Share with Direct Line your ideas to make pedestrian crossings safer - £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED!

[EmmaMumsnet]

Direct Line have approached us to ask MNers for their ideas on how to make pedestrian crossing safer for pedestrians and motorists. Over 7,000 incidents are recorded each year at UK crossings between vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians and Direct Line would like to hear your thoughts on how to improve them.

Rachael Lynch, Innovation Marketing Manager at Direct Line said; “72 per cent of UK adults feel crossings need to be updated and in October 2017 Direct Line developed the world’s smartest pedestrian crossing, the Smart Crossing. As we developed the technology, it became apparent that the potential for what could be done was far greater than we had initially imagined, which is why we have made the technology open source and are continuing to work with partners to explore ways to modernise the pedestrian crossing for all road users including pedestrians and motorists."

So please share below your most creative ideas for how to improve pedestrian crossings. Do also share your thoughts on the safety at pedestrian crossings and how you and your children were/are taught about road safety.

Everyone who comments on the thread will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks,

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Some need to be made more obvious- better road markings / lighting etc. Maybe even a warning sign for drivers a few hundred yards before they approach one so they are aware it's coming up.

Also ensure there is plenty of time for pedestrians to actually cross the road!!

I think traffic lights are the safest solution. Where crossings are on straight, fast roads drivers tend to go too quickly or are focussed on the road further ahead and just drive thorough without thought

More time to get across! Not a quick thing to do with a big pram etc

Better lighting is what leaps to mind. Especially at night it can be hard to see someone waiting to cross. Maybe motion sensitive lights to illuminate people on the crossing and those waiting on the pavement.

Better lighting and brighter road markings. Fed up of drivers continuing over my local zebra crossing when I've already started to cross. Some seem oblivious to the fact it is a pedestrian crossing!

I think zebra crossings need to be lit up more and maintained more, not allowing the paint to fade away, it needs to be bright and in your face! I think the timers on pelican crossings need to be longer, harder punishments for motorists who don't adhere to the crossing, often you feel like you have to break a sweat to get across with drivers impatiently nudging you on.

I agree with pp about having countdown timers, both for the cars and pedestrians. I saw this in the USA and I’m sure some in the UK have them (?). Also, the time to cross is ridiculous in some places- I use crutches but am not ‘really slow’, and often only just get across.

All crossings should be raised, so that it discourages drivers from trying to get through quickly before the lights go to red. Preferably they should be high enough to do some real damage if the car is speeding.

A few things I think would make it safer.

Better lighting, to show that there is someone waiting at the side of the road in the dark.
Cameras to catch people ignoring them. I'd stopped at a zebra crossing, two teenage girls passing in front of me, just as a car opposite sped through the crossing at 40ish, barely missing them. Terrified them and me.
Longer time on the green man on certain crossings.

Timings on lights need to be longer.
Also speed bumps near all crossings so the cars are warned & already slowing down could be great in busy traffic areas

Lighting has to be improved. The payment around crossings and crossings themselves need to be much better lit both to act as an extra alert to the crossings existence for drivers, and also to make it easier to spot pedestrians.

Have clear marking of where pedestrians should stand to maximise their chances of being seen.

A new campaign aimed at pedestrians highlighting why it is so important to use proper crossings whenever they are available. Highlight why it is worth walking a few meters extra down the road to a proper crossing rather than risking running across a busy road. It has been a long time since we saw these types of warning films routinely and I think a refresher is needed, particularly now the roads are so much busier. Also have signs which indicated where the nearest crossing is, placed on the opposite side of the road to key places people are likely to go.

Some sort of road feature, similar to the cats eyes you get on motorways would be good. There could give a visual marking of where to stop but also be designed in such a way as they cause a physical sensation in the car when driven over, the same way the motor way ones do.

A road sensor so cars who nudge over the line before the crossing is clear are giving a signal. This could alert them to the crossing being in active use and also act as a public shame sort of deter any. There could also be penalties attached.

The vast majority of the crossing with lights in our area have the countdown for pedestrians, which is a good indicator for if you have time to cross or not. However I worry adding similar for drivers would either increase people staring at the count down and losing awareness of what is happening around, or actually increase impatience if someone is taking longer than the countdown to cross (often through no fault of their own).

