The city of Liverpool in England will trial two experimental pedestrian crossings in an attempt to reduce the number of pedestrians who are killed and injured on their roads. An observational study using artificial intelligence-powered video analytics will observe if the new elements effectively ‘nudge’ pedestrians to walk to a crossing located near to them and then encourage them to use the crossing correctly.
Liverpool was awarded £196,253 (~$268,572 US) by the Road Safety Trust to deliver the project. Currently, Liverpool has some of the highest rates of adult residents injured as pedestrians in the UK –48 resident pedestrian casualties per 100,000 people each year.
The project is being delivered in partnership with Hull City Council, their respective Road Safety Partnerships, behavioural science company So-Mo, and data analysis company Agilysis.
Research showed that 71% of adult pedestrians were found to have contributed to their collision compared to 49% of the drivers who hit them. They also found that one-third of adult pedestrians when hit while crossing the road, were within 50 meters (~164 ft.) of a crossing at the time of their injury – suggesting that pedestrian crossings are in the right locations, but are not being used correctly.
These crosswalk design trials will run for two weeks during a very busy season for pedestrians in downtown Liverpool. The colorful designs are inspired by pop art with a series of multi-coloured nudges. It is hoped that these will draw people’s attention – particularly if they are under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
Sally Lines, Chief Executive of Road Safety Trust said: “We are pleased to be able to provide Liverpool City Council with funding to help achieve our vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on UK roads. We want to make the roads safer for all users, in particular vulnerable road users which includes pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.”