Pedestrian-vehicular collisions and speeding have been in the news lately and an outcry has risen for measures to overcome the problem. