The Hawaii Pedestrian Crosswalk Safety Chronicles: Innovative Solution for Crosswalk Safety | InjuryBoard Honolulu

3/28/11 7:57 PM

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The Hawaii Pedestrian Crosswalk Safety Chronicles: Innovative Solution for Crosswalk Safety
Posted by Wayne Parsons May 06, 2009 2:39 PM 7 Comments Print Article Subscribe
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A primary mission of these articles is to promote

safety and make Hawaii a safer place for all of us. Everyone in the Islands is concerned about crosswalk deaths and pedestrian injuries. I have come across an innovative system that may help prevent these tragic events: InRoadway Warning Light (IRWL) systems.The system is called Smart Crosswalk and it looks pretty good to me. Motorists don't hit people in crosswalks on purpose, nor do pedestrians step in front of cars on purpose. On both sides of a crosswalk collision is a person who is not paying attention to some degree. So how do we get both the driver and the pedestrian to be more alert? This article focuses on the inattentive driver. Yes, I'm talking about cell phones, Ipods, French Fries and bad street lighting. It used to be that crossing the road was as simple as looking both ways before stepping out into the street. Often it seems that the only option is to dash and pray. But these days there are a myriad of technologies available to aid this passage from one side of the road to the next. There are flashing beacons placed at the side of the road or positioned in an overhead mast. There are countdown signal signs letting you know how long you have to make it across the street. Some cities have even resorted to handing out bight yellow pennant style flags you can wave as you make your crossing. Although these technologies may help to reduce the number of pedestrian fatalities, those fatalities remain a serious concern. For example, according to the National Pedestrian Crash Report, June 2008, in Hawaii, from 1997 to 2006, there were 276 pedestrian fatalities with 37% of these occurring in Honolulu. An AARP Hawaii survey of more than 50 of the state's busiest intersections confirms what many residents have suspected for years: Hawaii is one of the most dangerous places in the nation to be a pedestrian. According to the Honolulu Advertiser "By The Numbers":

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For every pedestrian killed in Hawai'i, about nine others were hospitalized and as many as 80 were treated in emergency rooms. Ages of those killed ranged from infancy to 94, but 60 percent were 65 or older, even though that age group represents only 11 percent of the state's population.

Fortunately, advances in technology and American ingenuity have come together with the invention of In-Roadway Warning Light (IRWL) systems , now federally approved for use on our streets and highways. They were invented by Michael Harrison in 1993, a former corporate pilot and President of LightGuard Systems, Inc. of Santa Rosa, California. In 1995, he received a US Patent for IRWL enhanced crosswalk systems (Patent Number 6,384,742 B1).

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The Hawaii Pedestrian Crosswalk Safety Chronicles: Innovative Solution for Crosswalk Safety | InjuryBoard Honolulu
These systems, now called the Smart Crosswalk, are in-pavement signal lights embedded across the lanes of traffic approximately two feet in front of a crosswalk. When not flashing, they are virtually invisible to the approaching motorist. When a pedestrian activates the devices, either manually or by automatic detection, the lights begin flashing outward toward the approaching motorist in a bright amber color. The system is designed specifically not to be seen by the pedestrian to avoid the potential for inducing a false sense of security.

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Interesting Links ABA Blawg - Honolulu Personal Injury Lawyer American Association of Justice Beyond Pesticides Brain & Spine Injury Law Blog Center For Justice & Democracy Cerebral Palsy, Erbs Palsy & Birth Injury Blog Commonweal Institute The in-pavement signal lights flash in just such a pattern and rate that they capture and hold the attention of the approaching motorist. This flash pattern/rate, called the Enlighten 1, was developed in cooperation with the University Vision Detection Laboratory in Berkeley California. These signal lights from the Smart Crosswalk system are designed to merge in a zone of convergence at the eye level of the approaching motorist. When this Enlighten 1 light enters into the eye, it travels to the primitive part of the brain that notices motion and movement. Commonweal Institute Blog Consumer Watchdog News Consumr Watchdog Blog Day On Torts Drug Injury Watch Environmental Working Group FDA Recalls Hawaii Court Rules Hawaii Courts: Case Search Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection Hawaii State Bar Association Honolulu Law News Honolulu Star Bulletin KGMB TV News KHON TV News Lance Armstrong Livestrong Legal Underground Mealey's Legal News Medical Device Recalls Motorcycles: Biker Law Blog My Shingle People Over Profits Public Citizen Public Justice The Daily Kos The Huffington Post The Legal Satyricon U.S. Consumer Product Safety Comission Recalls Volunteer Legal Services of Hawaii Wall Street Journal Law Blog Regional Blogs

Even inattentive motorists will notice something has changed and bring their attention to wards the in-pavement lights.

