Interventions for safety promotion of pedestrians; A scoping review

Background: Pedestrians are one of the most vulnerable road users around the world. The high vulnerability of pedestrians in road traffic crashes highlights the need to implement effective interventions to protect pedestrians. The identification of effective interventions related to pedestrians strengthened the system to achieve to the pedestrian safety goals. The purpose of this study was to review and drawn up the interventions related to pedestrian's safety around the world. Methods: The current study has conducted according to Arkesy and OMalley framework a scoping review from January 2000 to December 2019. This study was conducted in six main steps as follows: identifying the research question, identifying relevant studies, study selection/screening, charting the data, collecting, summarizing and reporting results, and providing the practical recommendations. The databases of PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched using predefined keywords. Literature screening and selection was done according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, which extended for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Endnote software edition 7 was used for data management. Findings: literature review and screening lead to 28 citations included in the study. Educational interventions, engineering and law enforcement interventions were the most common interventions reported by literature. Using virtual reality and simulation-based trainings are getting more common and acceptable. Most of the studies on educational interventions have reported a positive effect on pedestrian behaviors. Moreover, studies working on combined interventions have experienced outcomes that are more positive. Conclusion: Using new technologies such as virtual reality and simulation is at the focus of interventions focusing on pedestrian knowledge and behavior improvement. Moreover, beside the pedestrian behavior, creating safe environment, especially for students is one of the trending interventions. Studies on evaluating the effects of cars new designs and technologies on pedestrian safety were very few and needed to be focused.

Automated summary

This study reviewed and summarized interventions related to pedestrian safety around the world. Educational interventions, engineering, and law enforcement interventions were the most common. The use of virtual reality and simulation-based trainings is becoming more popular. Most studies on educational interventions reported positive effects on pedestrian behaviors. Combined interventions also yielded more positive outcomes.