4 ms·

Pedestrian road crossing lights now include wheelchair symbols

8 points by edward 3y ago

Kirby64 3y ago
I get the spirit of this change but… why? The whole point of traffic symbols is to ubiquity and consistency. Now there’s two different symbols for pedestrian road crossing, and the article seems to indicate there’s some subtle implication about them (eg, they’re placed near tube stations that have more accessible entrances). Except traffic crossing would be a terrible place to put this information, it better belongs at the actual entrances or signage related to the tube station, which I assume they already have in place.
- kdtsh 3y ago
  Red means stop, green means go - it’s pretty obvious signalling for anyone born in the last 100 years. I’m sure it’s not going to cause mass confusion and people walking in traffic. It’s just a neat thing to do.
  - benj111 3y ago
    No, we have standard signs so that everyone knows what it means, they aren't opportunities to display how progressive you are. As a simple example, could a cyclist use this crossing? If someone comes to that conclusion and gets ticketed/ runs over a blind person, is the sign doing its job? What about LGBTQ speed limit signs that colour blind people can't see? Traffic signals are designed for _everyone_ blind, deaf, children, the elderly, the 50% of the population that is less intelligent than average. You could say "where's the harm", but where's the harm in having a simple picture of a green person walking, it isn't meant to represent every single group, (it doesn't represent anyone, it's green!) it's meant to be clear to every group.
  - legostormtroopr 3y ago
    Red means stop, green means go… unless you are red-green colourblind. And a quick google search shows that about 8% of the population has some form of colourblindness, while about 1% are in wheelchairs. Additionally, while it’s easy to differentiate between an icon of an able bodied person walking or standing still, there is no clear distinction in an icon of a person in a wheelchair. So overall this is less inclusive and more confusing - but it made some people feel like they were helping.
    - milesvp 3y ago
      Yeah, I know someone who years ago failed their drivers test by driving through a red light. The test took them through a part of town with horizontal lights and he didn’t know which end was red. Luckily these days, the green has some blue in it to make it red-green colorblind distinguishable.
    - bcraven 3y ago
      Light at the top lit = Stop Light at the bottom pit = Go
  - bobbylarrybobby 3y ago
    8% or so of men are colorblind.
aaron695 3y ago
[dead]

8 points by edward 3y ago

I get the spirit of this change but… why? The whole point of traffic symbols is to ubiquity and consistency. Now there’s two different symbols for pedestrian road crossing, and the article seems to indicate there’s some subtle implication about them (eg, they’re placed near tube stations that have more accessible entrances). Except traffic crossing would be a terrible place to put this information, it better belongs at the actual entrances or signage related to the tube station, which I assume they already have in place.

kdtsh 3y ago
Red means stop, green means go - it’s pretty obvious signalling for anyone born in the last 100 years. I’m sure it’s not going to cause mass confusion and people walking in traffic. It’s just a neat thing to do.
- benj111 3y ago
  No, we have standard signs so that everyone knows what it means, they aren't opportunities to display how progressive you are. As a simple example, could a cyclist use this crossing? If someone comes to that conclusion and gets ticketed/ runs over a blind person, is the sign doing its job? What about LGBTQ speed limit signs that colour blind people can't see? Traffic signals are designed for _everyone_ blind, deaf, children, the elderly, the 50% of the population that is less intelligent than average. You could say "where's the harm", but where's the harm in having a simple picture of a green person walking, it isn't meant to represent every single group, (it doesn't represent anyone, it's green!) it's meant to be clear to every group.
- legostormtroopr 3y ago
  Red means stop, green means go… unless you are red-green colourblind. And a quick google search shows that about 8% of the population has some form of colourblindness, while about 1% are in wheelchairs. Additionally, while it’s easy to differentiate between an icon of an able bodied person walking or standing still, there is no clear distinction in an icon of a person in a wheelchair. So overall this is less inclusive and more confusing - but it made some people feel like they were helping.
  - milesvp 3y ago
    Yeah, I know someone who years ago failed their drivers test by driving through a red light. The test took them through a part of town with horizontal lights and he didn’t know which end was red. Luckily these days, the green has some blue in it to make it red-green colorblind distinguishable.
  - bcraven 3y ago
    Light at the top lit = Stop Light at the bottom pit = Go
- bobbylarrybobby 3y ago
  8% or so of men are colorblind.

aaron695 3y ago

[dead]