Flashing amber lights at school crossings.

The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of flashing amber lights at school crossings and the effect on child pedestrian safety. Video evidence was collected for four of the crossing sites, as was crash data. The methodology has allowed comparisons between crash data prior to and post-installation of the flashing devices, comparisons between the behaviour of motorists at sites with flashing lights prior to the sites and at the site, and comparisons between flashing devices that are constant or activated for each crossing of children. This was determined by viewing the video evidence collected from each of the sites. There were considerable differences in the behaviour of motorists at school crossings with the flashing lights installed at the actual crossing site. In these cases, motorists were more cautious and the safety of the children appeared to be very good. The safest behaviour displayed by motorists, however, was when the flashing lights at the crossing were operated only when a crossing was about to be made. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E206263.