Risks to pedestrians in traffic systems with unfamiliar driving rules: a virtual reality approach.

•Pedestrian experiment was conducted with virtual reality simulation in a safe, repeatable and controllable way.•Significant differences exist on pedestrians’ habitual behavior between mainland China (ML) and Hong Kong (HK).•ML pedestrians show more inattentive looking-behaviors under the unfamiliar driving rule.•Significant relationships exist between inattentive looking-behaviors and time-to-collision.•To reduce risks under unfamiliar driving rules, more effective facilities should be considered.