Automatic Traffic Barrier for Pedestrian Lane: A synchronized Prototype using 555

Timer Used in Minimizing Road Accidents in Technological Institute of the

Philippines, Quezon City

In Partial Fulfillment of
Immersion 001

Borja, Aeron Judd

Capistrano, Christian
Costales, Joshua
de Castro, Victor Joseph
Dela Cruz, Kathleen Jean
Delos Santos, Sherie Ann Joy
Eriful, Franchesca
Narzoles, Mark Vince
Tuvera, Arlyn Gail
Velasco, Krysthel
Proponents

Sir. Jayar Ebreo

Immersion Adviser
 CHAPTER 1
PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
This chapter includes the background of the study, statement of the problem, the
significance of the study and scope and delimitations of the study.

Introduction
Viewing practically and economically, road transport plays a big role in modern life;
however, it is also a source of various negative effects, including road traffic accidents. This
type of accidents is becoming a huge problem in the society. The World Health
Organization reported a global estimate of 1.25 million road traffic deaths annually. The
number of fatal occurring is increasing day by day and it is a huge challenge to prevent it.
There is a rising need for a systematic approach to this problem in order to attain fewer
fatalities and injuries enclosed to the problem. Due to this, it also became a huge problem in
health services.
In the Philippines, in accordance with the Philippine Statistic Authority, the number
of deaths in the country due to road accidents is gradually increasing since 2006. In the
year 2006, 6,869 deaths were recorded and nine years later (2015), the number jumped to
10,012. As stated by WHO's Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015, the Philippines
pedestrian made up 19 percent of road deaths and 36 percent of these deaths involve truck
or bus.
Different researches were conducted to examine road accidents and how to solve
them. Most studies revealed that pedestrians are most likely to be involved in this kind of
situation. Considering the results of previous researches, the researchers will propose a
new synchronize prototype used to minimize road accidents in Technological Institute of
the Philippines; the automatic traffic barrier on the pedestrian lane. Moreover, this study
also aims to determine how the prototype works and how does an individual benefit to
this.

Background of the Study

Pedestrian lane is a designated space on the roadway for the exclusive use of
pedestrians. According to the Roads and Maritime Services (2018), pedestrian crossings
allow people to cross the road safely. These crossings are usually marked by white stripes
on the road and are also known as zebra crossings. Millions of people in the world use
pedestrian lanes, not just because they are assured that they are safe if they use the
pedestrian lane, but because for them, pedestrian lanes are more convenient and fastest
way to cross roads than taking the footbridge or overpass.
Even though pedestrian lanes have an enforcer to control the traffic and provide
safety for the pedestrians, there are times that road accidents still occur. There are some
cases that when the traffic light turned red indicating "Stop", some cars still continue to go
or sometimes exceed on the pedestrian line that causes the pedestrians to have difficulties
on crossing roads. That is why the researcher came up on this study to make a prototype
that will solve this qualitative-quantitative research problem.
Pedestrian countdown timers are used with a pedestrian signal in passage to
provide pieces of information on how much time is left to safely cross the pedestrian lane
before the walk phase ends indicating to "Stop" (Monsere, C., Figliozzi, M., Kothori, S.,
Razmpa, A., Hazel, D., 2016). In 2008, Schrock S. D. and Bundy, B. found that drivers
habituated countdown timers to drive slowly and control their speed levels to reach the
pedestrian traffic light prior to the red indication. However, there are concerns that drivers
view the pedestrian countdown timers when approaching the intersection and use that
information to increase their driving speed. This can be probably best be done by making
the signal lights for pedestrian lanes increasing speed to avoid stopping for a red signal
would be an unintended and undesirable consequence of the presence of pedestrian
countdown timer installations, and a better understanding of how drivers react to them is
needed.

Objectives
This synchronized prototype aims to provide the following goals of the automatic traffic
barrier on a pedestrian lane:
● Improves safety for the students/pedestrian along streets and sidewalks, at
intersections and street crossings.
● Reduce unsafe motor vehicle driving
● Improves the student to follow the practices for pedestrian lanes.
 ● Provide safe and convenient routes for the students who walk and bike to school.
● Establish security among the people or students who have disabilities.

Hypotheses

Null Hypothesis: “There will be no minimization of road accidents using the synchronized
prototype with 555 timer as a traffic barrier for pedestrian lane”

Alternative Hypothesis: “There will be a minimization of road accidents using the

synchronized prototype with 555 timer as a traffic barrier for pedestrian lane”

Significance of the Study

This study will determine the benefits of the Automatic Pedestrian Traffic Barrier
Synchronized Prototype to minimize the road accidents in the Technological Institute of the
Philippines, Quezon City. The study may benefit the following:

The Pedestrians, This study aims to provide an adequate information on how

street design and land use influence their behavior. The result of this study will inform
them of the effectiveness of the synchronized prototype which is the automatic pedestrian
barrier which could secure their safety.

The Professionals, This result of this study could be used as a proposal, especially
to the Electrical Engineers, to minimize the increasing road accidents in the country.

