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.

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.

Back to School For You Too

Back to School For You Too Unless you’re actively involved in school zone street safety or you’re a parent of school-age kids, there’s a good chance back to school hasn’t really crossed your mind. True, Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer but the weather is still hot, the calendar still reads summer, and not much changes in September for most adults. The truth is though, back to school applies to everyone. All New Yorkers A clever campaign by the NYPD reminds New Yorkers that back to school is for everyone. Even if you’re not a parent of young kids, chances are you drive through school zones and need to be alert to changing speed limits, increased foot traffic, and less observant (and smaller!) pedestrians. Avoiding distracting behaviors and being focused and alert behind the wheel becomes even more important as children head back to school. Vision Zero and Back to School Many cities across the country have issued written statements and safety sheets to help encourage drivers to improve safety with the increase in walking, biking, busing, and carpooling students on the roads. Awareness, coupled with traffic calming measures to slow cars down, can go a long way to improving safety on local streets. With car accidents a leading cause of death for young children in the US, it’s important for drivers to recognize that their choices behind the wheel can actually save a life. Not Too Late Even for cities where back to school didn’t go as safely as planned, it’s not too late to make a difference. Educational campaigns are a great tool to remind local drivers to be alert but physical, ongoing solutions arean important part of safe school zones. Whether speed humps or cushions to compel drivers to slow down or flashing beacons and speed display signs to remind them of lower speed limits, traffic calming solutions can help ensure that students are safe in school all year long.

Citizens Patrol Group Uses SafePace 100 Speed Sign for Rural Traffic Safety

Citizens on Patrol, or COPS, recently purchased a Traffic Logix SafePace 100 driver feedback sign to slow cars down in school areas and on rural roadways.  COPS is a small community group in  rural Enfield, Nova Scotia that serves as the eyes and ears for the local police department when they can't be there. They conduct fundraising, patrol neighborhoods in their own vehicles, and respond to community concerns.

Residents in Enfield often complain about speeding cars, especially near schools and on stretches of rural roads. The citizens group decided to purchase a radar feedback sign to help inform community members of their speeds and remind them to slow down. With a limited budget, the compact SafePace 100 speed sign was the perfect solution with its low price tag and full featured capabilities.

COPS purchased the radar feedback sign with the optional 3 cell battery, which provides up to two weeks of autonomous power. They also chose the optional data collection feature, which lets them monitor traffic and analyze traffic patterns and the effect of their signs. The speed sign includes stealth mode, which allows the sign to appear blank to motorists while capturing valuable traffic data for comparison purposes.

While the SafePace 100 sign is smaller than the full size SafePace 400 sign, it offers an excellent alternative to communities or groups with small budgets.