Collision Avoidance by Pedestrians - Research Paper Example

Collision Avoidance by Pedestrians Lecturer: A pilot study was conducted in a bid to investigate pedestrianpassing behaviour based on the following variables: gender (male and female), open pass, closed pass and neutral pass. In addition to that, the study was done to know whether men and women tend to make the same or different sorts of passes. The results of this pilot study revealed that variables such as gender do have an impact on the pass chosen. That is, from the data collected, males were seen to undertake in open passes more than women who undertook the closed and neutral passes frequently. These results do indeed support the fact that gender plays a crucial role in the type of pass taken. Introduction Each and every individual has their own way of thinking. This is the same thinking strategy that we apply in our daily lives and this in return impacts the way we behave and/ or act. A good example of our thinking and the consequent actions can be seen in the way in which we walk so as to avoid bumping into each other. As we walk in our different environments be it in the streets, at school, underground tube stations etc, we always seek to avoid bumping into each other - This is better known as collision avoidance or rather the “Pedestrian passing behaviour”. This report is a pilot study on the pedestrian passing behaviour in a busy London underground tube station. Collision avoidance techniques There are a number of ways in which pedestrians can avoid collisions in our different environments. These include: a) Open pass b) Closed pass c) Neutral pass Open pass: An open pass is a collision avoidance technique where one individual avoids colliding with the other individual by turning the body towards the other individual who is approaching them. Closed pass: A closed pass is a collision avoidance technique where one individual avoids the collision by turning the body away from the other individual who is approaching them. Neutral pass: A neutral pass is a collision avoidance technique that lacks the essence of being an open as well as the closed pass. That is, this is a technique that is neither an open nor a closed pass. Data collection procedure The method that was used to collect the data was entirely observation. We all went to the London underground tube station to carry out this pilot study. Each individual recorded their own data based on their individual observations. Observations made a) The London underground tube station is a 2 × 2 high square design. b) The tube station gets more than a thousand pedestrians on a daily basis. This is due to the fact that the observation results recorded numbers of up to 3981 participants (both male and female who did the open, closed and neutral passes). Participants involved The total number of participants was divided into two groups. That is the male and female participants. The total number of participants that undertook all the passes (open, closed and neutral) totalled to 3981. Among these results, the male participants that undertook all the passes (open, closed and neutral) totalled to 2020 while that of women totalled to 1961. Observation results The observation results included the following variables: males, females, open passes, closed passes and neutral passes. As such, the total number of open passes for both male and female participants was 1631. The total number of closed passes for both genders was 1279 while the total number of neutral passes for both male and female participants was 1071. When further clarified, of the 1631 open passes, 1070 were undertaken by male participants while 561 were undertaken by the female participants. Of the 1279 closed passes, 464 were undertaken by the male participants while 815 were undertaken by the female participants. Lastly, of the 1071 neutral passes that were undertaken by both genders, 486 were by the male participants while 585 were by the female participants. The table below summarizes the described data captured: Male Female Total Open 1070 561 1631 Closed 464 815 1279 Neutral 486 585 1071 Total 2020 1961 Table 1 indicates the raw data collected from the pilot study Chi-square data analysis When the Chi square tests were conducted, the results were as follows: Value of Chi-square was 247. 324. The degree of freedom (df) was 1. The p-value was 0. The p value should be interpreted to be p < 0.001 and not exactly as p is zero. As a result, a p value of 0.001 means that the Chi-square test statistics is 247. 324 where the associated p value is 0.001; that is, p < 0.001. Significance level The null hypothesis was: Men and Women tend to make the same sorts of passes. The alternative hypothesis was: Men and Women tend to make different sorts of passes. With a p value of 0.001 (p < 0.001), this signifies that the null hypothesis is false and should be rejected while the alternative hypothesis is true and should be accepted. Chi-square results The table below shows the gender and type of pass cross tabulation gender * pass Cross tabulation pass Total Open Closed gender Female Count 561 815 1376 Expected Count 771.2 604.8 1376.0 Male Count 1070 464 1534 Expected Count 859.8 674.2 1534.0 Total Count 1631 1279 2910 Expected Count 1631.0 1279.0 2910.0 Table 2 indicates the SPSS cross tabulation data based on Table 1 results The graph below represents the Chi-square data analysis. Figure 1 shows the Chi-square data analysis in a bar chart Discussion This pilot study indicates that more male individuals tend to make open passes as compared to female individuals. In addition, more female participants tend to make closed passes as compared to open passes. Lastly, more female participants tend to make neutral passes as compared to their male counterparts. These results mean that women are more likely to make either a closed pass or a neutral pass in their passing behaviour in a bid to avoid collisions while men tend to make more open passes. Based on the results of the Chi-square tests, it can be revealed that the alternative hypothesis has been fully supported by the data – that is, Men and Women tend to make different sorts of passes. The numbers recorded can support this hypothesis too. Daamen and Hoogendoorn (2003) suggest that internal and personal (social - demographic) characteristics such as culture, gender, age and health can influence an individual’s choice of pass. In addition to that, Holden (2000) states that the lifestyle, education levels, beliefs and attitudes of any individual can also have an influence on the same. As such, there occurs a difference in variables such as gender. From the data collected, this statement can be fully supported due to the fact that it was seen that more males took an open pass while more females took a closed and neutral pass. Some of the criticisms with regard to this experiment could be related to the environment in which it was carried out. For example, if the pilot study was conducted in a park, then the results would be different based on the environment chosen. In addition, due to the fact that social – demographic factors can also influence the type of pass taken, if the pilot study was taken in a more urban setting with a high scale lifestyle, then higher are the chances that the results would have been different. As such, this study could be improved if the pilot study was conducted in a variety of environments such as: the park, streets, the underground tube station and a location that has individuals who have a high profile lifestyle. Through this, the collected data could be analyzed better. In conclusion, there are a number of related studies that can be undertaken in a bid to explore this subject area further. Some of them include: the passing behaviour of children in a park, the streets or even in the underground tube station. Due to the fact that different internal factors (social - demographic) characteristics such as culture, gender and age can impact the passing behaviour, it is without doubt that if the study was conducted in children, the results would be indeed different as compared to that of adults. References Collett, P. R., & Marsh, P. E. (1981). Patterns of public behaviour: Collision avoidance on a pedestrian crossing. In A. Kendon (Ed.), Nonverbal communication, interaction and gesture (pp. 199-218). The Hague: Mouton Press. Daamen, W., & Hoogendoorn, S.P. (2003). Research on pedestrian traffic flows in the Netherlands. Proceedings Walk 21 IV., Portland, Oregon, United States: Walk 21 conference, 101-117. Henderson, L. F., & Lyons, D. J. (1972). Sexual differences in human crowd motion. Nature, 240, 353-356. Holden, A. (2000). Environment and Tourism. London, UK: Routledge. Read More