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Zebra crossings are designed to ensure that pedestrians can cross from one pavement to the other safely. However, this isn’t always so. According to data from Statista, in 2020 346 pedestrians were killed on British roads.
To avoid this, better infrastructure is needed, but also greater awareness among drivers, who should exercise extreme caution when driving in cities, and among pedestrians, who must take better care when crossing the street.
To meet the objective of ensuring compliance with regulations and preventing fatal road accidents, traffic authorities have deployed several strategies for zebra crossings. The most common is to install speed bumps before zebra crossings to slow vehicles down or speed cameras, which automatically penalise drivers who skip red lights. But, why not invest in technology to reduce the number of accidents?
Smart zebra crossings
As is already the case in other areas related to mobility and road safety, pedestrian crossings can also rely on technology to improve safety.
In fact, many cities are already using technology to help with signalling by installing smart zebra crossings to reduce accidents. These crossings feature sensors that detect pedestrians crossing the road from up to four metres away. The system uses white LED lights that alert drivers to the existence of pedestrians about to cross. This measure significantly reduces risk, allowing people to cross more safely.
Connected road safety
This technology, which is already in place in some Spanish cities, allows authorities to keep track of the number of pedestrians who use zebra crossings on a daily basis, thanks to data collected by the sensors which is automatically transmitted to a globally managed remote control centre. This represents another step forward towards smart roads and fewer road accidents.
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