Differences in street crossing behavior between virtual and real environments for different groups of people under restricted use sites

The crossing behavior of pedestrians in virtual reality (VR) environments has been extensively used in traffic safety research; however, the kinematic differences compared to real-world situations remain insufficiently explored. This study constructed a virtual scene that accurately matches real road conditions and recruited 179 participants of various ages to conduct crossing experiments at three speeds: normal walking, fast walking, and normal running, within three distinct environments: real, spacious virtual, and narrow virtual. Using motion capture and questionnaires, parameters such as gait, trajectory, and limb angles, as well as subjective experiences, were quantified. The findings indicate that differences between real and virtual environments primarily manifest in speed, stride length, and trajectory deviation, while limb angles representing core movements showed no significant differences. In the spacious virtual environment, pedestrian trajectories maintained a straight line during the initial 50% (approximately 2.81 ± 0.15 m), with deviations increasing with age and speed; conversely, the narrow virtual environment resulted in significant distortions in movement patterns. Post-experiment, participants estimated the onset of dizziness at 16.9 ± 2.79 min. Analysis of individual differences revealed high consistency in movements within both environments, yet substantial variability existed among participants. Based on these findings, this research recommends conducting VR crossing experiments in spacious settings, at normal speeds, and limiting walking distance to approximately 2.8 m to ensure participant safety and comfort while obtaining data that closely reflect real-world pedestrian kinematics. This guideline provides empirical support for future high-fidelity traffic safety studies using VR technology.