Review and assessment of different perspectives of vehicle-pedestrian conflicts and crashes: Passive and active analysis approaches

The importance of investigating pedestrian safety has been evaluated repeatedly in safety studies. The present study attempts to evaluate the various methods used by previous researchers in a hierarchical process, to determine the characteristics, advantages, and limitations of each method. Two general analysis approaches (passive and active) were taken into account to categorize 169 previous types of research. In the passive approach, the studied methods were those based on crash databases, questionnaires, and post-crash field observation data; while, in the active approach, the studied methods were those based on driving simulations and videography. The result of the passive approach reveals that road users' features and road characteristics (crash database studies), and error, lapses, intentional and unintentional violations (questionnaire studies) by them were among the most important causes of crashes and conflicts. Furthermore, road users’ distractions also reported a set of factors affecting the possibility of conflicts and crashes based on post-crash field observation studies. Also, results of the active approach showed that risky behaviors are the most important factor in threatening pedestrian safety such as unauthorized speeding, non-compliance with traffic law, unauthorized overtaking by drivers, and illegal crossing. Furthermore, risk perception and decision-making processes are the most important bond between the attitude and behavior of road users in dangerous driving situations. Examining studies through passive approach would lead to identifying the causes of crashes, recognizing the attitude of road users towards safety, and determining road users' behavioral patterns in certain situations, while the active approach has led to a more detailed understanding of behaviors and attitudes of road users. The inference of the findings obtained in this study will lead to a better understanding of the behavior of road users for studies on advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS).