Ahmedabad: How difficult is it for citizens to cross a road in this city? A recent study analysed this growing crisis of pedestrian-vehicle conflicts at one of the city’s most congested junctions.
Using video recordings at two different locations — the unsignalised Isanpur Crossroads and the signalised CTM Expressway junction — researchers counted both pedestrians and vehicles during peak hours, converting different vehicle types into standard “Passenger Car Units” (PCU) to allow for fair comparison.
Overall, the research found that pedestrians were accepting dangerous gaps of less than 2.55 seconds and also waiting over 33 seconds for crossing opportunities.
At the heart of this research is a simple formula called PV2 (P-V-squared). This formula multiplies the number of pedestrians crossing the road (P) by the square of vehicle volume (V).
Think of it as a “danger score” — when many pedestrians meet many vehicles, the risk of accidents increases dramatically.
The research also revealed that pedestrian “waiting time” directly influences risk-taking behaviour.
Researchers studied another characteristic called “Gap Acceptance” (GA) — the amount of time between passing vehicles that pedestrians feel is safe enough to cross.
Some people might dash across with only 2 seconds between cars, while others might wait for a 5-second gap. “When people wait longer than 33 seconds to cross, they become impatient and more likely to accept dangerous gaps,” mentioned the study by Shivang Chauhan of NIMS University, Rajasthan, Sanjay Dave of MS University, Jiten Shah IITRM, Ahmedabad, and Ashu Kedia of Urban Connection Ltd, New Zealand.
Pilot surveys were conducted at 12 distinct locations, with varying lane configurations, pedestrian facilities, and surrounding characteristics.
At the CTM Expressway junction, where 710 PCU/h (vehicles per hour) and 548 pedestrians passed through hourly, the PV2 value indicated medium-to-low risk.
This matched reality, as this junction already has pedestrian overpasses that separate people from traffic.
In stark contrast, the busy Isanpur Crossroads, with 9800 PCU/h and 1,399 pedestrians per hour, had a PV2 value exceeding 7.95 — more than 100 times higher. “At such locations, pedestrians were accepting dangerous gaps of less than 2.55 seconds while waiting over 33 seconds for crossing opportunities,” stated the study.