I saw this report on the BBC today. Southwark is trialling a countdown timer system near the tube station, and a total of eight busy crossings across London will also be involved in the trial.
Crossing Timer In Southwark
Half of me thinks it is a good idea. According to the BBC report, Transport for London (TfL) found that half of pedestrians crossed even after the red man appeared. I’m not surprised – it’s the same here in Nottingham (only yesterday I was with a pupil on a lesson, and at the top of Huntingdon Street two Neanderthals and a Neanderthaless – with a very small child – waited at a crossing, and after the red man came on and the lights had gone to amber they just walked across in front of us (the one holding the kid’s hand had his face buried in a mobile phone – probably trying to work out what it was)).
But the other half of me thinks it will have little effect. A bit like those “YOUR SPEED” displays, I suspect that initially people might take heed, but if the timers become prevalent then people will just ignore them the same as they do for the red man.
It would make far more sense (and make far more money) if people were pulled up for jaywalking! You can’t just keep widening the goalposts to cater for the growing stupidity of the general public.