@article{ref1,
title="An exploration into younger and older pedestrians' risky behaviours at train level crossings",
journal="Safety (Basel)",
year="2015",
author="Freeman, James and McMaster, Mitchell and Rakotonirainy, Andry",
volume="1",
number="1",
pages="16-27",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Younger and older pedestrians are both overrepresented in  train-pedestrian injury and fatality collision databases. However, scant research has attempted to determine the factors that influence level crossing behaviours for these high risk groups. <br><br>METHOD: Five focus groups were undertaken with a total of 27 younger and  17 older pedestrian level crossing users (N = 44). Due to the lack of research in the area, a focus group methodology was implemented to gain a deeper exploratory understanding into the sample's decision making processes through a pilot study. The three main areas of enquiry were identifying the: (a) primary reasons for unsafe behaviour; (b) factors that deter this behaviour and (c) proposed interventions to improve pedestrian safety at level crossings in the future. <br><br>RESULTS: Common themes to emerge from both groups regarding the origins of unsafe behaviours were: running late and a fatalistic perspective that some accidents are inevitable. However, younger pedestrians were more likely to report motivators to be: (a) non-perception of danger; (b) impulsive risk taking; and (c) inattention. In contrast, older pedestrians reported their decisions to cross are influenced by mobility issues and sensory salience. <br><br>CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that a range of factors influence pedestrian crossing behaviours. This paper will further outline the major findings of the research in regards to intervention development and future research direction.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2313-576X",
doi="10.3390/safety1010016",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/safety1010016"
}