Hasselt University, Transportation Research Institute (IMOB), Agoralaan, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium.
Vias Institute, Haachtsesteenweg 1405, 1130 Brussel, Belgium.
Accid Anal Prev. 2019 Feb;123:211-221. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2018.11.021. Epub 2018 Dec 5.
Behavioural observation studies in road safety research collect naturalistic data of road users that are not informed (beforehand) of their participation in a research project. It enables the observation of behavioural and situational processes that contribute to unsafe traffic events, while possible behavioural adaptations due to the road users' recognition of being observed are minimized. The literature in this field is vast and diverse, with studies dating back to the 1930s. The aim of this paper is to summarize the research efforts in the domain of road user behavioural observation research to examine trends and developments of this type of research, using a scoping review. After the definition of certain selection criteria, 600 journal articles found in three major online databases were retrieved and included in this review. The number of publications regarding road user behavioural observation studies has increased rapidly during recent years, indicating the importance of behavioural observation studies to study traffic safety. Most studies collected data on car drivers (81%), while vulnerable road users have been observed in 32% of all studies, with pedestrians and (motor)cyclists as the most common road user types. The results showed that the main goal of behavioural observation is to monitor (51%), followed by the evaluation of a specific safety improving measure (38%) and the development of behavioural models (10%). Most topics relate to traffic events where interactions with other road users are necessary, indicating that the examination of behavioural processes underlying single-vehicle crashes has received little attention. The ongoing developments of automated video analysis software tools can be the next methodological step forward in video-based behavioural observation studies, since it enables a more objective data collection and data analysis process.
在道路安全研究中的行为观察研究收集道路使用者的自然主义数据，这些数据是在（事先）不知道他们参与研究项目的情况下收集的。它能够观察导致不安全交通事件的行为和情境过程，同时最大限度地减少由于道路使用者意识到被观察而可能产生的行为适应。该领域的文献非常广泛和多样化，研究可以追溯到 20 世纪 30 年代。本文的目的是总结道路使用者行为观察研究领域的研究工作，使用范围综述来检查这种类型研究的趋势和发展。在确定某些选择标准后，从三个主要在线数据库中检索到并包含在本综述中的 600 篇期刊文章。近年来，关于道路使用者行为观察研究的出版物数量迅速增加，这表明行为观察研究对于研究交通安全的重要性。大多数研究都收集了汽车驾驶员的数据（81%），而在所有研究中，观察到易受伤害的道路使用者占 32%，其中行人（和）摩托车驾驶员是最常见的道路使用者类型。结果表明，行为观察的主要目的是监测（51%），其次是评估特定的安全改进措施（38%）和开发行为模型（10%）。大多数主题都与需要与其他道路使用者互动的交通事件有关，这表明对导致单辆车碰撞的行为过程的检查关注甚少。自动化视频分析软件工具的不断发展可以成为基于视频的行为观察研究的下一个方法学步骤，因为它能够实现更客观的数据收集和数据分析过程。
