A new study shows the combination of flashing beacons and a well-lit crosswalk makes drivers 13 times more likely to yield to pedestrians.
The study, from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Western Michigan University, compared the effects of different crosswalk lighting systems in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The intersections included T intersections, a four-way intersection and a midblock crosswalk.
In areas with few streetlights, drivers were more than three times as likely to yield to pedestrians at illuminated crosswalks than at dark ones. However, at lighted crosswalks that also include flashing yellow warning beacons, drivers were more than 13 times more likely to yield.
The study’s lead author, Wen Hu, senior research engineer at the IIHS, said the combination of the attention-grabbing beacon and a well-lit crosswalk area is far more effective than either one individually.
Being unable to see the pedestrian is the major factor in pedestrian deaths, according to the study. About 75% of the 7,522 pedestrians who died in U.S. motor vehicle crashes in 2022 were killed in the dark, according to figures cited by the IIHS.
Crossings marked with rectangular rapid flashing beacons, or RRFBs, feature yellow LEDs mounted to pedestrian or bicycle crossing signs that flash intermittently when activated by a person attempting to cross.
“These beacons alert the driver of the pedestrian, but they cannot help drivers to better see the pedestrian,” said Hu. “If they don’t see the pedestrian, they just drive through — they will not stop if they don’t see a pedestrian.
Hu said the key is for the driver to both be alerted to the presence of a pedestrian, and to be able to actually see the pedestrian crossing the street.
“These flashing beacons do not improve the pedestrian’s visibility, in terms of whether the drivers can see them,” said Hu.
Compared with overhead streetlights, pedestrians are made more clearly visible to drivers by crosswalk illuminators. The illuminators are LED floodlights that shine horizontally across the street — they can either be constant, or triggered by a pedestrian waiting to cross.
“These results show that crosswalk lighting and flashing beacons make pedestrians substantially safer in poorly lit areas,” said Hu. “Along with lower speed limits and road designs that discourage speeding, these simple solutions have the potential to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities.”
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