REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON WARRANTS FOR PEDESTRIAN WALK SIGNALS

IN CITIES ONE-HALF TO THREE-QUARTERS OF THE TRAFFIC DEATHS ARE TO PEDESTRIANS AND A RECOGNITION OF THIS FACT IS CAUSING ATTENTION TO BE FOCUSED ON THE PEDESTRIAN PROBLEM. TEN TO 15 PER CENT OF THE URBAN PEDESTRIAN PROBLEM IS CENTERED AT SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS. IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT TWO TO THREE TIMES AS MANY PEDESTRIANS ARE KILLED WHILE CROSSING AGAINST THE SIGNAL AS OBEYING IT, THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT ON SIGNAL CONTROL. IN RECOGNITION OF THESE FACTS, THIS COMMETTEE WAS APPOINTED TO INVESTIGATE VARIOUS METHODS OF REGULATING PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC BY MEANS OF SIGNALS, TO EVALUATE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS, AND TO RECOMMEND THE PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH FUTURE APPLICATION OF TRAFFIC SIGNALS FOR PEDESTRIAN CONTROL SHOULD BE BASED. THE COMMITTEE UNDERTOOK BY QUESTIONNAIRE TO LEARN THE EXPERIENCE IN CITIES WITH PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL CONTROL WHERE PEDESTRIAN PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN PUBLICIZED OR WHERE PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN PURCHASED. THE RETURNS INDICATED A WIDE VARIETY OF METHODS FOR OPERATING PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS, A LACK OF UNIFORMITY IN THE PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL INDICATION, AND AN INADEQUACY OF DATA AS TO THE EFFECT OF PEDESTRIAN SIGNALS ON PEDESTIAN OBSERVANCE AND PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS. FOR CLARIFYING THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF PEDESTRIANS AND MOTORISTS THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS LEGISLATION OF WHICH THE PRINCIPAL FEATURES ARE AS FOLLOWS: (1) REQUIRES PEDESTRIAN TO START TO CROSS THE STREET ONLY ON A GREEN OR WALK SIGNAL; (2) PROHIBITS PEDESTRIAN FROM CROSSING STREET AT ANY POINT BETWEEN INTERSECTIONS UNLESS A CROSSWALK HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED; (3) REQUIRES VEHICLES WAITING AT A SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION TO REMAIN ABSOLUTELY STATIONARY UNTIL THEIR SIGNAL DISPLAYS A GREEN SIGNAL AND THE GREEN SIGNAL ONLY; AND (4) REQUIRES MOTORISTS TO YIELD THE RIGHT-OF-WAY TO PEDESTRIANS WHO HAVE LEGALLY ENTERED THE STREET ON A GREEN OR WALK SIGNAL UNTIL THOSE PEDESTRIANS HAVE REACHED A POINT OF SAFETY. /AUTHOR/

• Record URL:
  • https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbproceedings/20/20-041.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Vol 20, pp 694-701. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Sorenson, L J
  • Canning, W S
• Publication Date: 1941

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Monograph Title: Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board Held at Washington, D.C. December 3-6, 1940
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Proceedings
  • Volume: 20
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crosswalks; Laws; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Pedestrian vehicle interface; Traffic conflicts; Traffic signals
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00225973
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Aug 15 1971 12:00AM