Video-Based Analysis of a Smart Lighting Warning System for Pedestrian Safety at Crosswalks

Abstract

This study analyses five months of continuous monitoring of different lighting warning systems at a pedestrian crosswalk through video surveillance cameras during nighttime. Three different light signalling systems were installed near a pedestrian crossing to improve the visibility and safety of vulnerable road users: in-curb LED strips, orange flashing beacons, and asymmetric enhanced LED lighting. Seven different lighting configurations of the three systems were studied and compared with standard street lighting. The speed of vehicles for each pedestrian–driver interaction was also evaluated. This was then compared to the speed that vehicles should maintain in order to stop in time and allow pedestrians to cross the road safely. In all of the conditions studied, speeds were lower than those maintained in the five-month presence of standard street lighting (42.96 km/h). The results show that in conditions with dedicated flashing LED lighting, in-curb LED strips, and orange flashing beacons, most drivers (72%) drove at a speed that allowed the vehicle to stop safely compared to standard street lighting (10%). In addition, with this lighting configuration, the majority of vehicles (85%) stopped at pedestrian crossings, while in standard street lighting conditions only 26% of the users stopped to give way to pedestrians.

Keywords

• pedestrian crosswalk
• pedestrian safety
• nighttime road safety
• driver–pedestrian interaction
• LED road lighting
• road safety measures