Fresh Starts, Big Dreams, Safer Streets

TC Fresh Starts, Big Dreams, Safer Streets  New Year’s Resolutions It’s that time of year again. People make noble promises to improve their lives and the lives of those around them. Whether it’s to choose the bike over the car, to eat better, or to create safer streets as part of the lofty goal of saving lives, any resolution worth making is worth accomplishing. So why do 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail each year? Eight Miles a Day The most common mistake with resolutions is that resolve isn’t quite enough. No matter how strong your resolve to jog 8 miles a day despite your sedentary lifestyle, chances are it isn’t going to happen. And there’s a good reason for that. One of the most common reasons people fail at New Year’s resolutions is that they are overly ambitious when they feel inspired, and then overwhelmed when inspiration passes. Dream Big, Start Small The most effective way to create real, ongoing change is with small, incremental change. Small changes are less exciting, but they’re a lot more approachable. Resolve to make every street in your city safer or stop every driver from speeding and chances are slim that you’ll get anywhere. Add radar signs to alert speeding drivers on streets with the top 5 speeding concerns, and you’re already on the way to a safer 2017. What's Small for You? Every person and every city has a different starting point as the New Year begins. A city with no traffic calming program in place and one with a citywide infrastructure have different steps to take to work toward big change. Whatever your big dreams, you only know how effective they are once you take small steps to get there. Whether starting with a small education initiative or installing speed humps in front of every school in the city, you need to know what’s small for you to get somewhere big.

Safer School Zones No Matter The Cost

When cars are speeding in local school zones, radar speedsigns are a natural response. But what about when there’s no room in the budget for them?

The city of Toronto has four SafePace radar signs mounted on trailers and rotated weekly throughout the city. Midtown residents want more. They want the signs installed on streets around two local schools in the neighborhood to stop cars from speeding and ensure kids can get to and from school safely. And they’re willing to pay for them.

Councilor Christin Carmichael Greb said she’s received numerous calls from school councils, resident associations, and even individuals willing to help foot the bill for the SafePace speed signs.

The city is considering whether they can accept public donations to fund the speed display signs, which have been effective on other city streets in slowing cars down. While the signs would be purchased with private funds, they would still be managed by the city who would rotate them on streets around the schools.

The president of a local community association thinks fundraisers should be held for radar signs and other safety solutions in every ward in the city. For more impoverished wards, he proposed raising funds from other parts of the city.

Read the full story here.

Case Study: Leading Car Manufacturing Plant

Case Study: Leading Car Manufacturing Plant  Producing Cars, Promoting Excellence In the leading Japanese car manufacturing plants in Canada, a new car is driven off the lot every minute. Each car is meticulously crafted and fastidiously tested to ensure that it meets the company’s superior standard for car production. However, there was no system in place to ensure that the cars were treated with the same level of car once they were driven out of the plant to the holding area. The company needed a system that could monitor vehicle speeds so that the cars got the same level of care once they left the facility’s doors. Extending Excellence Beyond the Plant The SafePace 100 compact speed display sign offered the leading car manufacturer a unique solution to their needs. By using the signs at their Canadian plants, the company is able to monitor vehicle speeds, confirm whether posted speed limits are being adhered to, access real time data on driving behaviors and patterns, and alert team members as soon as an issue is detected. The SafePace Cloud lets the company access the robust software interface from any device at any time to monitor, review, and report possible lapses in vehicle handling. Safer Vehicle Operation The full-featured SafePace 100 signs  offer the company just what it needs for safer vehicle operation at their manufacturing plants.  Some of the sign highlights include the light enhancing, anti glare LEDs that show team members their speeds in bright, highly visible digits; the ability to program the speeds at which the digits and/or built-in strobe flash to warn drivers; up to the minute statistics on driver behavior; stealth mode to collect driver data while it appears to be off; and the portable, lightweight design that allows the signs to be used at different locations throughout the plant. Immediate Intervention  The new program extends the high standards of the car manufacturing plant beyond the production process. The signs reinforced what the company already knew- that most employees were handling the brand new vehicles with the meticulous care they expected. However, in instances where drivers were exceeding threshold speeds as they transport the vehicles, the management can now conduct intervention immediately to curtail the behavior and compel improvement. The Traffic Logix speed display signs have been met with enthusiasm at the plant as they continue to build on the company’s protocol of excellence.

