Many advanced technologies can reduce the number of lives lost on U.S. roads, but full or partial automation is not a silver bullet for safety, David Harkey, pr
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This electronic traffic sign in Malone switches from blank to âNo turn on redâ when pedestrians are crossing.
(Provided photo â Dave Werner)
Last week’s article described a new traffic control device, Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, that will be part of the pedestrian safety project for Malone. Today we will discuss blankout “No turn on red” signs (Malone has had one at the corner of Elm and East Main streets since 2014) and leading pedestrian interval (LPI) for pedestrians at signalized intersections. Malone also has several intersections already utilizing LPIs. Much of prudent traffic engineering for any change is to consider the effect on vehicular traffic, bicyclists and pedestrians. Often compromises must be made. If we utilize a fully protected pedestrian crossing, all vehicles are held up by a red light for the entire duration of a pedestrian crossing just one leg of an intersection fine for the pedestrian but not so for d
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I had a recent inquiry to explain again the difference in the terms “no stopping,” “no standing” and “no parking,” and just what they mean. So let’s review exactly how Vehicle and Traffic Law views these definitions. The term “park” or “parking” is pretty basic we park our car, turn it off and leave it there for some period of time. VTL Section 129 defines park or parking as “the standing of a vehicle, whether occupied or not, otherwise than temporarily, for the purpose of and while actually engaged in loading or unloading merchandise or passengers.” The basic concept of parking the car and leaving it there unoccupied is allowed. Depending on regulatory parking or no-parking signs, we may be able to leave the vehicle parked for only a limited amount of time, but we can leave the vehicle.
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As with many improvements to automobiles along with driver benefits, there is often an unintended negative consequence. This is true for some of the automated systems now available on the newer vehicles, according to a recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the December edition of Status Report. Drivers reportedly fidgeted with electronics and took their hands off the steering wheel more often as they developed more trust in automated systems. To investigate how experience with automation affects driver disengagement, the researchers studied the driving behavior of 20 Massachusetts-based volunteers over a month’s time as they gained familiarity with advanced driver assistance features, examining how often they removed both hands from the steering wheel or took their attention away from the road to do things like use their cellphone or adjust the controls on the vehicle’s console.
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Have you noticed how fast traffic moves when entering our rural villages, where the posted speed limits are normally 30 mph? This is also where enforcement sets up with radar. Measurements show speeds generally in the 40s as vehicles enter our villages. There is a reason for this, and it is called “speed adaptation.” Tom Vanderbilt, in his book “Traffic Why We Drive the Way We Do,” explains that the longer we drive at high speeds, the harder it is for us to slow down. The reason is that neurons in the brain that track forward movement begin to become fatigued as a person looking ahead drives at the same speed for a time. The fatigued neurons begin to produce, in essence, a negative “output,” which fools you into thinking you are moving slower than you actually are.