Understanding wheelchair pedestrians’ road crossing behaviour and traffic safety needs in the Netherlands
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This study inquired into the experiences and behaviours of wheelchair users as pedestrians attraffic crossings. Pedestrians have been described as ‘the most vulnerable’ and ‘the leastphysically protected’ road users, respectively (AlKheder et al., 2022; Papadimitriou et al.,2013). People with disabilities encounter more and different problems in transportation thantheir socioeconomic peers (Flynn et al., 2023). Our literature review revealed 4 themesinfluencing pedestrians’ safety perception: (1) Own behaviour (e.g., walking frequency andattitude), (2) Other road users (e.g., number and behaviour), (3) Infrastructure (e.g., sidewalkquality, crossings, traffic) and (4) Temporary conditions (e.g., time of day, weather,obstructions). Little research has focused on wheelchair users’ safety perception while movingindependently in traffic situations. This study investigated wheelchair users’ road crossingbehaviour and traffic safety needs at a road crossing in an urban area in the Netherlands. Weposed the following research questions: 1. How does a wheelchair user behave when crossinga road in a Dutch urban area?, 2. What influences the (perception of) safety of wheelchair usersas pedestrians?, 3. What does a wheelchair user need to safely cross roads and participate intraffic? And 4. What affects wheelchair users' travel choices and behaviour?