Paying the Price

The Cost of Crashes Traffic calming isn’t cheap. Even when choosing competitively priced solutions, slowing cars down can still get expensive. Is it really worth the price? While the cost of life is immeasurable, the economic cost is exorbitant. A study conducted by the NHTSA estimated the annual cost of car crashes at $242 billion. When quality of life was added in, the societal cost in one year rose to a whopping $836 billion. Speed Kills The American Journal of Public Health stated it simply: managing speed is simply the best prevention against accidents and the injuries and fatalities they cause. The NHTSA found that speeding contributes to a third of all fatal crashes. Barring constant round-the-clock police patrol, traffic calming is the only way to ensure that speeds are reduced and lives are saved. Does Traffic Calming Really Help? Children who live in neighborhoods with speed humpshave a 53-60% less chance of being injured or killed in a car accident. A case study on radar signs found that up to 70% of drivers slowed down when their speeds were displayed. Slower cars mean saved lives- studiesshow that a vehicle hitting a pedestrian at 40 mph is 80% likely to cause death while one travelling at 20mph is only 5% likely to. Return on Investment It can be hard to think of something as an investment when there are no dividends visible on a monthly statement. But traffic calming saves lives every day. One pilot program using Traffic Logix SafePace signsin Ecaudor found that 200 lives were saved in a one-year period after solutions were installed. The economic and societal cost of crashes is one that every town, city, and state contends with. Saving those lives is a sound investment.

Single Source

If you do an internet search for radar speed signs, you'll find hundreds of entries. Search for speed humps and you'll find another extensive list. Bike lane curbing? School zone beacons? Speed cushions? You can find a company to provide each of your traffic calming solutions, but how many can you find that can offer you all of them?

Finding companies that offer each of the solutions you need and comparing the pros and cons of each can be  time-consuming and confusing. How can you be sure what's right for your roads when each company is pushing its own solutions as best?

Learn how to outfit your roads with the traffic calming solutions you need without finding an individual provider for each. Learn more in our June Traffic Calmer newsletter.

Do you have a diet plan for your roads?

The new year has begun and people across the world have committed to healthier lifestyles. Now is the time to commit to healthier roadways too. Putting your road on a diet can do more than make you slimmer this year- it can save lives.

Wondering what a road diet is? Road diets are tools used by traffic engineers as part of a traffic calming plan to make streets safer and prevent accidents. Learn more about what a road diet is, how you can slim your roadway down, and whether a road diet is right for you.

Not ready for a road diet? Healthy streets go beyond just diet- learn techniques for safer and more complete streets in our January Traffic Calmer.

Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety- Practical Approaches

Achieving Focus In this issue: Achieving Focus Retrofitting Roadways The Traffic Calming Toolbox Developing a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan     On the Streets     Did you Know?     Premiering     Traffic Logix Tidbits It may seem superfluous to say that the first step toward pedestrian and bicyclist safety is awareness. However, roadways are often created with the goal of moving vehicular traffic smoothly and efficiently, and may lack sidewalks, walkways, and adequate shoulder space. In fact, Transportation for America’s Dangerous by Design report on pedestrian fatalities found that more than half of the pedestrians killed between 2000 and 2009 died on principal or minor arterials, wide, straight roads, which are often hostile to pedestrians. It therefore bears repeating, that the first and most crucial step toward pedestrian and bicyclist safety is being aware of non-motorist needs and ensuring that they are factored into street design and engineering. On the Streets Retrofitting Roadways An advocacy group in Austin works to make East Austin more pedestrian friendly with a Walkability Assessment program. Read the full story here. It can be difficult to integrate pedestrian travel allowances on roads built primarily with cars in mind. As cities identify the importance of streets for all, new roads should be constructed with awareness of pedestrian and bicyclist needs as part of the design. However, hope is not lost for existing streets. There are many solutions that can be integrated to facilitate roadways that are friendly to motorists and non-motorists alike. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) in a study on Reducing Childhood Pedestrian Injuries identifies some of these solutions such as establishing traffic signals in hazardous areas, implementing traffic calming measures such as street narrowing or speed humps, and increasing the walk time of pedestrian signals to allow enough time for children to safely cross. Other useful ideas include reducing lanes on arterial roads while adding walkways or bike lanes, establishing pedestrian malls, and improving lighting on neighborhood streets. Premiering Fake bike lanes spray painted on Dallas streets try making a statement but are confusing drivers and may be dangerous. See video footage here. The Traffic Calming Toolbox Traffic Logix prides itself on being a one stop provider for all traffic calming needs. Several of the company’s products can help create safer, smarter streets for bicyclists and pedestrians. The 2-sided Did you Know? CycleLane curbing offers a valuable tool for traffic engineers looking to create more complete streets. The innovative curbing solution has a low profile side, which guides bicyclists back into bike lanes while the high profile side prevents vehicle traffic from entering non-vehicle lanes. The curbing units can be used along with safe-hit posts and/or painted buffer areas to further increase visibility for motorists. They can be useful on roadways as well as in parks, along trails, and anywhere that bicyclists ride. See a map showing the fatalities from 2000 to 2009 within 60 miles of where you live. View the interactive map here. The SuperFlex curbing units can also be a useful tool in designing street narrowing or other curb-focused solutions to make existing roadways safer. Vehicle-focused solutions such as speed humps, speed cushions (shown to the right), and radar feedback signs slow traffic down so that drivers are more aware of their surroundings and more likely to take notice of non-motorists. These devices also ensure that a driver has enough time to stop to avoid hitting a pedestrian. Developing a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan Cities across the country that were identified as having the highest risk of pedestrian fatalities were chosen as focus cities in a FHWA program working to reduce pedestrian deaths. States with focus cities were included as focus states. Services offered include free technical assistance, webinars, training, and assistance in developing a Pedestrian Safety Plan. Non-focus cities and states can receive these services for a cost. The guide to developing a plan is a valuable resource for improved safety and is available on the FHWA website. An article on the progress made so far by focus cities was published by Public Works magazine and is available online here.  The program has so far shown promising results. Traffic Logix Tidbits Traffic Logix rubber speed cushions provide the perfect balance for Anaheim, CA. Read the full story here.