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Teaching pedestrian safety in virtual reality: A community-university collaboration

Johnston, A.
Sisiopiku, V.
Rodriguez, D. A.
Combs, Tabitha
Emeira, M.
Severson, J.
Schwebel, D. C.
Date
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Conference Contribution - unpublished
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Abstract
In 2012 the US pedestrian fatality rate increased 6%, with 4,743 deaths occurring that year, equivalent to almost 13 fatalities per day and more than one every two hours. Children aged 5-9 years accounted for 22% of pedestrian fatalities (NHTSA, 2012). Studies suggest young children often negotiate dangerous street environments when travelling unsupervised by adults to and from school (Martin, Lee, & Lowry, 2007) so not surprisingly, community-based initiatives like Walking School Bus and Safe Routes to School are flourishing. A major limitation of such programs, however, is they require adult invention or supervision as children walk. An alternative is to train children so they have skills to walk independently and safely. Virtual reality (VR) offers a safe environment to accomplish such training. In early research, we evaluated a prototype VR system to train children in pedestrian safety and discovered it was effective (Schwebel, McClure, & Severson, 2014). Recently, with funding from STRIDE and others, we developed a new VR system that is portable, durable and secure. Along with collecting data on its efficacy (results reported elsewhere), we placed the VR system in a local YMCA during summer 2014 to offer child pedestrian safety training to a broad community population. This report shares that experience.
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