Human mistakes sel-referred by pedestrians in the city of Bahía Blanca, Argentina

Descriptive, observational study

Abstract

Introduction: pedestrians represent 22% of the global number of deaths due to car accidents. They are the most vulnerable population of the road system.
Objective: to describe the kinds of human mistakes self-referred by pedestrians who circulate in the road system of the city of Bahía Blanca during the September 2014- April 2015 period of time.
Methodology: observational descriptive, cross-sectional study. Convenience sample. A survey was prepared based on the “Driver Behavior Questionnaire” (Spanish versión). It was validated by the Delphi method and analysed with With SPSS predictive analytics software.
Results: 46.5 % declare no to look both ways before crossing the street. 22.3% state they do not see when a car is coming out of a garage and obliges it to stop abruptly. 32.2% declare to cross the street while using the cellphone and not realizing whether a vehicle is approaching. 89.2% admit they cross in the middle of the street. 69.7% affirm they cross the street on a red light.
Conclusions: behaviors observed in the study demonstrate failure to observe the norms by pedestrians. Many of the above mentioned behaviors could result in collisions and cause serious lesions. Interventions should focus on stricter controls to pedestrians when they circulate in the road system.