In any case the buttons often vibrate specifically so that deaf people can feel it.
The person you've constructed in this scenario is both blind and deaf. Such an unattended person is in extreme danger on streets with automobile traffic no matter what the crosswalk button does.
I agree that not all disabilities can be accounted for. However the more we account for the better - where accounting is all aspects of getting around. I don't know how to make it safe for a blind and deaf person to navigate streets safely - but I wish it was possible and as soon as I learn of something that works I'll support it.
At some point, a disability requires assistance. That is less true these days than in the past but still a last option.
It’s a simple button that clicks, and under the panel there’s a small knob that rotates. Click the button, then place your fingers on the knob and wait for it to start spinning. I can’t tell you if the crossing call button is completely broken (although you’ll figure that out if wait long enough), but broken call buttons in the UK are pretty rare, I’ve only encountered a small handful of broken buttons over 20 years.
I am most used to these ones specifically: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/ECW0FA/pedestrian-crossing-traffic...
Can be activated with your elbow, the thing beeps and the bottom lights up when you activate it.
Slow clicks help deaf users locate the button; fast clicks mean it's safe to cross; silence means you shouldn't enter the crossing because there's not enough time left.
[0] See https://theconversation.com/sublime-design-the-pb-5-pedestri...: I have a possibly excessive national pride in how good a button it is
I absolutely detest the lip variant. It makes it impossible to slap the button with an open palm, requiring an actual push instead. Particularly with the pandemic, they were near impossible to activate with an elbow. So close to perfection and yet so far…
That said I now have to deal with the terrible British ones, and the attached signals that are supposedly safer - they’re on the same device as the button, supposedly forcing you to look at them and face the traffic. In practise, the inconsistency of whether there’s a crossing indicator on the other side of the road or not means I rely solely on sound cues.
If everyone can just adopt the PB/5, even with the atrocious lip, the world will be a better place.
Unless you are deaf, then you get no feedback. There are buttons near me that don't always trigger when I touch them, but I know to listen for the feedback. (these are touch, not push buttons) Of course they are not universal, there are a lot of buttons around me that give no feedback at all.