Document Type

Report

Publication Date

4-2014

Subjects

Traffic safety -- Oregon -- Portland, Pedestrians -- Oregon -- Portland, Race discrimination

Abstract

Racial minorities are disproportionately represented in pedestrian traffic fatalities, indicating a significant public health and safety issue. Psychological and social identity-related factors have previously been shown to influence drivers’ behaviors toward pedestrians. If drivers’ behavior reflects racial bias and results in differential behavior toward Black and White pedestrians, this may lead to disparate pedestrian crossing experiences based on race and potentially contribute to disproportionate safety outcomes. We tested this hypothesis in a controlled field experiment at an unsignalized midblock marked crosswalk in downtown Portland, Oregon. Six trained male research team confederates (3 White, 3 Black) simulated an individual pedestrian crossing, while trained observers cataloged the number of cars that passed and the time until a driver yielded. Results (90 pedestrian trials, 168 driver-subjects) revealed that Black pedestrians were passed by twice as many cars and experienced wait times that were 32% longer than White pedestrians. Results support the hypothesis that minority pedestrians experience discriminatory treatment by drivers.

Description

This is the final report, NITC-SS-733, from the NITC program of TREC at Portland State University, and can be found online at: http://nitc.trec.pdx.edu/research/project/733

The Project Brief can be found here: http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/16706

DOI

10.15760/trec.130

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/13084

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