Circular Flashing Beacons

Support your city’s Vision Zero and walkability initiatives with proven, compliant crosswalk solutions.

Circular Flashing Beacons

Support your city’s Vision Zero and walkability initiatives with proven, compliant crosswalk solutions.

There are too many pedestrian-automobile collisions occurring today. With coordinated effort, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), municipalities, and product manufacturers are aiming to decrease these incidents—especially fatalities at mid-block locations. While there are a variety of treatments available, some solutions are much more effective at getting traffic to yield than others.

FHWA research shows that installing a marked crosswalk without additional crossing facilities does not result in vehicles stopping for pedestrians. Uncontrolled, marked crosswalks can be outfitted with compliant, pedestrian-activated warning beacons that notify drivers when pedestrians are entering crosswalks. Our solar and AC-powered circular crosswalk beacons have been installed across the US and Canada for 12+ years. These beacons are approved in the FHWA’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and can hit ITE intensity requirements. Support your Vision Zero and walkability initiatives with crosswalk flashing beacons.

Problem Solution
Low yielding rates at existing crosswalk. Circular flashing beacons draw attention to crosswalk signage and increase driver compliance.
Low-intensity beacons are hard to see, especially during the day. Circular flashing beacons use high-powered LEDs that command attention at all hours of the day.

Comparing the effectiveness of circular beacons and RRFBs

FHWA research shows that installing a marked crosswalk without flashing beacons will not necessarily result in vehicles stopping for pedestrians. For safer crosswalks, we offer two different beacon types: circular flashing beacons and rectangular rapid-flashing beacons.

Circular flashing beacons have been successfully used for decades to increase safety at mid-block crossings. The familiar flashing amber light warns incoming drivers of pedestrians. RRFBs are a more recent addition to the traffic engineer’s toolkit. Their rapid flashing, rectangular shape is highly visible and quickly attracts driver attention.

While recent studies have shown the RRFB to be more effective than the circular beacon at getting drivers to yield, each project is unique and could successfully employ either beacon type. A proper overhead lighting fixture can also be combined with an beacon for added safety at night. Check out the graph and video below to see how these two beacon types compare.

Driver yield rates at a mid-block crosswalk

Read more RRFB effectiveness studies here.

RRFB and circular flashing beacon in-field comparison

Watch the video below to see how an RRFB and a circular flashing beacon compare in the field.

Are circular beacons MUTCD compliant?

Yes, the circular crosswalk flashing beacon is MUTCD-compliant. Carmanah circular beacons have 12+ years of successful deployments across North America. Read more about the MUTCD’s requirements for flashing beacons.

Achieve Vision Zero goals

Vision Zero is an initiative that encourages cities to pledge to eliminate death and serious injury from their roads. What began in Sweden is now a global movement toward safer streets where no loss of life is considered acceptable: cities from Los Angeles to Vancouver and Boston to Orlando have initiatives in place. To help meet their city’s Vision Zero initiatives, transportation engineers, government officials, and safety advocates can consider flashing crosswalk beacons at high-risk locations or those with previous incidents.

Additional Resources for Circular Crosswalk Beacons

Article

An Overview of the Most Effective Crosswalk Treatments

Weighing your options for an unsignalized crossing? Here’s a roundup of your treatment options and how they compare.

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Checklist

Build Complete Streets with the Pedestrian Generator Checklist
Looking for a way to identify locations in your city that could benefit from pedestrian-friendly infrastructure? This is a great place to start.

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Article

Can Children Walk Around Your Town?

Here are some ways to analyze walkability for children and address the issues you find with effective traffic safety products like beacons and signs.

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Carmanah Technologies Corp.
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Victoria, BC, Canada
V9A 3K5

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