Countdown Pedestrian Signals (CPS) Legibility and Comprehension without Flashing Hand: Phase I and Phase II Final Report

Van Houten, Ron; DeLaere, Gregory M. · 2022 · ROSA P / United States. Federal Highway Administration. Office of Safety Research and Development

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Summary

This report documents a two-phase study conducted by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to evaluate the legibility and comprehension of Countdown Pedestrian Signals (CPS) when the traditional Flashing Don’t Walk (FDW) hand icon is removed. The research was motivated by evidence that the FDW signal is poorly understood and often discourages pedestrians from crossing even when sufficient time remains, whereas CPS are more intuitive. The study aimed to determine if removing the FDW during the countdown phase would negatively impact pedestrian safety, crossing decisions, or the ability of pedestrians with low vision to interpret signals. Phase I consisted of three controlled studies. Study 1A surveyed 300 participants who viewed video simulations of various signal configurations. Results indicated that pedestrians were more likely to consider crossing when presented with the CPS alone compared to the CPS combined with the FDW, a trend consistent across gender and age groups. Study 1B assessed participants’ ability to judge crossing times for distances of 12, 18, and 24 meters. Participants successfully judged the time required to cross without significantly altering their walking speeds. Study 1C focused on 20 pedestrians with low vision. While these participants struggled to identify signal phases at longer distances (30.5 meters), removing the FDW did not negatively impact their decisions to cross; those who chose to cross relied on the visible countdown numbers. Phase II was a naturalistic field study observing pedestrian behavior at two intersections in Kalamazoo, Michigan, across four crossing sites. The study compared a baseline condition (CPS + FDW) with a treatment condition (CPS alone) and a six-month follow-up. Regardless of the signal configuration, pedestrians frequently initiated crossings during the pedestrian change interval. However, during the CPS alone condition, significantly fewer pedestrians remained in the crosswalk after cross-traffic was released at three of the four sites, indicating improved clearance. Crossing times decreased at most sites during the treatment and follow-up phases, suggesting faster crossing behavior. Although there was a slight increase in pedestrians running during the crossing at some sites, no statistically significant increase in evasive conflicts or crashes was observed. The findings suggest that removing the FDW from CPS does not compromise pedestrian safety and may improve crossing efficiency. Pedestrians, including those with low vision, can effectively use the countdown timer to make crossing decisions without the confusing presence of the flashing hand. The study supports potential revisions to the Uniform Vehicle Code and the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to allow crossing during the countdown phase without the FDW indicator, thereby reducing unnecessary delays for faster pedestrians while maintaining safety for all users.

Key finding

Removing the flashing don't walk signal from countdown pedestrian signals increases pedestrians' likelihood of considering crossing and reduces the number of individuals remaining in the crosswalk when cross-traffic is released, without negatively impacting low-vision pedestrians.

Methodology

mixed_methods

Sample size: 300

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• pedestrian behavior perception
• vru facing ehmi