Precautionary street crossing by elderly pedestrians.

Street crossing behavior of pedestrians was observed under varying roadway conditions and traffic volumes. The extent to which pedestrians checked for oncoming traffic before crossing signal controlled intersections on a dangerous downtown street was observed. Contrary to the stereotypical portrayal of older pedestrians as being less cognizant of the traffic environment, pedestrians in this study over the age of fifty years were the most cautious. Older pedestrians were also more cautious under the most potentially hazardous crossing conditions: when roadways were snow- or ice-covered and when traffic volumes were low or moderate, allowing vehicles to move rapidly through intersections.