What in your car is most likely to save your life?

Well let's be honest, there's a whole slew of things in your car that can save your life. Your seatbelt. The brakes. Even your horn. But there's only one thing that you have to constantly make sure is in operation. Without this your chances of surviving the daily commute are slim. Your most powerful driving tool is something completely in your control- your eyes.

Distracted driving is a growing risk and even the smallest glance away from the road can have disastrous results. Learn about the dangers of failing to pay attention on the road and life-saving ways to ensure that drivers on your roads are paying attention when it matters most in our July Traffic Calmer newsletter.

Traffic calming saves lives. Brightly lit speed display signs can make your roads safer for everyone.

A Trailer by Any Other Name

SafePace Cruiser LT shown with SafePace 800 rotating sign

Some people think speed trailers are a ubiquitous term for all radar speed signs and speed display signs. They're not. Speed trailers are actually mobile devices that are used to mount speed signs for portable use. They are a versatile traffic calming tool and can be towed on the back of any vehicle and parked wherever speeding is a concern.

What sets the Traffic Logix SafePace Cruiser LT speed trailers apart? Well for one, as the photo on the left shows, the Cruiser LT includes a cool little feature that lets you rotate your sign either vertically or horizontally. But it doesn't end there. The Cruiser LT includes a whole host of features and options that make it the ideal accessory to help you use your speed signs more efficiently in slowing traffic down.

Where should you use your trailer? 

Do speed trailers really work? 

Learn the answers to these questions in our February newsletter, Product Spotlight: SafePace Cruiser LT Speed Trailers.

There's a Better Way

Many cities are turning to speed cameras for a quick solution to stop speeders. It seems like a foolproof solution. But can technology make mistakes? You may be surprised by the answer.

Daniel Doty, a lawyer in Baltimore, MD, recently received a citation for speeding at 38 mph in a 25 mph zone. The citation included photos and a link to a 3 second video, both of which show that his Mazda was actually sitting still at a red light. Mr. Doty is contesting the $40 charge, but the repercussions are staggering. Thousands of speed tickets are issued each day. How many of them are mistakes?

Apparently speed cameras, thought to be infallible, are capable of errors. But when they do work, do they really work? Do they create changes in driver behavior?

Speed cameras may be effective in curbing behavior for the short term but they also create resentment, which may lead to drivers driving less safely instead of more safely on roads not outfitted with cameras. One organization in the UK claims that speed cameras actually do cause worse driver behavior. Is there a better way to slow drivers for the long run?

Unlike speed cameras, speed display signs simply alert drivers without penalizing them, trusting them to respond appropriately to the reminder. Speed signs create self-motivation and promote alertness that stays with drivers as they continue on new roads.

Radar signs provide accurate speeds and effective, long-term speed control. Do speed cameras?

The Traffic Calming Formula: Safer roads = Better driving = Less accidents = Fewer deaths

Traffic Logix SafePace 400 Speed Sign

NHTSA released an early estimate of traffic fatalities for the first quarter of 2012, with frightening results. An estimated 7,630 people died in car crashes during these three months, an increase of 13.5% compared to the first quarter of 2011. The miles traveled increased as well, but only by 1.4%, certainly not accounting for the 13.5% increase in fatalities.

If these projections are realized, this will indicate the second largest increase in fatalities since NHTSA first started recording traffic fatalities in 1975. The largest increase in fatalities was in the first quarter of 1979 with a 15.3% in the number of traffic related deaths.

The 2012 increase in fatalities is following a historic downtrend in traffic fatalities over the past few years.

Were the increased fatalities due to texting while driving? Long stretches of road inviting drivers to speed? Younger, less experienced drivers? Tired driving?

Traffic Logix Rubber Speed Hump

Whatever the cause of the increase in fatalities, creating safer roads is critical to prevent fatalities going forward. Traffic calming is key in preventing accidents. Study after study on speed humps, radar speed signs, and other traffic calming solutions all lead to the same conclusion: traffic calming reduces accidents, and when they do happen, reduces the severity of the outcome.

Solutions such as speed humps that compel drivers to slow down, or speed display signs that return driver focus to the road, are integral to protecting drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.

Safer roads = Better driving = Less accidents = Fewer deaths

Together we can save lives.