1The Animated “Eyes ” Symbol as Part of the WALK Signal: An Examination of the Generality of its Effectiveness Across a Variety of Intersection Geometries and Timing Parameters

This series of studies examined the use of animated eyes as part of the WALK signal. In the first experiment the conflicts were examined before and after the animated eyes were introduced at two intersections with one way traffic on both streets, four intersections with two way traffic on both streets, and two intersections with one way traffic on one street and two way traffic on the other. Conflicts were reduced at crosswalks on all eight streets with significant reductions on 7 of the 8 streets. The second experiment examined whether it was better to have the eyes look in both directions, eyes scanning back and forth with equal dwell times in each direction, or only in the direction of the threat, unequal dwell times with the eyes looking longer in the direction of the threat, at crosswalks on one-way streets. The results of this study showed that looking one way was no more effective than looking both ways. The effect of varying the percentage of the time that the eyes message was repeated during the WALK interval on looking behavior and conflicts was examined in the second experiment, and third experiment. The results of this study show that having the eyes on during the entire WALK interval was no more effective than having the eyes alternately on for 3.5 seconds and off for 3.5 seconds, but having th