Investigating Improvements to Pedestrian Crossings with an Emphasis on the Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon PUBLICATION NO. FHWA-HRT-15-043 JUNE 2015 Research, Development, and Technology Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101-2296 FOREWORD The overall goal of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Research Program is to improve safety and mobility for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers to share roadways, through the development of safer crosswalks, sidewalks, and pedestrian technologies, and the expansion of educational and safety programs. This report documents an FHWA project that investigated how characteristics of rapid-flashing beacons (e.g., shape, size, and brightness) affect the ability of drivers to detect people or objects along the roadway and the likelihood of drivers yielding to a pedestrian. This report should be of interest to engineers, planners, and other community authorities who share an interest in safeguarding the lives of roadway users, especially pedestrians. Monique R. Evans Director, Office of Safety Research and Development Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document. Quality Assurance Statement The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality improvement. TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. FHWA-HRT-15-043 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Investigating Improvements to Pedestrian Crossings With an Emphasis June 2015 on the Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Kay Fitzpatrick, Raul Avelar, Ingrid Potts, Marcus Brewer, James Robertson, Chris Fees, Jessica Hutton, Lindsay Lucas, and Karin Bauer 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Texas Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System 11. Contract or Grant No. College Station, TX 77843-3135 DTFH61-08-D-00032 Task Order #4 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Office of Safety Research and Development Technical Report: Federal Highway Administration September 2010–March 2015 6300 Georgetown Pike 14. Sponsoring Agency Code McLean, VA 22101-2296 15. Supplementary Notes The Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) was Ann Do, HRDS-30. 16. Abstract Several methods have been used to emphasize the presence of a pedestrian crossing, including supplementing signing with beacons or embedded light-emitting diodes. A device that has received national attention is the rectangular rapid-flashing beacon, but practitioners have asked whether the shape of the beacon plays a role in the effectiveness of this device. In the first phase of this project, researchers reviewed recent literature and pedestrian crash data to identify trends in pedestrian safety and in the effectiveness of crossing treatments. Researchers also conducted limited field observations at 10 crosswalks in 5 States, as a source of ideas for evaluating crossings in the second phase of the project. In phase II of the project, the research included a closed-course study and an open-road study to determine what characteristics of rapid-flashing beacons affected drivers’ ability to detect people or objects, as well as drivers’ likelihood of yielding to a pedestrian. The closed-course study included 71 participants who drove the course and viewed 8 beacon study assemblies, 9 distractor signs, and up to 11 roadside objects. The open-road study involved both rectangular beacons and circular beacons that were installed at 12 sites located in 4 cities from 3 States; both staged and nonstaged pedestrian crossings were documented. Although a slight difference was found between the average percent yielding to circular versus rectangular beacons (daytime: 67 to 59 percent; nighttime: 69 to 72 percent), the statistical evaluation determined that the shape of the beacon did not have a significant effect on drivers’ responses. However, a driver is more than three times as likely to yield when a beacon has been activated as when it has not been activated. Other variables that had an impact on driver yielding included beacon intensity (for nighttime) and city (yielding was higher in Flagstaff, AZ, compared with the other cities included in study), but not average daily traffic. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacon, Circular Rapid- No restrictions. This document is available to the public Flashing Beacon, RRFB, CRFB, Pedestrian Crossing, through the National Technical Information Service Driver Yielding to Pedestrians Springfield, VA 22161. http://www.ntis.gov/about/contact.aspx 19. Security Classif.(of this report) 20. Security Classif.(of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 266 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized SI* (MODERN METRIC) CONVERSION FACTORS APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS TO SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH in inches 25.4 millimeters mm ft feet 0.305 meters m yd yards 0.914 meters m mi miles 1.61 kilometers km AREA in2 square inches 645.2 square millimeters mm2 ft2 square feet 0.093 square meters m2 yd2 square yard 0.836 square meters m2 ac acres 0.405 hectares ha mi2 square miles 2.59 square kilometers km2 VOLUME fl oz fluid ounces 29.57 milliliters mL gal gallons 3.785 liters L ft3 cubic feet 0.028 cubic meters m3 yd3 cubic yards 0.765 cubic meters m3 NOTE: volumes greater than 1000 L shall be shown in m3 MASS oz ounces 28.35 grams g lb pounds 0.454 kilograms kg T short tons (2000 lb) 0.907 megagrams (or "metric ton") Mg (or "t") TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oF Fahrenheit 5 (F-32)/9 Celsius oC or (F-32)/1.8 ILLUMINATION fc foot-candles 10.76 lux lx fl foot-Lamberts 3.426 candela/m2 cd/m2 FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS lbf poundforce 4.45 newtons N lbf/in2 poundforce per square inch 6.89 kilopascals kPa APPROXIMATE CONVERSIONS FROM SI UNITS Symbol When You Know Multiply By To Find Symbol LENGTH mm millimeters 0.039 inches in m meters 3.28 feet ft m meters 1.09 yards yd km kilometers 0.621 miles mi AREA mm2 square millimeters 0.0016 square inches in2 m2 square meters 10.764 square feet ft2 m2 square meters 1.195 square yards yd2 ha hectares 2.47 acres ac km2 square kilometers 0.386 square miles mi2 VOLUME mL milliliters 0.034 fluid ounces fl oz L liters 0.264 gallons gal m3 cubic meters 35.314 cubic feet ft3 m3 cubic meters 1.307 cubic yards yd3 MASS g grams 0.035 ounces oz kg kilograms 2.202 pounds lb Mg (or "t") megagrams (or "metric ton") 1.103 short tons (2000 lb) T TEMPERATURE (exact degrees) oC Celsius 1.8C+32 Fahrenheit oF ILLUMINATION lx lux 0.0929 foot-candles fc cd/m2 candela/m2 0.2919 foot-Lamberts fl FORCE and PRESSURE or STRESS N newtons 0.225 poundforce lbf kPa kilopascals 0.145 poundforce per square inch lbf/in2 *SI is the symbol for the International System of Units. Appropriate rounding should be made to comply with Section 4 of ASTM E380. (Revised March 2003) ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................... 1 STUDY OBJECTIVE ............................................................................................................... 2 SCOPE OF WORK .................................................................................................................. 3 STUDY APPROACH ............................................................................................................... 3 REPORT ORGANIZATION................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................... 7 PREVIOUS OPEN-ROAD RESEARCH ON RECTANGULAR RAPID-FLASHING BEACONS ........................................................................................................................... 7 Original FHWA Study on RRFB ............................................................................................ 7 2009 FHWA Study ................................................................................................................. 8 2009 Florida Study .................................................................................................................. 8 2011 Texas Study .................................................................................................................... 8 2011 Oregon Study ................................................................................................................