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In-Depth Information
subjects had 30 to 45 minutes to watch the DVD and complete the paper-pen
questionnaire
5
that accompanied it (Figure 7.5).
Figure 7.5.
Study of travel in town, experimental condition
The results have shown that the main aspects that come into play in the
representation of a dangerous situation are mainly linked to the infrastructure in
which it unfolds (area open to traffic versus pedestrian area). On one hand,
transgression of the Highway Code linked to the infrastructure, and, in particular,
crossing outside pedestrian crossings, which are the major cause of accidents
involving pedestrians in towns, is recognized as being a real danger, and due to risk
taken by the user. (This does not stop the pedestrians questioned from frequently
adopting these risky behaviors.) On the other hand, and rightly so, the pedestrian
area is a protected environment for pedestrians who consider that they have priority
at all times and seem to be unaware of the existence of a potential risk (it is not rare
to observe pedestrians passing and even stopping behind a truck without considering
the warning signal to say that it is reversing)
.
However, though in principle reserved
to pedestrians and by extension to vulnerable users (except motorcyclists), at certain
times these areas must be shared with trucks that are making deliveries. It therefore
seems that the safety of vulnerable users in a pedestrian area rests mainly on the
behavior of drivers, who will need to intensify their attention
vis-à-vis
users moving
around their vehicle.
Finally, the fact that more than half of subjects admit to adopting potentially
risky behavior in certain situations shows that the behaviors of vulnerable users
cannot, in many cases, be anticipated by truck drivers. (Examples of these behaviors
5 The DVD and questionnaire that accompanies it are protected by article L. 122-4 of the
intellectual property code (legal deposit: January 2007).
