We know why the chicken crossed the road, but has any one wondered how did it got across? Well, I think the chicken used the nearest pedestrian crossing, because it doesn’t want to become the next ayam penyet (flattened chicken) meal. Jokes aside, here’s how roads are made safer for pedestrians.

Safer pedestrian crossings in Singapore
Pedestrian crossings around the world may look different, but they all work on the same principle – special markings and road signs that designate a place for motorists to stop their vehicles and to allow pedestrians to cross safely.

In Singapore, different kinds of pedestrian crossings such as zebra crossings, underpasses, overhead bridges and those at traffic lights are installed at junctions or busy crossing points.

To make crossings with heavy human traffic safer, additional features are included. Countdown timers indicate the amount of time left before the green man changes to red – but pedestrians shouldn’t treat it as an challenge to sprint across the road within the remaining time. Some traffic lights are equipped with an audio signal to help the visually handicapped cross the road.

Zebra crossings located near schools are raised to serve two safety purposes – the added height of the hump makes the pedestrians more visible to drivers and forces motorists to slow down.

‘Animal crossings’ in the UK
Since we mentioned chickens earlier, did you know that the five types of formal pedestrian crossings used in the United Kingdom are named after animals?

Zebra crossings in the UK are the same as Singapore’s. Black and white strips are painted across the road and marked by flashing amber beacons known as belisha beacons. They are named after Leslie Hore-Belisha, the British Minister of Transport who introduced them in 1934.

‘Pelican’ stands for “Pedestrian Light Controlled”, with the “o” changed to an “a”. At pelican crossings, pedestrians push a button at the traffic lights to give the signal for vehicles to stop. This is the same as the “red man-green man” pedestrian crossings on Singapore roads.

At puffin (Pedestrian User-Friendly Intelligent Crossing) crossings, the flashing green man for pedestrians and flashing amber signal for motorists are eliminated. Instead, the green man is triggered by the push button unit and overhead infra-red or video imaging cameras control the length of time available for pedestrians to cross.

A toucan(Two-Can Cross) crossing caters for cyclists as well as pedestrians. The only obvious difference between this type of crossing and a puffin crossing is the extra width of the crossing to accommodate bicycles and an additional bicycle symbol next to the green man.

The Pegasus crossing is similar to any other light-controlled crossing, but with special provision for horses.