Long wait times may cause walkers to bypass pedestrian crossing beacons

January 22, 2025

Devices known as pedestrian hybrid beacons (PHBs) allow walkers who need to cross a busy road to essentially conjure up a stoplight by pressing a button. But while the devices are great at getting drivers to yield, many pedestrians don't bother to activate them before crossing, a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows.

In contrast, pedestrians are more likely to activate rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs), even though they're less effective at getting drivers to stop.

A key difference between the devices is that an RRFB instructs drivers to yield as soon as a pedestrian presses the button, while a PHB cycles through two yellow warning phases before it signals drivers to stop. Pedestrians appear more willing to activate slower-acting PHBs when the road is wide, traffic is heavy, or the vehicles are zooming past at higher speeds, IIHS researchers found.

"It's well-documented that both of these common pedestrian warning signals make drivers more likely to yield and allow walkers to cross the street safely," IIHS President David Harkey said. "But they can only do that if pedestrians push the button to activate them. This study offers valuable lessons for how we can make that more likely."

A rectangular rapid flashing beacon, or RRFB

RRFBs are yellow LEDs mounted to pedestrian or bicycle crossing signs that flash intermittently when activated by a person attempting to cross. They begin flashing immediately, and the pedestrian can cross as soon as they feel it is safe to do so.

PHBs consist of two red lights arranged horizontally above a single yellow one. When a pedestrian presses the button, the yellow light flashes and then remains lit for a short interval before both red lights come on for the drivers and a walk signal is displayed to the waiting pedestrian. Driving through the signal at that point is tantamount to running a standard stoplight. After another interval, the red lights begin flashing, signaling to drivers that they can proceed through the crosswalk if there are no pedestrians still in the roadway.

Stages of a pedestrian hybrid beacon

Previous research has shown that both devices reduce pedestrian crashes. However, few studies have examined how real-world pedestrians use them. Instead, most focus on how effective they are at getting drivers to yield when activated.

To add more detail to the picture, the IIHS study investigated yield rates and activation rates for the two types of beacons through video observations of more than 3,000 pedestrians crossing at various locations in North Carolina. Researchers also conducted a survey of 343 pedestrians who were observed crossing.

In general, regardless of the type of pedestrian signal used, activation rates increased and yielding rates decreased with higher speed limits and when traffic was heavy.

At locations where PHBs were deployed, drivers were more than twice as likely to yield to pedestrians when the lights were red as when the device was not activated, the researchers found. However, fewer than two-thirds of the people crossing at these locations chose to activate the signal.

At locations with RRFBs, drivers were about 80% more likely to yield when the lights were flashing than when they weren't activated, but 4 out of 5 pedestrians chose to press the button.

Waiting times were also 52% shorter for pedestrians seeking to cross at activated RRFBs than for those crossing at activated PHBs. Delays were likely longer for the PHBs because they cycle through two yellow warning periods before changing to red and giving the walk signal. In contrast, RRFBs begin flashing immediately and allow pedestrians to cross as soon as they feel it is safe.

The most common reasons that survey respondents gave for activating either type of signal were that traffic was heavy or fast-moving or that the road was wide. The observational study also showed that activation rates increased substantially under those conditions.

"It makes sense that pedestrians don't want to wait if they think they can get across the road safely," said Raul Avelar, IIHS senior research transportation engineer and lead author of the study. "That means pedestrian hybrid beacons, which drivers are more likely to treat like a red light at a regular traffic signal, may be more effective at the hairiest crossings, where pedestrians are more likely to use them. RRFBs should be installed at less challenging crossings, such as two-lane roads, where traffic is relatively light, or where speed limits are lower."

Other factors also influenced activation and yielding rates.

Pedestrians were much less likely to activate beacons in locations where the far side of the crossing was missing a sidewalk, for example. That may have been because the lack of a defined destination point resulted in more pedestrians crossing outside the crosswalk. On the other hand, activation was more common in school zones, at midblock locations, during periods with more traffic and when groups of pedestrians were crossing.

Drivers were more prone to yield at locations with a refuge island for pedestrians, in school zones and when groups of pedestrians were crossing. However, while activation rates were higher during heavy traffic times, yielding was more common during periods of relatively low traffic.

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