Designing safer intersections: Exploring the impact of visual and auditory warnings on pedestrian behavior in a virtual simulated environment

Virtual reality (VR) technology emerges as a valuable tool for exploring human perception and behavior in controlled, immersive, and risk-free environments. This study applied simulated VR technology to examine the efficacy of preventive visual and auditory warnings for pedestrians at signalized intersections. More specifically, it tested four types of pedestrian signals: conventional signal, laser wall, visual crosswalk, and auditory signal. It explored the influence of these signals on pedestrian behavior under varying environmental and traffic conditions. A structural equation model (SEM) was developed with two latent mediating variables - situation awareness and risk perception - to analyze the relationships between the pedestrian signal type and violating behavior. A total of 245 participants attended the experiments, navigating VR-simulated intersections equipped with the proposed signals, and experiencing diverse environmental and traffic scenarios. Subjective data (situation awareness and risk perception) and objective data (actual behavior in the experiment and eye-tracking metrics) were collected. Findings demonstrated that visual signals show promise in reducing violations, especially at night and among males. Besides, equipping intersections with auditory signals directs attention toward traffic signals and vehicular traffic. Additionally, the study highlights a negative association between individuals' risk perception and situation awareness, and pedestrian violation. Situation awareness seems to influence traffic light compliance differently between genders, with males showing greater susceptibility. Moreover, heightened risk perception appears to enhance situation awareness, particularly in low-traffic conditions. The findings can inform road authorities to design more effective and informative pedestrian signals to improve crosswalk safety.