Study: Drivers Exhibit Racial Bias To Blacks
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A study conducted by a University of Arizona planning expert reveals that it’s more dangerous for blacks than for whites to cross the street.
A multi-university research team involving University of Arizona transportation planning expert Arlie Adkins applied that question to the yielding behavior of motorists at crosswalks to examine potential racial bias. And, with a new $30,000 grant from the National Institute for Transportation and Community, the researchers have begun investigating the influence of gender-based bias on drivers’ stopping behavior.
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In the original investigation — the first known field experiment of its kind — the team found that African-Americans experienced a wait time about 32 percent longer than for whites before drivers chose to yield. The team also found that African-Americans were twice as likely as white pedestrians to be passed by multiple vehicles.
“We were surprised at just how stark the difference was,” said Adkins, an assistant professor in the UA School of Landscape Architecture and Planning and a transportation planning expert, noting that the team controlled for age, clothing and other socioeconomic factors of the pedestrians.
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