Seventy-One Percent of Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities Were More Confident in Crossing Signalized Intersections with New York City’s PED-SIG Application Than with Other Technologies.

Methodology

The PED-SIG application was evaluated based on operational data logs collected from the PIDs, field test observations, as well as qualitative feedback provided by participants before and after the tests. Approximately 170 runs, each made up of two crosswalk crossings, were completed by the volunteer participants during the field tests.

Findings

• Participant surveys conducted following the field tests revealed that 83 percent of participants felt much safer or slightly safer when using the PED-SIG application, compared to not using it.
• Seventy-one percent of the participants agreed that they felt more confident in their ability to cross a signalized intersection with the PED-SIG application than with other assistive technologies they have used before.
• Most of the participants (96 percent) felt that they were given sufficient time to cross the intersection, and 63 percent of them felt that they stayed oriented on the crosswalk when using the PED-SIG application.
• All participants agreed that the PED-SIG application provided sufficient information through audio to assist in their intersection crossing. However, the perception of the vibration function was mixed, with about 13 percent of the participants responding that vibration information was not sufficient and 46 percent of the participants stating that they did not know or notice the haptic feedback.
• Approximately 80 percent of the participants received timely alerts and information from the application either always or most of the time. However, this rate dropped to 71 percent when the participants were asked if the alerts given were accurate.
• All participants agreed that the information provided by the PED-SIG application was helpful, with 67 percent strongly agreeing.