Crossing behaviors of drunk pedestrians unfamiliar with local traffic rules

Statistics indicate that alcohol consumption is heavily involved in tourism, with tourists likely to consume more alcohol than usual when visiting other countries. The risk of traffic collisions is also expected to increase when tourists are exposed to different traffic rules to those of their home country. To explore the crossing behaviors of drunk pedestrians under unfamiliar traffic rules, a virtual reality-based experiment was conducted in this study. The street crossing performances of 53 local pedestrians under different traffic rules, either familiar or unfamiliar to them, before and after alcohol intake were studied. Random-effect regression models were then established, which revealed that the perceptual-motor response was undermined by the effects of alcohol, particularly for young adults. In addition, aspects of the street environment, such as the unfamiliar direction of oncoming vehicles and the presence of traffic direction indicators (i.e., road markings), also contributed to the correct habitual looking behavior of pedestrians. Importantly, these findings clarify the negative effects of alcohol intake on pedestrian crossing performance under unfamiliar traffic rules and provide a basis for foreign travelers and policy makers to mitigate this problem.