Delving into the visual attention of pedestrians during street crossing under time pressure: An eye-tracking approach

Pedestrian safety is a major concern, especially in heterogeneous traffic conditions like those commonly seen in India. In such complex environments, how the visual attention is directed to different traffic elements, especially under time pressure, plays a key role in understanding their decision-making and improving their situational awareness. To analyze these visual patterns, the present study examines Average Fixation Duration (AFD) as an indicator of visual attention across several Areas of Interest (AOIs), including two-wheelers, cars, heavy vehicles, signal heads, and the intersection area. Experiments were conducted in a virtual environment that simulated a real-world signalised intersection, using a projector-based pedestrian simulator integrated with an eye-tracker. A total of 62 participants completed crossing trials under three experimentally manipulated time pressure levels: No Time Pressure (NTP), Low Time Pressure (LTP), and High Time Pressure (HTP). The results showed that different levels of time pressure had a clear and significant impact on how pedestrians directed their visual attention toward various Areas of Interest (AOIs). In addition, the study examined other influencing factors, including head-turning behavior before and during crossing, as well as different temporal compliance categories: temporal compliance, non-dangerous temporal non-compliance (TNC), and dangerous TNC. These factors were also found to have a noticeable effect on pedestrians' visual attention patterns. Ultimately, this study provides new insights into pedestrian situational awareness and visual strategies, with practical implications for intersection design.