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LED enhanced signs are recommended to be installed along with the Smart Crosswalk. These illuminated signs provide a full array effect, adding to the effectiveness of these in-pavement signaling systems. Multiple independent studies have shown these IRWL enhanced crosswalk systems are highly effective in reducing motorist/pedestrian crosswalk conflict. Sensibility in the streets is a phrase that comes to mind when walking through one of these illuminated pedestrian crosswalks. I have been writing on crosswalk injuries and deaths in Hawaii for months and seeking ideas for a solution: Hawaii Pedestrians Face Crosswalk Threats by Wayne Parsons Another Pedestrian Death In Beretania Street Crosswalk by Wayne Parsons Honolulu Alert: Another Pedestrian Struck Down In A Crosswalk by Wayne Parsons And Hawaii isn't the only place where these horrible tragedies happen: Wichita Teen Killed; Sun May Be Factor In Crash by Chrissie Cole Hawaii journalists report on the deaths and injuries on the nightly news and the newspapers like I have done in my articles. Perhaps we all should focus on preventing these injuries and deaths by asking why innovative solutions like Smart Crosswalk aren't being used in Hawaii? I am hoping to hear from Hawaii legislators, State and County employees and safety experts in Hawaii about whether systems like Smart Crosswalk might save lives and make our streets safer. Have they been considered by the state and county governments? Are journalists aware of these devices? Tags: pedestrian injuries, crosswalk, safety, crosswalk injury, prevention, death, warning light, traffic signal devices

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7 Comments
Have an opinion about this post? Please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. Posted by Mike Bryant May 09, 2009 6:28 PM Sounds like a great idea. Hopefully, it gets Hawaii out of first and way down the list.

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The Hawaii Pedestrian Crosswalk Safety Chronicles: Innovative Solution for Crosswalk Safety | InjuryBoard Honolulu
Posted by Truckie D May 11, 2009 4:42 AM I really like the idea of the automated crosswalk lights. I'd love to see one in action to make sure the beamwidth on the lighting is sufficiently wide for truck drivers (who sit considerably higher than car drivers) to be able to see it clearly. I don't think it goes far enough though, since it really is only attacking half of the problem -- alerting motorists. What about alerting pedestrians? Back in my younger days, I spent several years in Jamaica. The joke there ran, that "Jamaican cars only had two controls -- a horn and a gas pedal". Pedestrians there were well conditioned to respond to even the smallest toot of a car horn. They'd jump out of the way at speeds that were amazing. Taking that as a working hypothesis, picture this: there is also a radar device at the crosswalk that looks at traffic when the pedestrian lighting is triggered. The radar would look for cars, and if any are present, give an audible alarm, and flash an arrow alerting the pedestrian to which way the traffic is coming from. The audible alert would be two tones, with a low-to-high chirp meaning from the right, and a high-to-low chirp meaning from the left, which would help the visually impaired. There would also be a stage two alert. The second stage of warning lights and loud, raucous noise would be triggered if the radar determines that the vehicle(s) being tracked will be unable to safely stop before entering the crosswalk. The radar would also be sufficiently smart to differentiate between cars and trucks (which have different braking distances). While this may sound technologically rather complex, it's likely easier than you'd think. A number of years ago I was involved in a test program for a crash-warning radar system on trucks. While it had it's problems, it did have the capability (which worked very well) of tracking multiple radar targets, and determining if they were a threat worthy of warning about. The system also recorded about 30 minutes worth of radar data for crash reconstruction purposes. This technology would be readily adaptable to this use, requiring little modification. The price was also quite reasonable. I'd guess that a crosswalk could be radar-equipped for under $5,000. While that's not terribly cheap, it's within the realm of possibility for at least high-rate crosswalks. I hope this helps. Posted by Wayne Parsons May 11, 2009 4:48 AM Thanks Truckie D: The most common scenario is a multi-lane street. The pedestrian waits to cross and a car stops and waives the pedestrian forward, then another car stops, same scenario ... the pedestrian starts feeling safe and steps past the second car only to be crushed by a car in the third lane that wasn't paying attention. Posted by Steve Lombardi May 13, 2009 10:07 AM Any ideas on what the cost per crosswalk is for this system? Posted by Wayne Parsons May 13, 2009 5:22 PM Good question Steve. Maybe the manufacturer can answer that for us.

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The Hawaii Pedestrian Crosswalk Safety Chronicles: Innovative Solution for Crosswalk Safety | InjuryBoard Honolulu
Posted by Melisa May 28, 2009 5:30 PM I actually saw this system while visiting California and thought it was a great idea. The flashing lights gets the driver's attention. How many lives will have to be taken before Hawaii gets this system? Posted by Wayne Parsons May 30, 2009 11:04 AM I am going to see if we can get a list of locations around the country where this system is in place and see how it is being received in those areas. I cannot believe that the City & County of Honolulu has put the installation on hold as our crosswalk fatalities and serious injuries skyrocket. All the energy and money seems focused on our proposed mass transit system and politics as usual. Thanks for the Comment Melisa, its good to hear from someone who actually saw the system working. I too wonder what the cost is as Steve Lombardi asked some time ago.

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