Navigating Roundabouts: Challenges for Pedestrians

This is the Worst Intersection in the Netherlands 

Top Reasons That Cause a Dangerous Intersection

1 - Intersections That Have Confusing Navigation

What Makes a Dangerous Intersection

Look out for these 13 danger signs

5G Technology to Help Monitor Dangerous Intersections

What is a smart intersection and how does 5G help? 

The system of sensors, video-based detection, connected traffic signals, and remote monitoring capabilities, provided by traffic systems technology company Miovision, has been deployed across five intersections along a busy corridor in the heart of Detroit. Smart traffic technology from Miovision has already been deployed in over 40 percent of the intersections in Detroit and now San Diego is looking to do the same.

Continental and Panasonic are a few other companies in the smart intersections game.

Using the new AI technology, the intersections are able to sense and understand what’s happening on the roadways in real-time and trigger responses, such as:

1. Traffic lights that can lengthen green lights to accommodate cyclists who wouldn’t otherwise be able to make it through the intersection 
2. Alerts that warn drivers of connected cars or Waze (connected app) users that jaywalkers are ahead 
3. Traffic lights that provide priority access to emergency and police vehicles 
4. Intersections that understand and analyze the near misses between users such as pedestrians in the crosswalk, cyclists, and drivers 
5. Traffic lights allow for freight vehicles to have green light priority, encouraging freight use on certain intersections away from pedestrian-heavy corridors.
6. A faster network will also allow for autonomous driving in San Diego. Smart cars will rely on sensors around the city to pick up on someone running across the street or another car turning the corner.

Read more on the San Diego smart intersections project but unsure if this is being provided by Qualcomm.   

Can Bluetooth Technology Help Warn Distracted Pedestrians Looking at Their Phones?

The National Institutes of Health is spending over $170,000 studying how to crack down on distracted pedestrians looking at their phones when crossing the street by sending people warning messages on their phones to look at while they cross the street.

The study, being conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham, also involves tracking what college students are doing on their smartphones when they are near an intersection.

Researchers said an uptick in pedestrian deaths is likely linked to increased cell phone use. The proposed solution is sending an alert to the pedestrian's phone, which would then prompt them to look at the phone just as they are about to cross a busy intersection.

"Unlike most medical conditions, the pedestrian injury rate is currently increasing in the United States," according to the grant for the project. "This project will study the efficacy of an intervention to reduce distracted pedestrian behavior using smartphone technology."

"Over 4,800 American pedestrians die annually, a figure that is currently increasing," the grant states. "One hypothesized reason for the increasing trend in pedestrian injuries and deaths is the role of mobile technology in distracting both pedestrians and drivers. Existing behavioral interventions to reduce distracted pedestrian behavior are few."

"We propose to develop and then evaluate Bluetooth beacon technology as a means to alert and warn pedestrians when they are approaching dangerous intersections, reminding them to attend to the traffic environment and cross the street safely rather than engaging with mobile technology," the grant explains.

Bluetooth technology will be placed at intersection corners that will send college students an alert through an app, with a message, sound, or vibrating warning. The app might also freeze a user's cell phone screen when crossing the street.

"[F]or research purposes, the app also will download data concerning the users' behavior while crossing the street," the grant states, including if a user stops using their phone, put it in their pocket, or leaves music on.

The project began on Sept. 1 and has received $172,321 from taxpayers. The research will continue through August 2020.  

Narrative Pedestrian injuries kill over 5700 Americans annually, including about 665 young adults ages 18-25. Unlike most medical conditions, the pedestrian injury rate is currently increasing in the United States. This project will study the efficacy of an intervention to reduce distracted pedestrian behavior using smartphone technology.

USING BLUETOOTH BEACON TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE DISTRACTED PEDESTRIAN BEHAVIOR

Read more about the Grant. 

Seniors beware and also refer to this safety guide.

City Found Liable for Faded White Lines at Intersection

In a civil trial launched in Hamilton, Canada a court heard that the stop line on Fifth Concession Road West, where the sedan should have stopped, was faded and virtually invisible to drivers. The sedan instead stopped at the stop sign before pulling out into the intersection. According to the court documents, city staff had identified months earlier that the stop line needed repainting and had recommended it, but hadn't gotten around to it. Court heard there were "regular" accidents at that intersection. Years before the crash, a neighbor had petitioned to have reflective "tiger stripes" painted on the roadway there (which have since been added).

3D Crosswalk Street Paintings

Do 3D crosswalks slow traffic down?

A mother-daughter artist duo has designed a simple but potentially effective solution to a major road safety problem.