This report is an evaluation of the effect of motor vehicle speed on yielding rates to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. The experimental design was to measure the 85th percentile speed at nine locations and then run 100 tests at each of the nine locations to check for motorist yielding for different speeds. After calculating the 85th percentile speed and using AASHTO guidelines to calculate Stopping Sight Distance (SSD), a cone was placed that distance away from the marked crosswalk and a pedestrian was asked to step out in the street to test yielding behavior used a staged experiment. Data were collected on site and recorded for analysis. Overall, there was an inverse correlation: the higher the motor vehicle speed, the lower the yield rate. Out of the eight two-lane roadways, the range started at a 75% yield rate for the 20 mph street and went to a 17% yield rate for the 37 mph street, a significantly lower yield rate. The one street that was fourlanes wide had only a 9% yield rate. The results are unequivocal in that speed was the major factor in the changing yield rates. The strong correlation pointed to a likelihood of low yield rates regionally on high-speed roadways, information that may prove useful for agencies looking to develop a pedestrian-friendly environment.
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