Identifying built environment factors influencing driver yielding behavior at unsignalized intersections: A naturalistic open-source dataset collected in Minnesota

TL;DR

This study introduces a comprehensive open-source dataset of driver-pedestrian interactions at unsignalized intersections in Minnesota, analyzing how built environment factors influence driver yielding behavior to enhance safety and automated vehicle systems.

Contribution

It provides one of the most extensive datasets on driver-pedestrian interactions, including over 3000 interactions and 50 contextual variables, and develops a predictive model for driver yielding behavior.

Findings

Vehicle speed significantly affects yielding behavior.

Presence of parking lots influences driver decisions.

Proximity to parks or schools impacts yielding likelihood.

Abstract

Many factors influence the yielding result of a driver-pedestrian interaction, including traffic volume, vehicle speed, roadway characteristics, etc. While individual aspects of these interactions have been explored, comprehensive, naturalistic studies, particularly those considering the built environment's influence on driver-yielding behavior, are lacking. To address this gap, our study introduces an extensive open-source dataset, compiled from video data at 18 unsignalized intersections across Minnesota. Documenting more than 3000 interactions, this dataset provides a detailed view of driver-pedestrian interactions and over 50 distinct contextual variables. The data, which covers individual driver-pedestrian interactions and contextual factors, is made publicly available at https://github.com/tianyi17/pedestrian_yielding_data_MN. Using logistic regression, we developed a classification model that predicts driver yielding based on the identified variables. Our analysis indicates that vehicle speed, the presence of parking lots, proximity to parks or schools, and the width of major road crossings significantly influence driver yielding at unsignalized intersections. Through our findings and by publishing one of the most comprehensive driver-pedestrian datasets in the United States, our study will support communities across Minnesota and the United States in their ongoing efforts to improve road safety for pedestrians and be helpful for automated vehicle design.