A new app designed to make it easier for vulnerable road users to use pedestrian road crossings has been developed by Neatebox.
The pedestrian Neatebox brings the operation of the pedestrian crossing control box into the hand of the user. Using a mobile phone application, users can ‘press the button’ in their hands as opposed to having to reach out to a control box.
The app automatically scans and communicates with the closest pedestrian crossing and alerts the user to the current state of the crossing.
Once the button has been pressed and the crossing state changes, the signal is received on the phone in the form of a vibration, a sound or visually, as determined by the end user, who must then check the traffic as normal before crossing the road.
Neatebox says: “At this time a person wishing to use a pedestrian crossing must press the control box button manually. This can be a challenging task for someone with an impairment which has reduced their mobility, be they blind, visually impaired or using a mobility vehicle or wheelchair.
“In order to locate the button box which may not be adjacent to the crossing, certain techniques must be employed which leave the pedestrian without time to take up the optimum safe crossing position prior to crossing.
“Neatebox provides an alternative to the current system which removes the requirement to make physical contact with the control box optimising user safety and control.”
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