In-Roadway “Yield to Pedestrians” Signs: Placement Distance and Motorist Yielding

Motorists often fail to yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks at uncontrolled locations. Several studies, including a recent NCHRP and TCRP study, have demonstrated that the use of in-roadway signs can significantly increase the percentage of motorists yielding to pedestrians at uncontrolled marked crosswalks. The 2003 edition of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices includes two in-roadway signs that may be installed at uncontrolled locations but does not give precise directions on where to place the sign in relation to the crosswalk. The purpose of the present FHWA study was to compare the effect of placing these signs at the crosswalk, 20 ft in advance of the crosswalk, 40 ft in advance of the crosswalk, and at all three locations on driver yielding behavior. A counterbalanced multielement design was used in this experiment. This design involves the installation of the sign at several different locations in advance of the crosswalk to determine if there is an optimum location for sign placement. After the collection of baseline data at all three crosswalks on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, Florida, the research team placed the sign at each of the three distances in advance of the crosswalk at each crosswalk location as well as at all three locations together in randomized blocks of trials to control for order effects. The data showed that the sign produced a marked increase in yielding behavior at all three crosswalks and that installation of the sign at the crosswalk line was as effective as or more effective than installation of the sign 20 or 40 ft in advance of the crosswalk. The data also indicated that placement of the sign at all three locations at once was no more effective than placement of the sign at the crosswalk line. These data suggest that the in-road-way sign is likely effective because the in-roadway placement is particularly salient to drivers. Because drivers frequently struck the signs on Collins Avenue, it is recommended that these signs be placed on median islands whenever possible to extend their useful lives.