Investigating the dynamics of collective behavior among pedestrians crossing roads: A multi-user virtual reality approach

The utility maximization theory, based on the rationality of human beings, has proven effective in modeling pedestrians' decision-making processes while crossing roads. However, there are still unexplained variations in crossing behavior, and deviations from the rational utility model frequently occur in real-life scenarios. This experimental study sheds new light on the presence of inter-individual interactions among pedestrians and the nature of collective behaviors during road crossings. The present study develops a multi-pedestrian virtual reality simulator specifically designed to investigate the impact of social interaction on pedestrians' eye-scanning patterns, perceived responses, crossing behaviors, and the associated crash risk. Our findings indicate that the collective behavior significantly influences pedestrians' behaviors by diverting their attention from essential eye-scanning patterns that reflect their cognitive processes. Pedestrians in pairs exhibit a higher tendency to fixate on each other, spend less time in the decision phase, walk at a slower pace during the crossing phase, and consequently face a higher degree of exposure to dangerous situations compared to when crossing alone. Encouraged by these findings on the effects of social interaction, we discuss preventive strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of collective behavior and foster pedestrians' safety awareness.