Gridlock Guy: HAWK pedestrian signals confuse some drivers

As we have covered in earnest lately with roundabouts, the introduction of a new traffic tool or maneuver can throw drivers for a loop. Diverging diamonds and displaced left turns, each of which send drivers on the wrong side of a roadway to prevent left turns across traffic, can be confusing. This said, encountering new traffic signals can cause the same hesitation or befuddlement.

The HAWK (high-intensity activated crosswalk) beacon contains a mixture of yellow and red lights and pedestrians can activate them when they are readying to use a crosswalk. What those lights mean, however, can be confusing. One regular commuter around one of those signals in Cobb County e-mailed us some insights.

“On GA-120/Whitlock Avenue in Marietta (west of town), there is a signalized, pedestrian activated crosswalk for the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park that uses a yellow, solid red, flashing red sequence,” driver David Becker wrote. “The style is uncommon in [Georgia] and almost all motorists seem baffled, causing confusion and lots of traffic delay on the flashing red.”

Becker even questioned whether he knew the rules — and he thought he did. As he wrote what the rules were in our correspondence, he nailed it.

When HAWK signals are unlit, drivers should simply proceed past them at a normal speed. When a pedestrian prepares to cross and presses the button, yellow lights activate. Yellow on a HAWK signal means the same thing that it signifies on a regular traffic light: drivers should begin to slow and prepare for that signal to turn red.

The yellow light is the single bulb on the bottom row of a HAWK. When the red lights illuminate in the two lamps on the top row, all vehicular traffic must stop.

This is also the signal for pedestrians to safely proceed into the crosswalk, as they receive a “walk” signal on the signs facing them.

Traffic under the auspices of those solid red lights must remain stopped for the entirety of that cycle, regardless of where the person is in the crosswalk.

Once the vehicle signals change and start flashing red, drivers can proceed across the crosswalk if it is empty in front of them and once they first stop. This creates a slow buffer between cars and unprotected people, before the signals turn off and traffic resumes normally.

Becker’s concern with the signal on Whitlock Avenue was that people were stopping too long or unnecessarily. Signs indicate that drivers must stop on red, which is universally true. But Becker said that some will stay stopped in the HAWK crosswalk when the red lights are flashing. He said they are slow to drive forward after stopping. I raised this point with Cobb County officials.

“We encourage all residents to familiarize themselves with the HAWK signal operation and to always remain alert and cautious at crosswalks,” spokesperson Ross Cavitt told 11Alive and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And he extolled the system’s virtues.

“This system increases pedestrian visibility, reduces crashes, and ensures smoother traffic operation,” he said. As for the idea of drivers near Kennesaw Mountain superfluously coming to a stop: “HAWK beacons minimize unnecessary stops for drivers while giving priority to pedestrian safety when needed,” Cavitt said.