Audible pedestrian traffic signals: Part 1. Prevalence and impact.

A collaborative project between the San Diego Association of Governments and San Diego State University (5) evaluated the effectiveness of audible pedestrian traffic signals in aiding visually disabled and elderly persons to walk in their community with greater safety. Three aspects of audible pedestrian traffic signals were investigated: 1) the patterns of use and the impact of these signals on pedestrian traffic safety; 2) the physical characteristics of the sound emitted by the devices; and, 3) the detection of the emitted sounds in the presence of various traffic noise levels. This paper reports on the prevalence and impact of audible traffic signals were ascertained through seeking information from traffic engineers in 71 North American cities; soliciting opinions about these signals from various school officials, social agencies, and volunteer organizations that serve persons with vision impairments; and analyzing pedestrian accident rates at intersections before and after the installation of such signals. The other two aspects of the project are reported in accompanying articles (6,7) that appear in this issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development.