The purpose of this study was to examine differences in comprehension between the inclusion and elimination of the flashing “Don't Walk” (FDW) on the pedestrian signal during the countdown phase. In Experiment 1, 300 people were shown, on a tablet, a digital video display of the walk symbol, the “Don't Walk” symbol, the countdown pedestrian signal (CPS) plus the FDW, and the CPS alone. Results indicated that pedestrians were more likely to consider crossing if they judged they had enough time to cross with the CPS alone than with the CPS plus the FDW and that this effect held for males and females and across all age categories. Experiment 2 examined how well pedestrians could determine how much time they required to cross streets of various widths. Participants viewed a CPS and were told to start crossing when they felt they had just enough time to cross. Participants had little dif-ficulty judging the time required for 40-ft, 60-ft, and 80-ft crossings. Most pedestrians could discriminate the time required without making significant changes in their walking speed. Another interesting finding was that pedestrians walked faster than typically reported in most studies in which they were timed starting at the onset of the walk. This is likely because pedestrians may walk more slowly when they know they have more than enough time to cross.
Countdown Pedestrian Signals
Legibility and Comprehension Without Flashing Hand
Transportation Research Record
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board ; 2519 , 1 ; 10-16
2015-01-01
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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