The Government, This study will serve as a backbone to help the government make
important decisions regarding investment in traffic safety.

The Institution, This study aims to provide sufficient information to the institution
to help them reduce the road accidents which the students could be involved. The result of
the study will give an idea of how to secure their students.
 The Future Researchers, This study could be used as a reference for further
research regarding creating a prototype used for minimizing road accidents.

Scope and Delimitation

The study focuses on how the generated prototype will work and how it will benefit
the desired participants of the study. The main component of the prototype is the 555
Timer. This passage will cover the budget and the costs of the prototype and where it will
be placed. The prototype will be placed in the two pedestrian lanes in front of
Technological Institute of the Philippines Quezon city. Emergency vehicles such as
ambulances and fire trucks are not included in this study. The coverage of the study will
only be inside the timeframe of the year 2018-2019.
 CHAPTER 2
Review of Related Studies
This chapter examines the review of related literature and studies surrounding the
Pedestrian lanes-- its goal, and effectiveness. The idea of road accidents involved in
Pedestrian Lanes is also explored, citing a various study from different professionals.

A. Road Traffic Accidents

Tilastokeskus (2013) defined road traffic accidents as an event leading to individual
damage or harm to property that has occurred in a region proposed for open transport.
These accidents, therefore, include collisions between vehicles, between vehicles and
pedestrians and between vehicles and animals or fixed obstacles (United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe (UNECE).
K. Meshram and H. S. Goliya (2013) showed an analysis of accidents in China
collected for the period of 2009 to September 2011. There are various causes of road
accidents such as faulty road geometry which is seen in the Manipur region of China. The
trend of Road Traffic Accidents is caused by high speeds and vehicular traffic disregarding
the traffic rules and pedestrians. In association to the Prior to the assessment of any
accident prevention measure, it is necessary to determine the most essential factors and
significant patterns which affect the severity of accidents and injuries.
In relation to this, Anjuman, Hasanat-E-Rabbi, Siddiqi, & Hoque (2010) referred
road traffic accident as a global crisis of road safety. The second leading cause of death for
people between 5-29 years of age is road collisions. Because of the rapid growth of the
economy, the number of vehicles also arise and this triggers this kind of situation.
Moreover, it could be the third leading cause of death in the year 2020 (World Health
Organization, 2011). In accordance to this, the World Health Organization (2018) also
states that the unsafe road infrastructure is also the common causes of road traffic injuries
which means that the design of roads can have a considerable impact on the safety of an
individual.
The studies mentioned above defined the road accidents for a deeper knowledge
about the concept. K. Meshram and H. S. Goliya (2013) showed a collected data to present
the road accidents while Anjuman, Hasanat-E-Rabbi, Siddiqi, & Hoque (2010) cited causes
and the present situation of the problem and lastly the World Health Organization (2018)
shows that if there's no immediate action to this problem, it is predicted that the road
traffic accidents can become the seventh leading cause of death by 2030. These studies are
related to the present study in such a manner that these situations are the objective of the
synchronized prototype desired to lessen.

B. Pedestrian Lane
The House of Representative Sixteenth Congress of the Philippines defined
Pedestrian Lanes as a connection of lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of
highway where people can cross the street. The pedestrian experience entails much more
than traveling from point A to point B. As a result, it is necessary that analyses of
pedestrian levels-of-service (LOS) take into account qualitative factors as well as
traditional volume and capacity considerations.
Verzosa, N. (2016) stated pedestrian is considered as one of the foremost helpless
streets in the less improving country. However, pedestrian security remains ineffectively
tended to in both urban and rural transportation plans in most LDCs. Since most pedestrian
damage seriousness considers are conducted in development country, this study fills the
whole gap with a request centered on a profoundly urbanized locale of an LDC that faces a
fast increment in car proprietorship and expanding pedestrian-related activity wounds,
archiving particular person on foot security issues and giving direction for harm
anticipation measures in such places. Utilizing the Metro Manila Mischance Detailing and
Examination Framework (MMARAS) information from 2008 to 2011, this ponder combines
binomial calculated relapse and road level examination that encourage investigates the
factual comes about and analyzes other variables that contribute to collisions and
increment the potential for genuine harm or passing in three cities in Metro Manila: Makati,
Manila, and Quezon.
In New Jersey, N.J.S.A. 39:-36, It is in the law to cross the roadways within a
crosswalk. Crossing a street outside of a crosswalk does not bar a pedestrian from
convalescing damages for damages sustained by an impact with a motor vehicle;
nevertheless, crossing a street outside of a crosswalk can have seriously negative
consequences not only on one's ability to recover damages but also one's ability to
continue living. (Krupka, 2016)
The mentioned studies defined pedestrian lanes and supported by Verzosa, N.
(2016) and Krupka (2016) by citing the importance and the advantages of it. These studies
show the pedestrian lane laws from different countries which shows the significance of
having one. The crosswalk is not just a design but a useful way to cross the street. These
studies presented the usefulness of pedestrian lanes which will the researchers be dealing
with the present study.

