A pedestrian's smile and drivers' behavior: When a smile increases

careful driving

Summary

Accidents happen everyday and people’s lives are lost in every moment. But there are
simple solutions that can be discovered in a human’s behavior. The purpose of this study is to
evaluate how a pedestrian’s smile can influence a driver’s behavior. Across all of Europe, over
8000 pedestrians are killed because of traffic accidents and a quarter of them die while crossing
the street. For example a huge number of deaths occur in France, where 50% of all accidents
happened on a pedestrian crossing. One major problem identified in this country is the lack of
visibility regarding zebra crossings and the aggressive behavior of drivers.

The main goal of this study is to show what impact does a nonverbal behavior can have
between pedestrians and drivers and how a simple action can save lives. First of all, smiling in
general enhances a positive social relationship between people. Numerous studies conducted on
this kind of behavior offered positive results in leadership, optimism, sincerity, kindness and so
forth. Smiling targets are perceived more positively across many different dimensions.

Secondly, smiling influences an individual’s behavior in almost every situation. For

example, patrons in a bar give larger tips to a waitress who approches them with a broad smile
than a minimal smile. Even spontaneous helping behavior can happen because of a smile, or when
eye contact together with a smile can create a nonverbal comunication between people.

Finally, all human behavior is influenced by actions that determine the mood of the person
and the situation. The effect of smiling on drivers can be diverse because of a few factors. Males
and females participated in a study where hitchhikers and motorits interacted based on a smile. In
half the cases, the motorists stopped for women, because they paid attention to the facial
expressions of the individual at the roadside, which in turn influenced their decision to stop.

In the current study, the authors decided to investigate whether a smile could influence
other types of behavior associated with driving. The first experiment included 1600 motorists
driving their cars in the middle of town between 2 and 5 p.m. They were tested by two male and
two female undergraduate students. The result suggested that 50% of drivers stopped their car and
allowed the pedestrians to cross the street because they smiled at them.

The second experiment included 1200 motorists driving their cars in several streets of a
town between 10 to 11:30 a.m. Two male and two female students served as research assistants
and were instructed to walk on the pavement until the first car arrived. Then the assistants will
stop, star in the direction of the car and look at the driver’s face. The four students were instructed
to smile and use different streets for this test. The difference betweend the first and the second
experiment consists in the zebra crossing: in the first one the pedestrians were instructed to cross
one, while in the second one they just crossed the street without any markings. The results were
similiar to those of the first experiment, with 51% of drivers stopping their cars and allowing the
research assistants to cross the street because they smiled at them.

The third experiment focused on detail based on the connection between the drivers and
the pedestrians. The most important detail is physical attractiveness and how drivers perceive
hitchhikers and pedestrians. Male drivers stopped more often to offer a lift to a female hitchhiker
with blond hair than with brown or black hair. Facial makeup was esential to enhance a woman’s
physical attractiveness. 52% of male drivers and 62% female drivers stopped their cars when they
were greeted with a smile.

At the final experiment 86 motorists participated: 45 men and 41 women. The experiment
took place from 10 to 11:30 a.m. and from 2 to 4 p.m. on sunny days during the winter. The
experiment was conducted in streets where the speed limit was 30km per hour. One female student
served as a research assistant in this study and she was dress casual with jeans, T-shirt and trainers.
Male and female drivers stopped and allowed the female assistant to cross the street based on her
physical appereance and the way she smiled to the drivers.

The results of the experiment supported the hypothesis that motorists drive more slowly
after receiving a smile from a pedestrian who is at a pedestrian crossing. This suggests that a smile
may have induced a good mood, which in turn led the driver to drive more slowly.

All of these three experiments showed the importance of a smile in a situation where
people’s lives where in danger. While traffic accidents can happen anywhere, the results of these
experiments explained in detail the primary aim of this study. At pedestrians crossings,
significantly more drivers stop to allow a pedestrian to cross the street when he or she smiles at
the driver. This positive effect of a smile on a drivers’ behavior was felt by both male and female
drivers. The second experiment shows that the effect of the smile can occur even in ares with no
pedestrians crossing the road.

The third and final experiments shows that motorists drive more slowly after receiving a
smile from a pedestrian crossing the road than when no smile is given. This is a very important
detail that can help save lives from numerous traffic accidents. Receiving a smile from someone
increases positive mood in almost every situation. In this situation between pedestrians and drivers
can mean the difference between life and death. In the cause of France, where the three experiments
were conducted, 50% of the pedestrians killed in the traffic accidents were hit by a car while using
a pedestrian crossing in an urban area. In most cases, the drivers were aggressive and didn’t pay
attention to the pedestrians. But there were cases when most drivers calmed down when a
pedestrian smiled at them before crossing the street.

In the future, people will look for new methods to create a friendly environment for both
pedestrians and drivers, so that human lives can be saved by using simple and nonverbal actions
such as smiling. The effect of such a normal and warm feeling can change the mood of most people
in many situations, and this suggests that further types of nonverbal behavior such as posture,
gesture, body appearance could be studied and analysed for a greater good.