Pedestrians' attributions of risk and safety in traffic: case of Türkiye
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55329/xmqd4969Keywords:
causal attributions, causal dimensions, low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), road safety, vulnerable road usersAbstract
Pedestrians constitute between 17%–33% of all road traffic deaths depending on the region. For this reason, factors influencing the risky as well as safe behaviours of pedestrians need to be examined. The current study aims to understand risk and safety attributions of this road user group. A total of 254 pedestrians aged between 18 and 68 participated in the study. The participants filled out a demographic information form and Causal Dimension Scale-II (CDSII), which is composed of a qualitative and a quantitative part. CDSII is a self-report measure assessing how individuals evaluate the causes of events in various dimensions. The CDSII was filled out twice by the respondents: once for the riskiest and once for the safest situations experienced as a pedestrian. For 6 out of 9 situations in which pedestrians feel at risk, the most common reason was problematic drivers. Elimination of and decrease in crash risk were the most important reasons for feeling safe in areas separating pedestrians and drivers. The results showed that there is a difference between causal evaluations of risky and safe situations. The findings of this study point out to several points that require attention. One of these is the driver-pedestrian interactions. To overcome this, effective enforcement and well-functioning infrastructural improvements can be suggested.
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Author Biographies
Gizem Findik, Turkish National Police Academy, Türkiye
Gizem Fındık is an Assistant Professor in Turkish National Police Academy. She received her master's and doctoral degrees in the field of traffic and transportation psychology in Middle East Technical University. She also completed her second master’s degree on occupational health and safety in the same university. Her main research interests include unsafe behaviours in traffic and occupational contexts.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Methodology, Writing—original draft.
Haluk Oğuz Öngören, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
Haluk O. Öngören is a graduate student at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where he also completed his Bachelor’s degree. His research interests focus on the impact of motivational variables across diverse life domains, including education and traffic behaviour.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Writing—review & editing.
Bahar Öz, Middle East Technical University, Türkiye
Bahar Öz is a Professor of Psychology and faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Middle East Technical University (METU). Dr. Öz's research is focused on traffic and transportation psychology. She has been conducting quantitative and qualitative research on driver behaviours, driver skills, and individual, social, and cultural characteristics in relation to people’s understanding of traffic context and their various types of reactions in this context. She has conducted studies with different road user groups, including professional drivers, motorcycle users, pedestrians, disabled, old, and young road users. In addition to her researcher and academician roles, Dr. Öz also works as the Advisor to the President for Academic Programs and Education at METU.
CRediT contribution: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing—review & editing.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Gizem Findik, Haluk Oğuz Öngören, Bahar Öz
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