I think they are meant for people to believe they do something so they’ll feel better and wait. I used to walk a lot and encounter lots of crosswalk with buttons and I got used to how fast I should go in order to catch green every time and I could predict when the next crosswalk was going to turn green. If they truly worked then they should have been out of sync. I never pushed the buttons and I saw the light turning green even though no one pushed the button, if the buttons worked then why would the light turn green?

I also asked gemini about this and he said I’m not going insane, strange because I never mentioned if I was insane or not, but good to know I’m not.

Maybe some buttons work and other don’t depending on where it is?

  • davad@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    21 hours ago

    No. Look at the textured ground at the cutout from the sidewalk to the road. That warns blind people that there’s a surface transition. And the crosswalk noises let them know which direction is safe to cross.

    • TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      21 hours ago

      Maybe the touchy spinny thing is for deaf and blind people then? They have them at traffic lights where I live, plus the beeping and ground texture

      • davad@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        42 minutes ago

        Ooh, I misunderstood. I don’t think I’ve seen any spinning things at crosswalks before.

      • Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        21 hours ago

        That’s interesting! I’ve only seen ones that speak, I’ll have to keep an eye out to see if there are any with tactile indicators near me.