The crosswalk, or, in common, Zebra, familiar to everyone. It is a road marking indicating to all road users a place to cross the road. But nowadays more and more “umauma” technology road markings were not so “smart” all around. There were “smart” cars, traffic lights, road signs. Even pedestrians is full of “smart” gadgets. To correct this omission volunteered British insurance company Direct Line who created one of the first smart pedestrian crossings.
Dropping the sarcasm, I want to say that the creation of Direct Line really is quite a technological device that can significantly improve safety on the roads. “Smart” Zebra consists of a number of sensors able to detect pedestrians and alert the driver about the danger. In addition, the roadbed works “in reverse” — warns pedestrians of approaching vehicles.
Led pedestrian crossing can operate in several modes. When on the road freely — there are no cars or cyclists — Zebra automatically lights green. The original length of a Zebra is 22 meters, but if the road goes a lot of people, it can grow in width. Also, the system can highlight pedestrians at night, to warn the driver. In that moment, when a Zebra is approaching the vehicle, the transition becomes red. In addition, a transition can change the color from green to red, if a person starts to cross the road against traffic regulations. For example, if it will go beyond Zebra, the system will inform about the danger to the driver.
In the UK, tested the “smart Zebra”
Vladimir Kuznetsov