Pedestrian Crosswalk Safety System

Spikes! Mother Nature got it right - those spikes can be huge deterrents to even the most careless predator. So I decided to employ them at a crosswalk.

A. When a pedestrian crosses at the designated crosswalk, they will trigger spikes to protrude from the road. I’m not a fan of electric or sensor-based methods, so I think a simple fulcrum or even an air pump-based system to raise the spikes would suffice.

B. To ensure cars don’t trigger the spikes themselves, there would be designated thru-ways for the tires to safely drive on (shown as the zig-zag lines above) that do not have any spike-triggering mechanisms. To make these thru-ways more obvious sections of the crosswalk could be slightly elevated.

When close to the crosswalk, drivers would want some reassurance that the spikes are lowered, even beyond the absence of pedestrians. I’d place a sign-like device in the middle of the crosswalk and at the street corners that is 3-4 feet above the ground, and are also equipped with a telescopic spikes, which would indicate the position of the spikes on the road.

To prevent jerk pedestrians from triggering the system to antagonize drivers, the spikes would need successive inputs (footsteps) along the path of the crosswalk to become fully raised. Foot traffic momentum would be needed to keep the spikes engaged - after a second of zero input, the spikes drop back down.

This system is ideal for high-accident intersections, and would make drivers more alert. Also this would stop what could be a hit-and-run scenario in it’s tracks.

Drawbacks - would be a slower intersection for motorists, so I’d limit the window for pedestrians to cross, giving more time for drivers to get through. The spikes would be raised along the whole crosswalk, so drivers who would normally turn in front of incoming pedestrians would be halted - but pedestrians do have right of way mind you.

NOTE: I originally had another system that was like a see-saw, where a person would walk on this platform and it would partially sink, raising some spikes on the opposing end. It was only a few feet wide, so cars could safely drive over it (and trigger it) without incident. Unfortunately a ‘guilty’ car would be too close to the pedestrian, so the damage would already be done. Maybe one day I will showcase this idea.