In an effort to reduce accidents involving distracted pedestrians, SEPTA will equip a dozen city buses with audio alerts and strobe lights to warn people when the bus is turning, the agency announced Monday.
“People are distracted all the time now whether it is looking at their phones texting [or] looking at news on the Internet,” Ed Abel Jr., manager of operational safety, said in a SEPTA video. “They are preoccupied with their life and what they are doing, and they aren’t paying attention to what their surroundings are.”
There were 44 incidents when a bus or trolley struck a pedestrian last year, according to a SEPTA spokeswoman, and one of those was fatal. That means that in 2014, there was one incident about every eight days.
Back on Feb. 27, a teen was badly injured in North Philadelphia when he was accidentally run over by a bus that he was rushing to catch. At the time, he was listed in critical condition.
The new pilot project, formally called the "Safe Turn Alert System," is meant to keep distracted pedestrians safe while they walk the city's streets.
When the driver turns the steering wheel, a recorded female voice says “pedestrians, bus is turning.” In addition, small flashing lights on the side of the bus are triggered to warn people who might not hear the audio alert.
The program will run through October. Route 31 will be the first route to receive one of the new pilot buses this week. Buses equipped with the new alert system will switch routes throughout the pilot program's duration to better understand its effectiveness.
Abel said the program doesn't force the driver to develop any new habits.
“The operator doesn't have to do anything out of the norm,” said Abel.
SEPTA will monitor the program's success to see if it should be expanded, Scott Sauer, chief officer of system safety at SEPTA, said in a statement.
“We will examine the volume of alerts during turns, reactions of passengers and pedestrians to the audio and visual warnings, additional technical issues and the general upkeep of the system,” said Sauer.