Safe Crosswalk: Support

What is this actually for?

One moment: a driver has stopped to turn across your path and is looking the other way. Turning drivers look left for a gap in traffic, then move right while still processing it. On-road eye-tracking found that in a large share of turns the driver never looks at the crosswalk at all. You are not too dim to see; their eyes are pointed somewhere else. Safe Crosswalk gives you one tap that flashes and speaks, to pull their attention back.

Does this make me safe?

No, and we will not pretend otherwise. It is one more way to be noticed, not protection. Keep making eye contact, and keep waiting until the car has actually stopped. A safety aid that makes you more confident without making you more visible is worse than nothing, so we would rather say this plainly than sell you certainty.

Which mode should I use?

Look at the driver's window. If it is down, sound carries well: a phone easily clears the noise inside a stopped car from several metres away. If the window is up, a modern sealed cabin cuts roughly 35 dB, and your phone would need to be almost touching the glass to be heard. Use light there. If you cannot tell, use light and sound.

Why does it only flash up to 4 times a second?

Because faster is not better and can be dangerous. Flashing between 10 and 20 times a second is the range most likely to trigger a photosensitive seizure, and above about 5 causes eyestrain. Research also found that 1 and 4 flashes per second are detected equally well, but 4 reads as more urgent to drivers, so 4 is the ceiling and the default.

Why does the light never go fully dark?

The dim phase drops to 10% rather than off. A light that vanishes completely is harder for a driver to place in space, and testing found a full-to-dim pattern worked better than full-to-off.

Why is it white and not amber?

"Amber cuts through fog" is a myth, at least for this. Fog droplets are far larger than the wavelength of visible light, so they scatter all colours almost equally; the belief comes from applying the wrong physics. Amber does reduce glare slightly, but filtering to get it costs output, and a phone is already dim next to a headlamp. So the app keeps the brightness.

Does it work with my ringer on silent?

Yes. The voice plays through the media channel, which ignores the silent switch. Nobody should have to check their mute switch while a car is turning into them.

Will it drain my battery?

It stops on its own after 45 seconds, which is far longer than a crossing takes. The torch and full screen brightness are heavy, so the auto-stop exists to make sure a phone left in a pocket cannot keep running.

Is it free? What is the catch?

It is free, with no subscription, no in-app purchase, no ads and no data collection. There is no catch. It was built because one of us kept crossing a foggy street in San Francisco where drivers turning right did not see people.

The flashing bothers me. Can I turn it off?

Yes. Choose Sound only in settings. If you or someone with you is sensitive to flashing light, use that mode.

What would actually fix this problem?

Street design, not an app: daylighting (removing parking near the corner so people are visible before they step out), leading pedestrian intervals, turn calming, and restricting right turns on red. If your crossing feels dangerous, reporting it to your city is worth more than anything we can ship. This app is what one person can carry into the gap those changes leave.

Still need help?

Email may@studioam.art and we will reply. If you have used it at a crossing and it did or did not help, we especially want to hear that. Real conditions tell us more than testing does.