Behaviors and Perceptions of Road Safety at a large, urban university in Florida

Background:Pedestrians are the most vulnerable group of road users. This study aimed to describe the behaviors and perceptions of road users following a recent policy change and educational campaign in a large, urban university.

Methods: An anonymous pedestrian safety survey was distributed using email distribution list to staff and students. Univariate and frequency analysis were performed using SAS 9.3. 

Results: A total of 375 people completed the survey. Behavior measures revealed survey respondents who considered safer behaviors as looking both ways before crossing the street (27%), walking on sidewalks (22%), and waiting for cars to slow down before crossing the street (22%). Dangerous behaviors identified included avoiding crosswalks (76%), walking against direction of traffic (63%), walking when signal does not allow it (43%), talking on the phone (35%), and texting (26%). Perceptions measure indicated 34% of respondents  who considered the capus roads as safe, and 43% perceived it as pedestrian friendly. Main reasons for considering the campus roads as unsafe for pedestrians were aggressive driving (21%), distraction with electronic devices (18%), and pedestrians not following the laws and signals (16%). Respondents who self-reported "ever crossed the road when pedestrian signal did not give a prompt" was significant at 42.8%.

Conclusions: Our study suggests that the general perception of road safety was that it was not as safe, despite recent policy changes. Driver-yielding behavior and pedestrians not following signals are areas that need further behavioral modification intervention.