B.1 Effectiveness of Pedestrian Lanes

Thousands of people are injured or killed by vehicles every year, according to
National Highway Safety Administration and the main cause of it is the improper crossing
of people and according to Leinster(2005), a pedestrian lane that has countdown signals
appear to have a positive influence on the people. According to it, the installation of
pedestrian countdown signals had a positive effect like it lessen the proportion of accidents
and it has good effects on people's behavior. It warns the people and the vehicles regarding
crossing the street.
According to the Institute of Transportation Engineers (2004), the Pedestrian
countdown signals are being increasingly deployed in urban areas to enhance pedestrian
safety at signalized intersections. However, the literature documents few efforts to evaluate
their effectiveness and to support the installation of the countdown signals. Their focus is
to evaluate the effectiveness of pedestrian countdown signals to enhance safety in the Las
Vegas metropolitan area. So data were collected at each site include pedestrian volumes,
percent of pedestrians who started crossing the street during different phases of
pedestrian signal " walk"," don't walk", and flashing" don't walk", percent of pedestrians
who started crossing the street during the flashing" don't walk" phase and were trapped in
the middle of the street, and, percent of pedestrians yielding to motorists. Pedestrians also
were interviewed to study their understanding of aspects and the results obtained from the
data collection and interview efforts show that countdown signals are effective in
enhancing pedestrian safety.
 In accordance with the effectiveness of Pedestrian lanes, the city of Tucson, AZ, had
developed a beacon called the High-intensity Activated crossWalk (HAWK) that is made to
assist in pedestrian crossings. This beacon was created for the drivers to receive multiple
cues to emphasize the possible presence of a pedestrian. This device consists of a unique
configuration (two red lenses over a single yellow lens), high-visibility crosswalk markings
(ladder-style markings as opposed to only two transverse white lines), a stop bar
approximately 50 ft. from the crosswalk, 8-inch solid lane lines between through travel
lanes, signs that can be illuminated and read "CROSSWALK," and School Warning signs.
When activated, the HAWK uses a red indication to inform drivers to stop, thereby creating
a time period for pedestrians to cross the major roadway. This study was sponsored by the
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to assess the effectiveness of the HAWK beacon
and now used at more than 60 locations in Tucson, AZ. The result of the conducted study is
that the statistically significant reduction in pedestrian crashes was found through the use
of the HAWK device, but it should be noted that high crash reductions identified in this
study may not be achieved at future locations if the certain area has different
characteristics, such as less pedestrian activity.
The mentioned studies have shown the effectiveness of pedestrian lanes. One
shows the importance of installing countdown signals on pedestrian lanes to lessen the
accidents and to enhance the pedestrian's safety, especially in urban areas. There are data
and interviews that prove the effectiveness of countdown signals in pedestrian lanes. While
the other one shows the effectiveness of having HAWK beacon to assist a pedestrian
crossing, both study shows a positive result in relation to the pedestrian lanes like having
the countdown signals that show effectiveness in enhancing pedestrians safety and having
HAWK device that shows a reduction in pedestrian crashes. The studies presented are
related to the current study because it will help the researchers on how the synchronized
prototype will increase its effectivity.

B.2 Pedestrians involved in road accidents

Basanavičiaus, Vilnius, & Muegyetem (2017) stated that in 2013 in the European
Union more than 22 % of all who died in road traffic crashes were pedestrians. The number
of pedestrians killed on roads in the EU has decreased by only 11 %, compared to the total
fatality decrease of 18 % from 2010 to 2013. Moreover, 69% of all the pedestrian fatalities
are killed inside urban areas and some 38% of pedestrian crashes were related to risky
road crossing behaviors.
According to Teye-Kwadjo, Enoch (2017) Accidents resulting from pedestrian road
traffic crashes are the major concern of public health in Ghana. The study shows the risk
factors for road transport accidents among pedestrians in rural Ghana. In the Findings, it
showed that participants considered road design, roadside trading, inconsiderate driving,
pedestrian traffic behavior, low pedestrian crash risk perception and parental negligence
as important determinants of road transport-related injury among pedestrians in rural
Ghana. These findings suggested that safe pedestrian road environments and health-
enhancing traffic attitudes and behavior may help reduce the pedestrian crash problem in
rural Ghana.
According to The Philippines star (2013) stated that More than 270,000 pedestrians
die on roads each year, indicating that they are among the most vulnerable road users and
The United Nations health agency said pedestrian casualties account for 22 percent of the
1.24 million road traffic deaths, Children and adults with disabilities suffer higher rates of
injury as pedestrians compared to their non-disabled peers and more than 5,000
pedestrians are killed on the world roads each week
These studies have shown different cases of pedestrians involved in road accidents. There
is a huge problem that the world is facing right now because of the non-ending fatalities
and injuries which occur on the road. The people crossing the street has a high probability
to get into street accidents because of the increasing number of involvement. Those
investigations are related to the present study because all studies show the negativity and
jeopardy brought by unexpected situations on the road which the researchers aim to lessen
by the synchronized prototype.