Difference Between Pelican and Puffin Crossing

Pelican vs Puffin Crossing
 

Over the last few years, the amount of traffic on roads in metros and other cities has increased exponentially with the number of cars skyrocketing. This has made it very difficult for pedestrians to cross over roads. For the convenience of these pedestrians, different road crossings are installed, and it pays to have a sound knowledge of these crossings. Many people get confused between Pelican and Puffin crossings as there are similarities between them. This article attempts to highlight the differences between Pelican and Puffin crossing for the benefit of the readers.

Pelican Crossing

This is a type of crossing that derives its name from pedestrian light controlled crossing and is used by pedestrians by activating one of the light buttons on the box. However, a pedestrian has to ensure that all traffic has come to a standstill before they make an attempt to cross the road. In fact, they get a signal in the form of a green man that lights up after which pedestrians should cross. Pedestrian presses the button on the box of a pelican crossing to cross the road, and the traffic lights turn red, virtually stopping traffic. However, pedestrians must cross the road only when the man on the box turns steady green and not when it is still flashing.

Puffin Crossing

Puffin comes from pedestrian user friendly intelligence and is one step ahead of the pelican crossing, as it consists of infra red cameras that detect the presence of pedestrians with their body heat. This makes the crossing intelligent as it can increase or reduce the time for which traffic light remains red. This helps pedestrians as they are not required to walk faster and the crossing detects their body heat to keep the signal red.