Full transparency is not always a good thing: countdown signals at intersections make pedestrians safer, but also lead to more collisions

No matter people’s major mode of transportation, they are almost certain to be a pedestrian at some stage of the journey. Having better information in busy urban areas, such as countdowns at intersections, can help to make being a pedestrian safer. Using Toronto as a case study, Sacha Kapoor and Arvind Magesan investigate the effects of introducing pedestrian countdowns on pedestrian and automobile safety. They find that while countdowns do make pedestrians safer, they also can lead to an increase in automobile accidents, as they facilitate more aggressive driving. They argue that in these sorts of contexts, full transparency of local information may not necessarily lead to the best outcomes for all.