Pedestrian planet: What 1,609 hours of YouTube driving from 133 countries teaches us about the world

Alam, M. S., Martens, M. H., Bazilinskyy, P.

Submitted for publication.

ABSTRACT Pedestrian crossing behaviour varies globally. This study analyses dashcam footage from the PYT dataset, covering 133 countries, to examine decision time to cross, crossing speed, and contextual variables, including detected vehicles, traffic mortality, GDP, and Gini. Bulgaria had the longest decision time (10.50 s), while San Marino exhibited the fastest crossing speed (1.14 m/s). A global negative correlation between speed and decision time (r = -0.54) suggests that more cautious or uncertain pedestrians cross more slowly. Regional differences reveal stronger inverse correlations in Europe and North America, likely due to varying infrastructure, regulation, and cultures. Pedestrian decision time is positively correlated with the presence of other road users, especially bicycles (r = 0.35). Similar crossing times in countries with different infrastructures, such as Belgium and India, underscore the complex interaction between infrastructure and behavioural adaptation. These findings emphasise the importance of culturally aware road design and the development of adaptive interfaces for vehicles.