LED Lights on Crossings Could Prevent Accidents

 

Using reactive LED lights at pedestrian crossings could work to reduce the number of pedestrians killed and injured on the roads. This is according to a prototype design called Line of Sight. 

The prototype has been designed by a team in London, who were tasked with creating a safer crossing system for pedestrians. It has won praise from a road safety charity and MPs, with a fully developed concept to showcase its strengths. 

The concept was designed by a team from Mettle Studio who had won a competition to design a crossing which would reduce the number of deaths and injuries of pedestrians on the road. The prototype also had to be cost-effective and easy for local councils to install. The design uses detection technology to recognise when a person is walking across, or about to set off, and alerts drivers to stop. The design uses strips of LED lighting on either side of the crossing and they turn from amber to red when someone steps on it. It also uses interactive signs to alert people who are approaching the crossing to look out for passing drivers. 

According to current statistics, there are 20 collisions on crossings every day in the UK, or over 7,000 a year. Safety experts believe that the new design will reduce the statistic by alerting drivers that people are crossing, especially in tough weather conditions such as thick fog or at night time. 

The concept was built by developers, industrial designers, data experts and engineers, and they brought the design from the idea to a full concept in just five days. 

A spokesperson for the team said that they wanted to achieve a design which was logistically and financially feasible and would reduce accidents. The aim was to protect pedestrians who may be distracted and take safety into the future, where driverless cars may not be able to detect people crossing. 

The biggest problem that the technology faces is convincing local authorities that it is a worthwhile investment. The prototype's materials cost less than £2000, and the brief of the competition was to use something that would cost less than £10,000 to build. The design works with the existing infrastructure of crossings, making it a lot more affordable than other alternatives. 

The design has been supported by the road safety charity Brake and Labour MPs.