2024 Volume 80 Issue 8 Article ID: 23-00208
In 2018, a traffic accident occurred at a bus stop in Yokohama City. A 10-year-old girl who got off the bus and crossed behind the bus was struck by an oncoming vehicle. In response to it, bus stops have been relocated or removed to improve safety at bus stops in Japan. However, there has been no widespread use of cautionary measures at bus stops targeting regular drivers. In addition, previous studies and surveys have focused on crossings outside of crosswalks at bus stops, not crossings from the shadows of buses and crossings while attempting to get on a bus. This study aims to clarify the actual situation of crossings by bus passengers, focusing on crossings from the shadows of buses and on crossings while attempting to get on buses. Observations from inside buses suggested that the rate of crossing at 10 m in front of and behind buses was high at the bus stops in front of stations. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the rate of crossing at 10 m in front of and behind buses is higher when the speed limit is 30 km/h, when the traffic signal is far away, and when there is a non-signalized intersection on the opposite side of the road. Based on the results of this analysis, we suggested that road markings should be provided at bus stops with non-signalized intersections because they reduce the danger of both crossings from the shadow of buses and crossings from the shadow of non-signalized intersections.