Influence Of The Cognition Of Road Traffic Laws On Red Light Violation

Red light violation affected traffic efficiency and jeopardized pedestrians' safety.Study of the influence of the cognition of road traffic laws on red light violation not only provided a basis for reducing red light violation,but also further confirmed the relations between cognition and behavior.Questionnaire was designed and current situation was investigated.An initial questionnaire of 34 items was compiled in three dimensions(legal cognition,legal concept and legal evaluation).The university students were chosen as the samples(sample one N=223and sample two N=199),for the project analysis,exploratory factor analysis,confirmatory factor analysis and reliability test.The formal questionnaire of 10 items in three dimensions with 58.82% of total variance explained was then acquired.The results of sample one(N=223)showed that participants' knowledge about traffic laws was insufficient,and that pedestrians' red light violation was owing to the pedestrian psychology,legal norms and road facilities.Field experiment was conducted,where participants(N=38)arrived at the subway station from the school gate within 5 minutes,and then filled out the cognitive questionnaire.On the way,participants passed a crossing with traffic lights.The behavior was observed,recorded,and scored.The results showed that there was no significant difference in cognitive scores,but the behavioral score of the unethical group(N=12)was higher than the behavioral score of the illegal group(N=25).The determination of the nature affected the decision-making.The frequency of daily red light violation filled in the test was scored.The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between the frequency of red light violation and their cognitive scores.It was assumed that the cognition of road traffic laws might influence the frequency of pedestrians' red light violation.E-prime experiment of a simulated cross-the-road task was designed based on field experiment.66 participants were divided into three groups: A,B,and C.Group A(N=21)filled in the cognitive questionnaire before the simulated cross-the-road task.Group B(N=29)completed the task and then filled in the questionnaire.Group C(N=16)filled in the questionnaire before completing the task,and then filled in the same questionnaire again.The results showed that there was a significant negative correlation between the cognitive scores and the frequency of red light violation of Group A,B,C and all participants.The frequency of red light violation of Group A was significantly higher than that of group B,but no significant difference in their cognitive scores.There was a significant positive correlation between the cognitive scores before the task and the cognitive scores after task in Group C,but the values of both cognitive scores were of no major difference.Red light violation could be reduced by improving legal cognition of traffic laws.People with high levels of legal cognition and regarding red light violation as unethical behavior was less likely to run the red light.Owing to the limited number of samples,the conclusion called for further study.The reason why the suggestion didn't play the expected role was a problem to be discussed.