New crosswalk signals confusing drivers
A relatively new type of traffic signal is making inroads in the Bay Area, to the delight of pedestrian and traffic safety advocates — and the possible bewilderment of drivers unaccustomed to negotiating the triangular signals and their series of flashing lights.
The so-called HAWK signals — short for High-intensity Activated crossWalK — have been around for about 20 years since their development in Tucson. Once rare in the Bay Area, they are now becoming increasingly common, particularly in the East Bay and along local roads that are officially state highways.
HAWK signals are located at mid-block pedestrian crossings or intersections without full traffic signals or stop signs. Though they are suspended above vehicle lanes, they bear little resemblance to traditional red-yellow-green traffic lights. In fact, they have no green light at all.
When the lights are out, drivers can pass through the signal unimpeded — and relatively sure that a pedestrian is not trying to cross the street. But when a pedestrian activates the signal by pushing a button or waving a hand, it begins a sequence of solid, flashing and alternating lights.
• First, the yellow light at the bottom of the signal flashes, indicating that drivers should proceed slowly as a pedestrian intends to cross the street.
• Next, a solid yellow light takes over from the flashing one to tell drivers to prepare to stop.
• Two solid red lights then illuminate at the top of the signal to direct drivers to come to a complete stop as a pedestrian has entered the crosswalk.
• After a period of time, those red lights begin flashing and alternating, giving drivers permission to proceed after stopping and making sure no one is in the crosswalk.
• Then the signal goes dark, allowing cars to proceed.
When HAWK signals are introduced, the changing series of lights initially can leave drivers confused about how to proceed. Some have complained on social media and in news reports that they don’t know when to stop, when they can go and when it’s safe to proceed with caution. While some perplexed drivers stay stopped longer than necessary, the occasional flustered motorist will just blow through the lights.
According to research cited at a Federal Highway Administration meeting last fall, a variety of studies in the U.S. and Canada found concerns about confusion over the HAWK signals, but concluded that they were insignificant.
Some cities, in an effort to clarify the sequence, have added signs reading “Stop on red.”
“Drivers, as with anything new, tend to be confused at first,” said Ben Gerhardstein of WalkBike Berkeley, an advocacy group. Berkeley has three of the signals, he said, two on San Pablo Avenue, one on Ashby Avenue. “There is some education, some time required getting used to it.”
Robert Prinz, advocacy director for Bike East Bay, agreed.
“The longer they’re around, the better people seem to understand them and how they work,” he said.
Despite the confusion they may cause for drivers, bike and pedestrian advocates favor the HAWK signals, which they say are easy for pedestrians to use and provide a highly visible alert that someone is crossing the street.
“They’re a really important tool to have in the suite of options for helping people get across busy roads safely,” Gerhardstein said.
Traffic safety experts say HAWK signals work. A study of more than 1,000 intersections in 14 U.S. cities by Federal Highway Administration found that compared to the same intersections before signals were installed, those with HAWK signals experienced decreases of 55% in pedestrian crashes, 29% in overall crashes and 15% reduction in serious injuries and fatalities.
Caltrans is using HAWK signals more often, agency spokesperson Edward Barrera said, since the federal agency declared them “a proven safety countermeasure.”
“HAWK pedestrian signals are effective, and one way Caltrans keeps bicyclists and pedestrians safe,” the agency said in a statement to The Chronicle.
But HAWK signals alone aren’t a solution to pedestrian safety on busy thoroughfares, advocates say. They’re generally placed on streets that are wide and have fast-moving traffic and high injury and fatality rates.
“If they are installing a HAWK signal, it’s an indicator that it’s scary and dangerous to cross there,” said Marta Lindsey, a spokesperson for Walk San Francisco, “and that there are larger issues that need to be addressed, like street design.”
San Francisco has just three HAWK signals, all installed by Caltrans on roads that are state highways — one on Sloat Boulevard and two on 19th Avenue.
Erica Kato, a San Francisco Metropolitan Transit Agency spokesperson, said the agency prefers to install full-fledged traffic signals because they display a solid red light to drivers, giving pedestrians more time to cross the street than the flashing red light that’s part of the HAWK sequence.
“That is why we do not have any HAWKs,” she said.
Pedestrian advocates, however, note that HAWK signals are cheaper than traditional traffic signals. Other devices — such as flashing lights on the sides of intersections, or flashing crosswalks or overhead signs — warn drivers to look out for pedestrians but don’t command them to stop, as HAWK signals do.
Andrew Barclay, a California Highway Patrol spokesperson, did not know of specific fines for HAWK signals but said he thought that drivers ignoring them could be cited for running a red light as well as failing to yield to a pedestrian. Fines for running a red light in California are $490 but can increase with added fees. Failing to yield to a pedestrian can result in a fine starting at $238 before fees.
Regardless of their reception, HAWK signals seem likely to be flashing and alternating around the Bay Area well into the future. Several more are planned and have been funded, including in Antioch and Concord in the coming years.
Pedestrian and bike advocates maintain that’s a positive thing. “We need more of them,” Prinz said.