People used to not using the buttons during the day may not remember to use them at night. They may not even be able to see the labels at night, since (unlike any actual road sign, at least in the US) they aren't even retroreflective. This is likely to cause confusion, leading people to cross without a walk signal.
So this will disproportionately endanger people walking at night--which is already the peak time for driver-inflicted fatalities.
If they can't see the labels at night so what? They use their daytime experience of expecting it to be automatic and wait awkwardly for nothing... or they push the button and the light changes eventually.
IMHO the biggest problem here is that the label doesn't meet the usual standards for road/pedestrian signage. In particular, "real" road signs are retroreflective so that you can see them easily under streetlights (or in car headlights). This is particularly important for signs that are only relevant at night. (Semipermanent signs should be made of a sufficiently durable material, which this...is not.)
Most of Australia also doesn't have these buttons as far as I'm aware.
So that's not most likely to be the default assumption at all.
SURELY one always looks out for traffic, even if it is green for you!
1. At intersections with "leading pedestrian intervals" or "exclusive pedestrian phasing," walk signals provide unique safety benefits that reduce the risks posed by oncoming traffic.
2. This can be important: due to road geometry or other obstructions, it can be hard to see oncoming traffic from a distance, especially for the visually impaired.
3. Blind pedestrians can hear audible walk signals, but cannot see oncoming traffic at all.
4. At sufficiently complex intersections, it can be impossible for you to tell whether stopped cars are about to come towards you when a light changes.
5. Most importantly: walk signs usually tell you how soon a light will change, so that you don't start walking just before a light change.
This is why walk signals reduce car-related fatalities, particularly at night, when people are most at risk.
This already happened months ago in my city, I hardly even noticed.
It's a reasonable assumption because you don't need to push the button to get a pedestrian signal unless the intersection was designed by a carbrain.
From observation, quite a few people do. Once modern cars with automatic braking become common, probably most people will
They do it because they don't give a shit about traffic signaling, period. They are the same kinds of people who run red lights.
They don't do it because they think that somehow stepping into the road is going to magically activate the 'WALK' light.
Any stats on that? I thought that daytime tends to have more total incidents, but that is usually when the amount of traffic peaks too.
Edit: From https://www.lhd.com.au/lhd-insights/australian-road-death-st... it would appear that 3-4pm in the afternoon is the most dangerous time. Peak traffic and possible fatigue effects.
No one is just walking into an intersection as if the 60 second timing cycle is their circadian rhythm. There are also hard to miss sounds queues that go with the pedestrian signals.
There are no shortage of city intersections worldwide where the buttons are placebo and people b manage just fine.