Pedestrian safety: a road safety manual for decision-makers and practitionefs /Attach <br />Attach <br />Although signalized intersections appear to be safer for pedestrians than <br />uncontrolled intersections, they are still dangerous environments for pedestrians. A <br />major issue at signalized intersections is the conflict between left- or right-turning <br />vehicles, which require a larger turning radius, as well as the fact that crossing <br />pedestrians, may be obscured from the driver's view. The length of time allowed <br />for pedestrians to complete crossing is also a factor. Though motorists are required <br />to give priority to pedestrians at signalized intersections, vehicles sometimes start <br />turning while pedestrians are still crossing (41). <br />A pedestrian crossing is a point on a road where pedestrians traverse <br />the road. Pedestrian crossings, sometimes referred to as crosswalks, <br />may be found at intersections or along road stretches. Marked crossings are <br />designated by markings on the road, commonly white stripes. Signalized cross- <br />ings include automatic traffic signals that indicate to pedestrians when they <br />should cross. <br />Evidence to date indicates that marked pedestrian crossings should not be <br />implemented without additional safety measures. Pedestrians may falsely believe they <br />are safer - that motorists are more likely to see them and stop - at marked pedestrian <br />crossings, and therefore attempt crossing without due caution increasing their <br />chance of being hit by a motor vehicle (42). A study of iooo marked crossings and <br />iooo unmarked comparison sites, all at uncontrolled crossings, found no significant <br />difference in safety performance unless additional safety features such as automatic <br />signals were used (43). This study also found that on multi-lane roads carrying over <br />Ia ooo vehicles per day, a marked crossing was more likely to increase pedestrian <br />risk compared to a similar unmarked crossing, unless safety features such as raised <br />median refuge islands or pedestrian beacons were also installed. On multi-lane roads <br />carrying over 15 ooo vehicles per day, marked crossings were more likely to increase <br />pedestrian risk even if raised median refuges were provided (43)• <br />2.1.4 High traffic volume roads <br />Road environments with high traffic volume and inadequate attention to pedestrian <br />safety have been found to exacerbate pedestrian collisions. One study in Ontario, <br />Canada, found that the probability of a pedestrian collision with a left-turning <br />vehicle was influenced by traffic volume (44), while another in a town in China <br />found that high volumes of traffic, the presence of bus stops and high volumes of <br />pedestrians crossing all led to increased collision risk for pedestrians (4S). <br />33 <br />C <br />B <br />