A study in New Zealand revealed that a pedestrian had a 28% greater chance of being hit in an official marked crosswalk than if he had simply jaywalked. A similar study in the United States also revealed that pedestrians using the crosswalks on higher traffic multi-lane roads had a greater chance of being hit by a car than did a jaywalker. Both of these studies involved crosswalks which had no other safety or signaling features.
Experts believe that the phenomenon is caused by a false sense of security on the part of the walkers because they are in a designated crossing area and that they pay far less attention to traffic hazards than if they are dashing across the street illegally.
The studies also reveal that the designated crosswalks are far safer if they equipped with a stop sign, traffic light, or other signal. Perhaps that is why New Zealand and Australia have taken the next step and adopted chirping crossing lights.
No comments:
Post a Comment