. The presence of raised pedestrian crossings increased the chances of a driver yielding to pedestrians by about 11.24 times in comparison to uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.
In conclusion, this study added a new validation for applying the Pedestrian Behavior Scale (PBS) to explore pedestrian behaviors in Egypt. Pedestrian behaviors across socio-demographic variables, crashes, walking distances and walking reasons had been investigated. In addition, understanding of midblock pedestrian crossings could be used by road authorities to develop appropriate strategies to prevent pedestrian injuries and fatalities and improve pedestrian crossings safety. The findings can be used by the government to improve road safety programs, create effective traffic safety campaigns, and enact appropriate laws, which could reduce the number of pedestrian-related crashes in developing countries.