RRFB or LED-enhanced flashing sign: Which one works best?

Multiple roadway factors should be considered before choosing an LED enhanced pedestrian crossing sign application. Recent experimentation has demonstrated that LED enhanced pedestrian crossing signs are most effective at increasing safety for crosswalks on roadways with low operating speeds, low traffic volumes, narrow lanes, and narrow sidewalks. Otherwise, for roadways with higher traffic volumes, faster speeds, wider lanes, and wider sidewalks, safety countermeasures like the Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) or Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) are alternatively recommended.

Rista, Emira, and Kay Fitzpatrick. “Comparison of LED-Embedded Pedestrian Crossing Signs with Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons and Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons.” Transportation Research Record 2674, no. 11 (November 2020): 856–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/0361198120941849.

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 LED flashing signs at high-risk locations or those with previous incidents.