Investigating the interaction between pedestrian behaviors and crashes through validation of a pedestrian behavior questionnaire (PBQ)

Developing countries have a high frequency of traffic incidents involving pedestrians. Given the vulnerability of pedestrians, many of these incidents result in serious or fatal injuries. The present study aimed to validate a pedestrian behavior questionnaire in Iran to investigate Persian pedestrian behaviors and to understand the relationship of these behaviors with demographic and mobility variables. A total of 520 participants (292 males and 228 females) completed a survey containing behavioral items and demographic questions. A principal component analysis showed that the data best fit in four factors of transgressions (including violations and errors), lapses, aggressive behaviors, and positive behaviors. In this study, the association of behavioral dimensions with crash history as a driver, crash history as a pedestrian, the severity of an experienced pedestrian-related crash, and the participant's relative's crash history as a pedestrian were also investigated. The present study confirms that PBQ is a useful tool with adequate reliability for investigating Persian pedestrians' safety-related behaviors. These findings revealed the need for intervention programs and improving infrastructures through the evaluation of pedestrian behaviors, which may lead to decreasing pedestrian-related crash frequency.