Trial traffic lights alert vulnerable road users to oncoming trams

The Brussels government has installed traffic lights that warn pedestrians and cyclists about oncoming trams. The lights, installed in Koekelberg, are part of a test to improve traffic safety at places where there are no traffic lights or where trams can be difficult to see.

The initiative was taken by Bianca Debaets, the secretary of state for road safety, mobility minister Pascal Smet, public transport authority MIVB and mobility agency Bruxelles Mobilité.

The lights work using detection sensors. They will go out when there is no tram around and will start to flash when a tram approaches.

Two kinds of lights will be tested in Koekelberg. One will feature a red figure telling pedestrians to stop; the other will display an image of a tram. The two will be tested at the same time at two roads.

“Afterwards we will implement the system that’s proved to be the clearest for pedestrians,” said Debaets. “We hope to reduce the risks for vulnerable road users.”

The goal is to install the lights at specific spots where the danger for pedestrians and cyclists is the greatest. “It may seem like a detail, but there are no small measures when it concerns the protection of vulnerable road users,” Smet said.

Photo courtesy Facebook Bianca Debaets