Pedestrian crossings equipped with traffic lights for pedestrians (signalised) usually are supposed to be safer than those that are non-signalised.

Indeed, this is true only when the different phases indicated by the different coloured lights are fine-tuned such that on one side the largest possible number of people can cross safely while on the other, vehicles have to wait for as little as possible.

Therefore the green light phase must last long enough to be able to complete the cross over, the waiting times for pedestrians should be short enough to prevent dangerous behaviour (exceedingly long red light phases for pedestrians waiting to cross may provoke them to cross without waiting for the green go ahead).

Moreover, in order to guarantee safe crossing for pedestrians in the transitional phase between "green" for pedestrians and the red light, it would be desirable to provide the following information to pedestrians:

• "It is no longer allowed to start crossing"
• "The crossing must be cleared"

During the tests, ACI's inspectors encountered a wide range of solutions to meet these requirements, ranging from the number of lamps installed at traffic lights: among the tested cities Rome is the only one to have throughout, traffic lights with three colours (green, amber and red). Only at some crossings in Zurich was the same solution adopted, while all the other cities have mostly chosen the two-colours option (green and red).

The alternation between the different lights causes further confusion among European pedestrians.

In fact, the transitional phase between green and red light can be recognised as having at least four different patterns.

While in London at most of the tested intersections, pedestrians are advised to speed up in order to clear the crossing by a phase with all lights switched off during the interval between green and red, in Berlin, Ljubljana, Munich, Paris and Zagreb there is no such transition: the green light is followed immediately by the red one. In these cases however, pedestrians that have already started to cross over are safe thanks to "all-red" phase allowing no vehicles to transit the crossing.

This situation may cause some trouble not only to foreign tourists who are unused to crossing over while the pedestrian lights are red (in the clearing time), but also to elderly pedestrians or those with disabilities, especially when finding themselves in the middle of the crossing when the red light abruptly appears.

Moreover, in these cases, pedestrians receive no warning that they are not to start crossing or that the traffic lights are about to switch to red.

The most common solution for the transition was observed in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Helsinki, Madrid, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm and Vienna. It consists of a brief phase with flashing green light followed by an "all-red" safety interval. This solution seems to be preferable because:

• It gives pedestrians the opportunity to clear the crossing safely
• It prevents pedestrians who are about to cross from doing so

In Rome and Zurich things are different. The transitional phase consists there in an amber phase usually lasting long enough to allow a pedestrian walking at the speed of 1 metre per second to cross over.

Apart from the problems that this solution causes to foreign tourists, it has a number of flaws, especially when the crossing is very wide:

• It does not warn pedestrians who are still crossing of the imminent change to the red light
• It leaves pedestrians wanting to cross in doubt whether to start or stop
  

In fact, pedestrian crossings in Rome and in many Italian cities are often puzzling for pedestrians (not only foreign tourists) who seem to be obviously confused by the long lasting amber phases.

Another variation that we encountered was the widely used "exclusive" pedestrian phase. During the pedestrians' green phase there are no vehicles allowed onto the crossing. This solution prevails in London and Oslo whereas in all the other cities vehicles are often allowed to turn right and - less often - to turn left on to a crossing while the lights are green for pedestrians to cross. In some of these cities, for instance, in Vienna, Paris and Barcelona the additional flashing devices (luminous panels or simple lamps) for the benefit of turning vehicles were appreciated. They are meant to warn drivers of pedestrians currently crossing in their pathway.

A solution adopted in Madrid, probably intended to maximize the intersection capacity, leaves some room for discussion: during the green phase for pedestrians, the drivers of oncoming vehicles are allowed to approach guided by an amber flashing light, but still under the obligation to give right of way to pedestrians eventually crossing over.

A final observation was made concerning an aspect apparently taken for granted, yet it was surprising to notice it. In none of the countries investigated in this EuroTest is it allowed for pedestrians to cross against the red traffic light. But in effect, behavioural rules in Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom advise pedestrians not to cross but without imposing a mandatory ban, as is the case in the traffic codes of some of the other countries where it is explicitly demanded.

In other words, pedestrians are allowed to cross over even when the traffic lights are red, provided they check the situation to make sure there are no risks (ie. there are no oncoming vehicles). This is an extremely delicate aspect of pedestrian safety in those countries, in particular, in view of the potential to behave incorrectly in other countries where the red light for pedestrians imposes a mandatory ban on crossing the road.

A device that is as simple as it is efficient is too rarely used thus far is the countdown. The countdown would leave the decision to the pedestrian whether to start to cross or to wait depending also on their personal physical condition. Furthermore, pedestrians would be warned about the imminent change to the red light. Sadly, there are just a few crossings equipped with such devices in the cities of Copenhagen and Ljubljana.