Warnings and Pedestrian Behavior: A Case Study of Unintended Effects

Abstract

We examine a case in which contradictory behaviors to a single safety stimulus occur even though the information content of the warning appears to have been correctly understood. Observations of pedestrian behavior at a grade crossing with active signals are reported. Some pedestrians often ignored warnings to stay out of the grade crossing while trains were entering or leaving the station. These data are consistent with proposals that hazard communications are among the multiple pieces of information that users may draw on in order to complete a desired objective. It is argued that pedestrian violations have different causes than motor vehicle violation, but personal goals and convenience play an important role in compliance with crossing signals. Frameworks for incorporating goal-oriented behavior into theories of warnings effectiveness, such as “affordances” are briefly discussed.

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