▷ It's not a miracle, but it works: pedestrian crossings in Kaunas have become safer

A special road marking, the so-called rhombuses, has been used in Kaunas for several years and is showing the first results. Using Japan’s experience it was possible to reduce the number of serious accidents at pedestrian crossings by approximately 40%. Other municipalities in the country are already interested in this innovation in terms of road safety.

The numbers speak for themselves

The city of Kaunas, which maintains close ties with the Land of the Rising Sun, has adopted one of the most effective measures from the Japanese to ensure road safety. On city streets, near pedestrian crossings, massive diamond-shaped signs have long attracted the attention of motorists.

“Japan and other developed countries have been using similar warning signs for many years. Kaunas has also successfully adopted this practice. Even police data shows that the innovation has worked. It is the city’s duty to ensure that the health and life of every person is protected to the maximum. It is difficult to understand the criticism that is sometimes heard from the country regarding this idea, when the numbers clearly show that it has a positive effect,” said Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijošaitis.

Police statistics show that after road workers marked the streets of Kaunas with diamond-shaped symbols, this year until mid-November, 49 traffic accidents with injured people were recorded at pedestrian crossings. In the same period last year, 54 were counted.

At that time, in 2016, in eleven and a half months, 82 road accidents at pedestrian crossings in Kaunas were recorded, and in 2017 this number grew even more, up to 86. With road accidents that did not decrease, namely in 2018. an unconventional measure was applied that has proven itself in other countries of the world.

Soon after, the number of injured began to decline accordingly: from 84 people last year to 48 victims this year.

The experiment will continue

According to the deputy director of the Kaunas city administration, Paulius Ker, the almost two-year experiment has obviously borne fruit. Currently, such warning signs are installed in front of all pedestrian crossings that meet the technical parameters, so for the moment there are no plans to “paint” them on the roads.

The Kaunas City Municipality is determined to continue diligently monitoring the situation and evaluating statistical data in order to be able to promptly take necessary measures, if necessary.

“It is natural that after the drastic improvement of road conditions in Kaunas, motorists do not shy away from pressing the accelerator harder, which poses new challenges. Warning signs are another tool designed to ensure the safety of road users. In this case, the numbers are on our side. We are ready to share our good experience with others. Especially since we really receive a lot of attention from various cities and towns in the country,” P. Keras did not hide his optimism.

For both motorists and pedestrians

Traffic management specialists remind us that diamond-shaped signs have a double meaning. First, they are intended to draw motorists’ attention to the fact that they are approaching a pedestrian crossing. Furthermore, the pedestrian can estimate the speed of the oncoming car and its possible stopping time.

The signs are installed 30 and 15 meters before the pedestrian crossing.

“30 meters is exactly the distance needed for the driver to react and stop the car. Of course, if he does not exceed the speed limit. Pedestrians should also pay attention. Given that the car passed the “roar” without slowing down, it should be estimated that such a driver will probably not be able to stop in time,” explained Martynas Matusevičius, head of the Department of Transport and Traffic Management of the Kaunas Municipality.

Effective changes

Not only do rumbles contribute to the improvement of road accident statistics. In recent years, more than 400 pedestrian crossings in Kaunas have been equipped with LED directional lighting. Intelligent LED signaling has been installed at 12 pedestrian crossings, informing drivers of approaching pedestrians. More than one hundred safety islands for pedestrians are installed at intersections that cross more than 2 lanes of traffic.

In two years, over 40 intersections regulated by traffic lights and pedestrian crossings have been rebuilt and installed in Kaunas. Eight locations have speedometers. By constantly analyzing the emergency situation, to date, about 100 “black spots” have been eliminated, that is, places where people were constantly injured in road accidents.