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Rainbow Pedestrian Crossings?


Penlan

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I see that Totnes is hoping to have a multi-coloured 'Rainbow' pedestrian crossing.
As the Traffic Signs Manual (2003), Chapter 5, page 88, gives everything as White on (basically) Black - Black can be added if there is not enough contrast between the highway surface and the White markings.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223667/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-05.pdf

 

I wonder what would happen if there's an accident on the crossing, as presumably it wouldn't match the legal marking requirements - Mr Loophole would have you cleared in no time presumably. 

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I see that Totnes is hoping to have a multi-coloured 'Rainbow' pedestrian crossing.

As the Traffic Signs Manual (2003), Chapter 5, page 88, gives everything as White on (basically) Black - Black can be added if there is not enough contrast between the highway surface and the White markings.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223667/traffic-signs-manual-chapter-05.pdf

 

I wonder what would happen if there's an accident on the crossing, as presumably it wouldn't match the legal marking requirements - Mr Loophole would have you cleared in no time presumably. 

 

It's not the first, but is intended to be the first permanent such crossing. They had one in 2014 as a temporary installation.

 

More info here.

 

Road users (including pedestrians) have enough problems understanding the myriad of signs and road markings in the first place without adding this.

 

Cheers,

Mick

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I rather like it.

 

..... Road users (including pedestrians) have enough problems understanding the myriad of signs and road markings in the first place without adding this. ....

 

I suspect that they'd get the hang of it. There was an experiment done in the Netherlands or Denmark, where a town had all it's road markings removed so that no indication of priority was given at junctions. The findings were that fewer accidents happened, the reason given was that because more was demanded of the driver they concentrated harder on a safe passage through the town.

 

Why? Change for the sake of change? Supremely daft.

 

Colourful always good; might I draw your attention to the rather fab Network South East HST of your avatar.

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...might I draw your attention to the rather fab Network South East HST of your avatar.

 

That's only because I couldn't find a picture of a grey one... Seriously, colour is good but painted on a road?

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That's only because I couldn't find a picture of a grey one... Seriously, colour is good but painted on a road?

 

Perhaps not every crossing, perhaps not in high risk areas where instant recognition is of utmost importance, but once in a while, where it can be done safely, why not?

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Road markings are there to convey information to road users and support traffic management, not make political statements and gestures. This represents so much of what I dislike about modern gesture politics.

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Seriously, colour is good but painted on a road?

Colour is good in the right place, as a general principle though, no. Looking garish isn't any better than looking dull (in some ways it's worse).

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Ignoring the intentions behind it, surely it will be virtually invisible at night, even under street lighting and the localised lighting required for the crossing. The contrast of black/tarmac grey and (dirty) white is there for a reason.

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Road markings are there to convey information to road users and support traffic management, not make political statements and gestures. This represents so much of what I dislike about modern gesture politics.

 

Over here they have started putting up some speed limit signs in yellow-green (high vis) colour in problem areas. The issue with this is that, as far as I can tell, these signs have no legal force since they aren't the correct (legally defined) colour.

 

Adrian

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People who ignore signs will ignore them whatever colour they are. The problem is very, very rarely that they can't be seen easily enough. To many over-cautious ones crying wolf on the other hand is a bit of a problem, but the biggest one is people with no brains whatsoever who shouldn't be out in public, let alone behind the wheel (see every level crossing thread).

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