Rather than speed bumps before crossing I do think, where practical, there should be a lower speed limit in place for the section of road containing the crossing which will extend a little past the crossing itself. My reasoning for this is that some drivers (not all but I have seen a far amount) tend to drive erratically on stretches of road with speed bumps, breaking harshly just before a bump and harsh acceleration just after. I worry that this will mean drivers coming up to the actual crossing whilst aggressively accelerating, putting pedestrians in more danger. It wouldn't surprise me if it is the same drivers who drive erratically around speed bumps who don't give crossings the patience and care they require.

Lastly I would have stricter enforcements. Nudging over the lien before the crossing is clear should be a hefty fine and points. Speeding towards the crossing should be a fine and points. Intimidating behaviour a fine and points. Lack of due care and attention again a fine and points. I think a prolonged period of harsh penalties will eventually reprogram drivers into Bette reprieves around crossing, making them safer for all.

I think electronic barriers would work personally.
Barriers will stop cars running red lights.

Definitely good lighting - maybe something that lights up the whole crossing when the green man is on? A lot of drivers just don't look. There are a couple of very dangerous zebra crossings near my house and I'm always careful to try and get eye contact with anyone in a car to make sure they're actually stopping before I cross.

Barriers across the road would be amazing - like you get for level crossings, to physically stop cars from driving when people are crossing.

Agree with time needing to be balanced to let people cross the road but also not have empty crossings as some people press the button then cross before the lights come on. Hopefully a smart Crossing will be able to tell when people were still crossing the road and then would be able to adjust the lights accordingly

Yes definitely more time to cross before the lights change. I would also agree with changing all crossings to lighted ones. All too often the paint on a zebra crossing is faded and the lighting is bad.

I have also noticed on some newer crossings that the lights change but there are no beeps. How is a visually impaired person supposed to know when to cross?

Lighting definitely needs to be improved. There is a crossing outside a park near me and while it's not hard to see people on the crossing there are just looks of shadows at either side, despite the beacons, so it's really difficult to see if someone is waiting or about to cross. Many drivers don't slow down.
Educating drivers better about how to drive safely at crossings e.g. Slowing down on approach, applying handbrakes will waiting for someone to cross. I know an elderly last who was badly hurt when a driver's foot slipped off the brake and the car jerked forward.

I think more time on pelican crossings and cameras on zebra crossings and prosecute people who drive through.

To expand on what @NerrSnerr says, I think there should be cameras on pedestrian crossings, with ANPR, so that people who drive through them when they shouldn't can be found and prosecuted.

More signage up the road warning drivers that a pedestrian crossing is coming up ahead.

More signage up the road warning drivers that a pedestrian crossing is coming up ahead.

why?
if you are driving with good attention and at an appropriate speed that shouldn't be a problem.

I agree with good lighting at crossings though.

Every crossing should have a traffic light and pedestrian button to stop the traffic. a lot of cars don't always stop! then there needs to be atleast 30 secs 'space' between the red light and the button bleeping to allow and cars that are not looking!. needs to be more time to cross aswell.

Spikes that pop up either side of the crossing to burst the tyres of drivers who jump them. Ok tongue in cheek perhaps but it is a bug bear.

A cancel button would be useful, frustrating as a driver to have to stop with nobody on the crossing. Perhaps this would lead to a little more tolerance. Other than that things that have already been mentioned such as timings and lighting.

I have strong feelings about Zebra crossings both as a driver and a pedestrian.
I think pedestrians march out onto the crossing without stopping to look first, they believe they have right of way and they do but if a car driver doesn’t see you or brake in time you will cause an accident.
Don’t let your child cycle or scoot across, ask them to get off and push, this reduces the risk of them falling off and being injured by traffic but also of them injuring other pedestrians.
Hold your child’s hand to cross if age appropriate.
Cyclists - stop at Zebras, the law applies to you too. If you run someone down it will be terrible.
Wait patiently in your car at the crossing until the crossing is empty, just in case someone makes a mad dash for it and you run them down.

Put road signs up at around 100 metres from the pedestrian crossing, at each side (we used to have an orange flashing one at our school - but it was removed) so some warning lights, particularly in areas of heavy traffic. Finally make the zebra bright and white.

Longer time to get across the roads, lights that work and countdown timers