Education Before Enforcement

Education Before Enforcement Deterring Speeders There’s a common misconception that speed laws and police officers are out to get drivers, conspiring to slap them with tickets they don’t deserve. In fact, speed laws are enacted to keep people safe and are carefully calculated taking each street’s environment in mind. Police officers far prefer that drivers obey laws and drive safely than ticket them for speeding. For that reason, speed trailers and display signs are rapidly growing as a tool for police departments to educate drivers and remind them to slow down.   Why Bother Educating? Effective traffic calming, that is slowing of vehicles to safe speeds, almost always involves the three Es- Education, Engineering, and Enforcing. Simply ticketing drivers may be revenue-producing but that’s not the end goal of police departments. Educating drivers is the first, and most important, step to safer roads. Billboards and educational campaigns are effective ways to educate while speed trailers have the advantage of catching drivers in the moment as well as the ability to personalize messages to each driver. How Speed Trailers Educate Speed display signs provide a multi-pronged approach to driver education. They are mounted along with speed limit signs so that drivers see a comparison of the posted speed limit and their own speeds. Speeds are displayed highly visible LED digits so that drivers are aware of what their speeds are. Both the digits and the sign strobes can flash at drivers who exceed set speeds to alert them that they are speeding. Many signs also offer the option to display driver responsive messaging such as “Slow Down” or “Too Fast”. Is Education Enough? For most drivers, the reminder that they need to slow down is sufficient to change behaviors and encourage safer speeds. In fact, studies have shown that most drivers, as many as 70%, do slow down at radar signs. However, a well-rounded, effective traffic calming program should also take Engineering and Enforcement into account. Engineering can be done with street narrowing or physical devices such as speed humps or lane separators while enforcement is something every city has its own approach to.

Product Spotlight - SafePace 550

Hey, What's the Speed Limit Around Here? On roads where speed limits change, it can be hard for drivers to remember, or keep track of different speed limits. Whether entering a school zone, an area where construction is taking place, or just moving from business to residential streets, drivers encounter shifting speed limits every day. Do they notice? No matter how prominently a speed limit sign is displayed, drivers may not notice changed limits, inadvertently putting children, workers, and pedestrians at risk. How Are Speed Limits Decided? The most obvious and most decisive aspect in deciding speed limits is safety. There is a simple statistical relationship between speed of vehicles and severity of crashes. In areas where pedestrians are more likely to be present, such as students walking to school, construction workers repaving a roadway, or children riding bikes outside their homes, lower speed limits can mean the difference between life and death. In addition, the speed of vehicles has been shown to be directly impacted by speed limits. Making Sure People Notice If speed limits are so crucial to driver and pedestrian safety, how can cities make sure they are more prominent so that drivers are more likely to notice them? Today’s distracted, electronically stimulateddrivers may not notice a changed speed limit sign on the side of the road. However, variable speed limit signs such as the SafePace 550 display speed limits in brightly lit LEDs, which are far more visually stimulating than simple black on white numbers.    What if They Miss it?  The digits on the SafePace 550 sign flash at drivers who exceed the selected speed limit. An included strobe light offers additional warning to speeders that the speed limit has changed. Signs can be programmed to display speed limits based on time of day, week, or month so that drivers always know exactly what the speed limit is. Simple to program and manage from anywhere via the SafePace Cloud, the SafePace 550 ensures that drivers are sure to notice and observespeed limits on your roads.

5 Things You May Not Know About Pedestrian & Bicyclist Safety

Complete Streets Engineers, city officials, and regular ordinary people who walk or bike to their destinations, are helping to spread awareness of the need for complete streets. Unlike traditional US roadways that were designed with only the needs of cars and trucks, complete streets consider all users in their design, including those on foot or bikes. Whether that involves completely new design or retrofitting existing streets with new features, responsive roads are key to safety. Here are some facts you may not know about pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Improving Safety 1- Communities that encourage biking and walking are a high priority for the US Department of Transportation. These have been coined “livable communities,” and have the goal of providing safe transportation of all kinds to all its citizens. 2- FHWA has taken aggressive action to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians by providing free assistance to cities and states with the highest biker/walker fatality rates. Latest data on which areas are included can be seen on this map. Key Statistics 3. Most bike crashes take place in urban areas, between 6-9 pm, and not at intersections. Most bicyclists that are killed or injured are male and the average age has slowly inched upward over a 10 year period from 39 to 44. 4. Dedicated bike lanes really do make a difference. One study in New York found that injury rates fell significantly on roads where protected bike lanes were installed. In San Jose, CA, protected bike lane curbing is used to physically diverts vehicles from bike lanes.

Shared Roads

5. Walking and biking are growing in popularity and are healthy for the body and the environment. However, since vehicles move so much faster than legs or bikes, pedestrians and cyclists are always at a disadvantage when sharing the road. Effective complete streets not only are responsive to the needs of all users but require effort from all as well. Safer streets certainly need better design such as walking or bike lanes and vehicle slowing measures such as speed humps, road narrowing, and speed display signs. However, most importantly, they need the care and concern of drivers, riders, and walkers to share the road with everyone who uses it.

Have Traffic Laws Gone Mad?

