Crossing behaviour of the elderly: Road safety assessment through simulations

The assessment of the safety of road crossing facilities in urban scenarios can be supported by means of advanced computer-based simulations. Integrated models considering the vehicular and pedestrian traffic, and their interactions, still lack empirical evidences about the heterogeneous features of pedestrians, with particular reference to age-driven crossing behaviour. Elderly pedestrians are indeed one the most vulnerable road users, due to the progressive decline of cognitive and motor ability linked to ageing. In this paper we introduce the results of an observation at a non-signalised intersection aimed at characterising the crossing behaviour of the elderly. In particular, we compare the results about the crossing speeds and accepted safety gap among two sample of adult and elderly pedestrians while crossing. Then, the paper proposes an innovative approach for modelling pedestrians and vehicles interactions in the area of a zebra crossing, either signalized or not, considering the impact of age.