Pedestrians are second class road users

This paper took its starting point with the results of a project in the 4th Framework Programme of the European Union. This project was called WALCYNG - Walking and Cycling instead of short car trips. The aim of this project was to develop ideas on what could help to reduce short car trips in Europe and to replace them by other modes of transport, especially the non-motorised ones .Two conclusions derived from this project had a strong influence on the development of the book that will be presented here: 15 to 20 % of all car trips in Europe are shorter than 1 km, corresponding to a 10 to 15 minutes walking distance; A road user-oriented approach is needed in order to understand what makes people stick to the car in spite of strong arguments and good opportunities to change, and what keeps them from walking, especially. Technical innovations to encourage and facilitate walking are considered from the viewpoints of pedestrians and habitual car users in the light of the conflict of interests between the two groups. One important barrier to walking that road users in several European countries mentioned in the frame of WALCYNG was the perception that as a pedestrian one feels like a second class road user, or even a second class citizen. The book that is presented here deals with this perception. It consists of three main parts that have been elaborated in the frame of a series of seminars at the Sociological Institute of the University of Vienna: A theoretical preparation of the subject, based on expert heuristics (students and lecturer together) and a state of the art. The view of experts and politicians, containing a portion of introspection, when answering psychological questions such as "do pedestrians have a reason to feel like second class citizens?" Road side interviews with pedestrians and car drivers. Arising from the study are seven recommendations for making the roads more pedestrian friendly. These include such issues as cleanliness, the introduction of facilities to make walking more attractive and priorities of pedestrians with respect to cars and cyclists. For the covering abstract see ITRD E136182.

• Authors:
  • Risser, R
  • WUNSCH, D
• Publication Date: 2003

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 11p
• Serial:
  • SAFE NON-MOTORISED TRAFFIC - PLANNING, EVALUATION, BEHAVIOURAL, LEGAL & INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES - PROCEEDINGS OF ICTCT (INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON THEORIES AND CONCEPTS IN TRAFFIC SAFETY) EXTRA WORKSHOP, VANCOUVER, CANADA, JUNE 2003

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Attitudes; Automobiles; Behavior; Conferences; Cyclists; Drivers; Pedestrians; Travelers
• ITRD Terms: 2267: Attitude (psychol); 9001: Behaviour; 1243: Car; 8525: Conference; 1742: Cyclist; 1772: Driver; 1733: Pedestrian; 1755: Road user
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Planning and Forecasting; Society; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01087422
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Jan 29 2008 10:33AM