Investigating pedestrian safety-related behavior in developing countries: Egypt as a case study

Understanding pedestrian behavior and road safety culture is essential for improving traffic safety in developing countries. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the validity for applying the Pedestrian Behavior Scale (PBS) in Egypt to explore the pedestrian behaviors in developing countries and to investigate the relationship of these behaviors across demographic variables. A Pedestrian Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ) was conducted in Egypt containing behavioral items and demographic questions with a total of 567 participants. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was applied to assess the number of behavioral factors that express the pedestrian behaviors. The analysis showed that the Egyptian pedestrian behaviors consist of four factors, including transgressions (violations and errors), lapses, aggressive behaviors, and positive behaviors. T-test and ANOVA were conducted to explore the significant difference across gender, age groups and education level. Furthermore, linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate how the examined variables influence the behavioral factors. The current study showed that the Pedestrian Behavior Scale (PBS) is an effective tool for investigating Egyptian pedestrian’s behaviors. This study added a validation for applying the PBS to explore the pedestrian behaviors in developing countries such as Egypt and to understand the variables affecting the pedestrian behaviors. The findings can be used by infrastructure agencies to enhance educational road safety programs and enact appropriate laws, which could reduce the number of pedestrian-related crashes.