Articles written by Katie Behrens
Articles written by
Katie Behrens
TB2N1 Achieves FDOT Approval
Pelco Products is excited to announce that our TB2N1 has earned official approval from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). The product is now listed on the FDOT Approved Products List (APL), a significant milestone that validates our commitment to quality, safety, and compliance with federal standards. For Florida municipalities, traffic engineers, and transportation departments, this approval opens new opportunities for procurement and project specification.
Improving Nighttime Pedestrian Safety
"Most pedestrian fatalities continue to occur at night, although nighttime deaths have accounted for an even larger share over the past few years. In 2021, 77% of fatal pedestrian crashes occurred in the dark, with approximately 20% happening in daylight and 3% during dawn or dusk. Since 2010, nighttime fatal crashes have increased by 86%, compared with a 31% rise in daytime pedestrian deaths”, according to a Governors Highway Safety Association study. Solutions such as streetlights, static signs, or freshly painted crosswalks are not enough because more often than not, drivers don’t notice or obey them. Fortunately, PedSafety has an innovative, life-saving product that can drastically improve nighttime and low-visibility pedestrian safety.
Traffic Calming in Winter Conditions
Winter transforms roads into unpredictable environments where even experienced drivers can find themselves in dangerous situations. Snow, ice, reduced visibility, and shorter daylight hours all contribute to a significant increase in traffic accidents during the colder months. While drivers can take personal precautions like winterizing their vehicles and adjusting their driving habits, traffic engineers and road safety professionals play a critical role in reducing risks for everyone on the road.
Winter Weather and Traffic Hardware
Traffic safety professionals face an important challenge as winter approaches: ensuring traffic hardware continues to perform reliably in harsh weather conditions. In the winter, road conditions and driver behavior dominate our attention, but the integrity and functionality of traffic safety equipment are just as important. Identifying how winter weather impacts traffic hardware and maintaining safety infrastructure are the most important factors in maintaining a safe environment.
What is Audible Beaconing?
Audible beaconing is a functionality incorporated into certain Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) and becomes operational only when pedestrians utilize the extended press feature, which is initiated by holding down the button for more than one second. Accessible pedestrian signals (APS) employ sound, raised arrows, and vibration to communicate changes in Walk, Pedestrian Clearance, or Don’t Walk status to visually impaired pedestrians. Unlike basic push buttons devoid of sound or vibration, APS ensures users are not left in uncertainty, wondering if their call has been registered. This uncertainty can be particularly challenging for visually impaired individuals.
Keeping Holiday Traffic Under Control
The holiday season brings joy, celebration, and cherished time with loved ones, but it also brings some of the most challenging traffic conditions of the year. Whether it's families traveling for Thanksgiving, shoppers flooding retail districts during the winter holidays, or summer vacationers heading to popular destinations, the dramatic increase in vehicle traffic puts tremendous strain on our roadways. Traffic managers, city planners, and community safety officials face the difficult task of keeping both residents and visitors safe during these peak travel periods.
Traffic Safety Tips for Darker Days
As autumn settles in and daylight hours continue to shrink, November brings unique challenges for both drivers and pedestrians. With the end of Daylight Saving Time, evening commutes now happen in darkness, making visibility and awareness more critical than ever. At Pelco Products, we're committed to helping communities stay safe during these darker months.
How to Build or Update Roads
In today's ever-growing cities, roads are being made larger and faster than they ever have before. If you're driving to work this sounds like a great benefit, but if you are someone who would rather walk or cycle to work, these large roads can have adverse consequences for you. When creating new roads, DOTs and city engineers must plan around the safety of pedestrians and vehicles alike.
Enhancing Pedestrian Safety
Pedestrian Safety Month serves as a critical reminder of the dangers pedestrians face on the road every day. Initiated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), this month-long observance focuses on reducing the tragic number of pedestrian fatalities that occur each year in the U.S. Over 7,500 pedestrians were killed in traffic accidents in 2022 alone, with most incidents happening at non-intersection locations or intersections equipped with traditional traffic control devices.