Do These Laws Make Sense? As engineers and police departments work to craft and maintain safe roads, people are sometimes left wondering why certain laws exist. Does this road really need to be one way? Does every corner need a stop sign? Are these annoying speed humps actually serving any purpose? In most cases, traffic laws are there for a good reason but in some cases, they are actually pretty off the wall.  Crazy Traffic Laws Some states have enacted laws that leave people scratching their heads. Some notable ones?  In Eureka, CA it’s illegal to sleep on the road In GA, it is against the law to drive through a playground In Sag Harbor, NY, it’s illegal to undress in your car In West Virginia, it’s against the law to eat road kill In CT, it’s illegal to shoot whales from your car In UT, there are birds that have the right of way In MA, it’s illegal to drive with a gorilla in the backseat Method to the Madness While outlawing using the road as a bed sounds preposterous, statistics on traffic safety and road accidents demonstrate that most traffic laws are enacted for a good reason. Lower speed limits on residential roads are not just arbitrary, they can actually save lives. One Swedish study found that after reducing speed limits, traffic fatalities were reduced even several years down the line. Keeping traffic moving at a safe, steady pace on residential roads can make the difference between a narrowly diverted accident and an untimely death. Maintening Safety Enacting appropriate speed limits is a great start but many studies find that speed limits alone do little to curb speeding drivers. Speed limits in conjunction with enforcement measures, however, can be powerful in creating safer roads and neighborhoods. Using speed limits in conjunction with road narrowing, speed humps, or speed indicator signs can ensure that the laws on your streets not only make sense but are adhered to.

Safer Roads and Aging Population

Safer Roads and Aging Population Aging Driving Population With growing life expectancy and more active older adults than ever, America’s driving population is aging. Driving patterns change for older drivers as retirement changes schedules and age related declines in vision, hearing and overall wellness can affect driving skills. While average drivers who are 65 or over are actually more likely to be safe drivers than younger counterparts, with a lifetime of driving experience behind them, some elderly drivers are at risk of increased injuries and fatalities to themselves and others when they are behind the wheel. How Safe are They? For the most recent year that data was available, NHTSA  reports that 17% of all traffic fatalities in the US involved people 65 and over. This age group accounts for 14% of the total US population. The number of licensed drivers in the US increased a whopping 27% in the past ten years. The NIH reports that elderly drivers are the least likely to be involved in crashes involving alcohol or speeding but are more likely to get into accidents at intersections and when merging, both situations in where other drivers may be going faster and have quicker reflexes.  Safer Road for All Many engineers, cyclists, pedestrians, and health professionals advocate for Complete Streets. When we think of streets that offer safe access to all users, we often think of motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians. However, the elderly population, who comprise 44.7 million people in the US, need to be considered as well. Whether that means incorporating more speed control devices such as speed humps so that younger drivers don’t speed in areas frequented by slower driving seniors, having longer crossing times for seniors who may be using canes or wheelchairs, or using speed indicator signs to remind elderly drivers of their speeds and ensure they are alert, safer streets for all need to take all ages into account. Resources for Improved Safety Hearing, vision, reaction time, and physical changes affect different people at different ages. Ultimately, as the NIH points out, it’s a person’s health, and not their age, that determines their ability to continue driving safely. An elderly person is more likely to suffer from conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, dementia, stroke, or Parkinson’s disease, all of which can affect one’s ability to drive safely. The NIH website features videos of what it’s like to drive with each of these conditions to offer insight to drivers and their family members. It’s important to remember that the most fundamental component of safer roads is safe drivers.

Traffic Logix - The Webinar Series

Traffic Logix concluded the webinar series on tools for your traffic calming toolbox with a recap of vertical traffic calming solutions and a thorough discussion of driver feedback signs, bike lanes, shared spaces, and the many other traffic calming techniques used on today’s roadways.

Presented by former ITE president Tim Harpst, the webinar not only delineated the traffic calming solutions that you can use to protect your streets, but included an interactive question and answer session with some of your most pressing questions about traffic calming.

A recorded version of the webinar can be listened to here!

Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas

December Celebrations Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hannukah, or just Life, December is a busy, happy, joy-filled season. For traffic engineers and police professionals across the world, it’s a critical responsibility to ensure it stays that way. The perils of the road all year long are exacerbated during these hectic weeks. Tensions are high as everyone rushes to get everything done on time and no one wants joy to turn into tragedy.  Holiday Hazards People are rushing to do gift shopping, celebrate with friends, and plan upcoming festivities. While the increasing popularity of online shopping may have decreased traffic to stores, it’s also increased the number of delivery trucks on local roads. In addition, many children have time off of school, increasing the number of pedestrians on streets. As distracted driving has become a rampant issue in recent years, it’s an additional factor to consider on holiday-clogged roads. What Can You Do? Promoting safe driving on holiday roads should ideally start long before the holidays. Having a traffic calming program in place with driver feedback sign, speed humps, and bike lanes where you need them can ensure that your roads are well equipped for the holiday rush. Even with well engineered streets though, the perils of holiday driving can still be a concern. Educational campaigns can be a great way to offset existing traffic calming by reminding drivers of the importance of driving sober, focused, and within speed limits. What's being done? When it comes to educating drivers and pedestrians about street safety during the holidays, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Many resources exist to help you along the way. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a free app called SaferRide that helps impaired drivers get a taxi or call a friend with one click. In Seattle, a holiday pedestrian safety campaign has a wide array of ads and posters to encourage both drivers and pedestrians to exercise extra caution during the holidays while an air force base in Florida has an annual holiday traffic safety campaign Traffic Safety Marketing, a division of NHTSA, also has powerful marketing materials available to help you protect road users during the holidays.

Hypnotized Behind The Wheel

Every day, thousands of drivers drive hypnotized. No, it's not a new craze- it's a real phenomenon, and it's probably happened to you. Do you ever mistakenly drive in the wrong direction because that's how you usually go? Have you ever pulled into your driveway and wondered how you got there? That's because you experienced highway hypnosis.

Strange as it seems, highway hypnosis is more common than it seems- and can lead to dangerous results. Check out our November Traffic Calmer and read about what highway hypnosis is, what to do about it, and some key strategies for prevention. Learn how blinking leds on driver feedback signs can help return drivers to the present with a bright visual alert.