Several cities in France are experimenting with new pedestrian lights with the appearance of a third color.
Seven cities in France have been experimenting with new pedestrian lights for several days, or even several weeks for some of them. Their particularity? Green and red are no longer the only two colors used to indicate to passers-by what to do when they find themselves at a traffic intersection. A new color has been added to the system to give additional instructions to pedestrians wishing to cross the road.
Green always indicates to pedestrians that they can cross the road, because at the same time, cars are stopped at the red light on their side. But between green and red, the little pedestrian’s light will turn yellow. Like the color orange on vehicle lights, yellow means that the “little guy” will soon turn red.
In this case, what should we do? The instruction is simple: when the light is yellow, pedestrians are no longer allowed to enter the road. On the other hand, those already present on the pedestrian crossing can complete their crossing. And once red, the pedestrian light prevents passers-by from entering because the cars will be able to restart.
These three-color pedestrian lights are already present in many countries. In France, they will be tested for two years before considering their generalization. If you live in Metz, Nancy, Strasbourg, Nice, Nantes, Toulouse or Versailles, you may have already seen them. The yellow light can be steady or flashing, with each city experiencing one or the other.
And to be able to analyze their behavior, pedestrians will be filmed! Video recordings are in fact made when these new lights are put into service on each of the 14 sites (two per city), then three months later. If they manage to see the often very discreet cameras, many pedestrians, but also some motorists, will certainly think very strongly about traffic light cameras. They can rest assured, the videos are part of the test and will allow them to observe the evolution of behavior over time. Before, perhaps, the yellow light extends to all of France.
The objective of this experiment is to allow pedestrians to better visualize the time remaining before their light turns red. There is in fact today, according to road safety, an area of ??confusion or even conflict when both lights, pedestrian and traffic, are red. The color yellow should therefore allow passers-by, as well as motorists, to better understand this moment during which too many accidents still occur.
Besides, keep in mind that a pedestrian does not have all the rights on the road. If he crosses a zebra crossing when the “little guy” is red, he risks a first-class fine of 11 euros.