The Importance of Pedestrian Safety Month
October marks Pedestrian Safety Month, a critical time for the traffic industry to reflect on our collective responsibility to protect the most vulnerable users of our roadways. As vehicles become faster and road systems more complex, the need for robust pedestrian safety infrastructure has never been more urgent.
Making Every Crossing Safer
October is Pedestrian Safety Month, a time to recognize the importance of creating safer streets for everyone who travels on foot or by bike. While awareness is crucial, real change happens when innovation meets action. At PedSafety, we believe that everyone deserves to arrive home safely. For years, we've been working to transform intersections across the Western Hemisphere through cutting-edge accessible pedestrian signal technology and comprehensive safety systems.
Safe Routes to School
Every day, millions of children across the United States make the journey to and from school. While this trip should be safe and straightforward, many students face significant hazards, including busy intersections, poorly maintained sidewalks, and high-speed traffic zones that put their safety at risk. The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program was created to address these challenges, providing communities with the resources and funding needed to make walking and biking to school safer and more accessible for all students.
Understanding the Build America, Buy America Act
The Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act marks a pivotal moment in American infrastructure policy, fundamentally changing how federally funded projects source materials and equipment. Enacted as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in November 2021, BABA represents the most comprehensive domestic content requirement for infrastructure projects in decades.
Introducing Guardian® Duo
For years, traffic authorities have faced an impossible choice when installing Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS): either accept a higher cost of installation and disruption due to running new wiring, or implement an existing 2-wire system that either doesn't perform as reliably in real-world conditions or requires the installation of even more components. The Guardian® Duo eliminates that compromise entirely.
5 Traffic Calming Strategies
Creating safer school zones isn’t about guesswork, it’s about deploying proven strategies that protect children, reduce vehicle speeds, and improve visibility. TraffiCalm offers impactful, evidence-based solutions that make school zones safer and smarter.
Traffic vs Utility
Pelco stands as the world’s largest manufacturer of traffic and utility hardware, celebrated for its quality and customer-first approach. Whether upgrading a signal intersection or enhancing utility infrastructure, selecting the right hardware (traffic-oriented or utility-focused) is critical. Let's explore the key differences and help you match the right hardware to your project's needs.
School Zone Safety
Every school day, millions of children make their way across busy streets to reach the classroom. For many, it’s a quick and safe journey. But for our most vulnerable pedestrians: young children, students with disabilities, and those unfamiliar with the area, crossing a street can be one of the most dangerous moments of the day. At PedSafety, our mission is to ensure these moments are safe, accessible, and stress-free. Specialized crossing solutions are the key to making school zones not just compliant with safety regulations but truly designed for the people who need them most.
Navigating the New BABA Requirements
The Federal Highway Administration’s Build America, Buy America (BABA) initiative introduces updated requirements for manufactured products used in highway and bridge construction. These changes are part of a broader regulatory shift aimed at increasing transparency, reshaping supply chain strategies, and reinforcing domestic manufacturing within federal infrastructure investments.
Decorative vs Functional
Communities face constant pressure to balance limited budgets between essential infrastructure and aesthetic improvements. Traffic engineers prioritize safety and reliability, while planners push for attractive streetscapes that enhance community pride. This perceived conflict has led many municipalities to default to purely utilitarian solutions, believing that decorative elements compromise performance or inflate costs. However, this thinking is outdated and unnecessarily limiting. Modern manufacturing capabilities and engineering standards have eliminated the trade-offs that once forced communities to choose between form and function.
ADA Compliance and Accessibility
Designing truly accessible pedestrian crossings goes beyond simply complying with regulatory standards. It requires a deep understanding of varied mobility needs and a strong commitment to universal design principles. At PedSafety, we’re committed to creating crossing solutions that not only meet but exceed ADA requirements, ensuring safe, respectful, and inclusive access for people of all abilities, ages, and those using assistive technologies.