Effectiveness of Signal-Based Countermeasures for Pedestrian Safety: Findings from Pilot Study

This paper summarizes findings from a pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of signal-based countermeasures that may reduce conflicts and crashes and thereby enhance pedestrian safety. The countermeasures are pedestrian and driver oriented and consist of pedestrian-activated call buttons that light up to confirm activation, pedestrian countdown signals with animated eyes, and pedestrian-activated flashing yellow signals. The evaluations are based on field observations of pedestrian and driver behaviors before and after installation of the countermeasures at three sites (two intersections and one midblock location) in the Las Vegas, Nevada, metropolitan area. The countermeasures were evaluated with the following measures of effectiveness: pedestrians trapped in the roadway, signal cycles in which the call button was pushed, frequency of signal violation, pedestrians looking for vehicles before beginning to cross, pedestrians beginning their crossings during the “Walk” phase, pedestrians in the crosswalk at the end of the flashing “Don't Walk” phase, pedestrians who look for vehicles before crossing the second half of the street, captured pedestrians, diverted pedestrians (those who had to go out of their way to use the crosswalk or changed their course of action), drivers yielding to pedestrians, driver yielding or stopping distance before the crosswalk, drivers blocking the crosswalk, and drivers who come to a complete stop before making a right turn on red. The results showed improvements in pedestrians’ observational behavior for pedestrian-oriented countermeasures. Driver-oriented signal deployment improved the yielding behaviors of both drivers and pedestrians. These findings could be used to enhance pedestrian safety on arterial roads in other cities with similar demographic characteristics and traffic conditions.