Pedestrian Safety on Zebra Crossings

Safety on zebra crossings is a topic of increasing importance. Pedestrians don’t just get hit on highly frequented crossings in larger cities but another risk area are smaller towns and villages on main roads (Kantonsstrassen). Especially the elderly are at risk.

Despite what our impression might be, Switzerland doesn’t look good in the international comparison of pedestrian safety: the number of fatal accidents is more than twice as high as in Sweden. The number of accidents actually increased last year. And the winter months with shorter daylight hours, are particularly dangerous. Zebra crossings in Switzerland are not well lit in comparison to other countries.

Additionally, experts from the Beratungsstelle für Unfallverhütung (BfU) in Switzerland emphasise that the less a crossing is frequented, the more dangerous the crossing becomes. Car drivers don’t expect pedestrians at such crossings and therefore are less likely to stop.

So what impact would this “prototype sensor packed LED crossing” have on pedestrian safety? Flashing lights definitely catch more attention as we know from the flashing lights at British zebra crossings.

But until this technology is ready to be standardised, we need to take care of our safety ourselves: did you know that wearing light reflectors increases visibility from 25m (when dressed in dark clothing) to 140m?

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Luitgard Holzleg

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