01590403

Component

This study evaluated the safety effectiveness as well as economic benefits of pedestrian countdown signals (PCSs) for all pedestrians and pedestrians 65 years and above. The first part of this study deals with a perception survey of drivers and pedestrians in Michigan while the second and third parts deal with crash and economic analyses, respectively. A before and after study with a comparison group methodology was used to evaluate the effectiveness of PCSs. Geometric, land use characteristics as well as traffic data for each of the treated sites were used as the basis for selecting the comparison group. The perception survey results, as expected, indicated that there is a very strong preference of PCS for deciding when to start crossing, adjusting walking speed (if already started crossing), and feeling of safety. The crash analysis results indicated a nearly 32 percent reduction for all pedestrian crashes (all ages and all severities) and a reduction of 65 percent in total (all severities) crashes for pedestrian 65 years and above. An economic analysis conducted also showed a tremendous benefit-cost ratio of 122 to 1 for PCS. The findings in this study are consistent with previous studies documented in the literature review section.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ANF00 Section - Pedestrians and Cycles. Alternative title: Evaluating Effectiveness of Pedestrian Countdown Signals on Pedestrian Safety

01584066

16-4159

English

17p

2016

Transportation Research Board 95th Annual Meeting

Web

Figures; Maps; Photos; References (18) ; Tables

Aged drivers; Benefit cost analysis; Crash rates; Crosswalks; Highway safety; Pedestrian clearance interval (Traffic signals)

Countdown traffic signals

Michigan

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2016 Paper #16-4159

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 12 2016 5:50PM