To cross or not to cross? Regaining behavioural control in streets

I find myself stuck at crossroads (quite literally!). "Are my nerves decaying? Am I getting old already? Where do I look? left? right? Straight down the path? Above? Below?", I ask myself every time I attempt to walk across the streets. I see speeding motorists, hawkers, school students, office goers, stray dogs, cats and bulls, buses, three wheeler autos and myself- all trying to make sense and find space in a limited built environment. A fellow pedestrian tells me, "cross, otherwise, you will be standing here all day, just show your hand and walk across." I wondered if the man possessed superpowers, his hand, enough to stop speeding buses and cars in a busy, crowded junction.?

Psychologically, our mind races in such active environments. N number of external stimuli in places such as streets, parks, even shopping malls, compete to grab the smallest piece of our attention. Blaring horns, speeding motorists, the sound of combustion engines, the pressure of reaching work on time, potholes and puddles, a cute stray dog wagging its tail in awe of seeing you, conversations, safety cues (such as road signs, zebra crossings, traffic signals etc), the scorching summer heat or winter winds, are some external factors that influence our behaviour on streets and public places. There are several other factors too, such as gender, education and accessibility which contribute to behaviour. Our mind cannot equally pay attention to every stimulus, therefore we find ourselves figuring out what to pay attention to. Urgency and lack of control over the built environment leads us to make irrational and unhealthy choices.

Such chaotic situations are perfect conditions for humans to behave irrationally. I will admit, I have jaywalked many times, crossed roads dangerously, sometimes out of need, and subconsciously otherwise. Our decision making is often impulsive, seeking immediate gratification over long term gains. This is called hyperbolic discounting. Hyperbolic discounting is our inclination to choose immediate gains over those that come later in the future, even if the long term gains are greater. These gains may not just be material, but emotional too. This often leads to poor decision making. Short term gains detract humans from their long term well-being (The Decision Lab). We can also say that the value we assign to rewards decreases with time.?

The immediate need to cross the road to get to work on time discounts our safety, and long term well-being, making us prone to accidents and injuries. Self-control is closely linked to hyperbolic discounting. In our streets, we often feel out of control, forced to make short term, impulsive and risky decisions. Though zebra crossings are present as safe corridors for us to cross, humans require additional nudging to feel in control of situations. At the point of action, where a human makes a choice, a nudge may make them reconsider their impulsive decision. For example, boldly painted 'LOOK RIGHT ->' and '<- LOOK LEFT' messages on kerbs can allow us to pause and rethink how we want to cross the road. Humans are more perceptive to edges than rounds. Marking pedestrian crossings using white square boxes denotes a clear boundary which should not be crossed. There may be a similar reason to why we choose to walk in between square tiles and not on the boundary. Alarmed and buttoned crossing signals offer a sense of control to us. After pressing the signal button, we take responsibility for our next action. If we choose to behave riskily, the action of having pressed the crossing signal button will place greater liability on us. and so we will wait for a crossing cue from across the road and then cross safely. With such cues, we regain some degree of control over our impulses and are cued to think about our long term well-being.?

The goal should however be targeting and improving driver behaviour since pedestrians are the most vulnerable and priority users of public spaces. In densely populated metropolises like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, pedestrian and vehicular traffic is high, complimentary behaviour oriented road safety interventions for both drivers and pedestrians can have a profound impact on road safety. Simple cues and signs using behavioural insights can help us navigate better, plan our actions and engage in safer practices.