Can the appearance of the street affect its safety? According to Ohio State University research, apparently yes. According to research results, on city streets that look like highways to drivers, there is a greater chance of accidents with serious consequences.
The study, which was conducted in the city of Columbus in the American state of Ohio, analyzed about 240,000 photos. Photos were taken through the Google Street View service using AI. It has been shown that streets with more road surfaces, more signs and a more visible horizon (sky) have 48% more accidents with serious consequences.
Namely, the algorithm sorted the types of city streets into four segments. As it turned out, streets that resemble or are highways in their appearance and composition have the highest percentage of serious accidents. And that would not be so strange, if that correlation did not remain even when other elements were excluded. Elements such as speed and other limitations had no effect. That means that two streets with exactly same rules and restrictions will have different statistics when it comes to safety. As one of the reasons, the research concluded that how the street looks to the driver.
Conclusions of scientists
Scientists have concluded that this psychological factor affects the driver’s behavior through other details as well. The results showed that streets with more trash cans are safer. The reason for this is that by looking at the street furniture, drivers conclude what kind of street it is. And based on that, what unforeseen circumstances can happen. Thus, in streets with more trash cans, they expect more pedestrians and obstacles, so they adapt their driving accordingly.
The conclusion the study draws is that a certain street layout can give a driver confidence and encourage them to drive fast even when it is not. Scientists believe that in the future, planners must find a way to deal with this problem when designing streets. Although this could reduce the capacity and performance of the infrastructure, the benefit of a safer road would be significantly greater.
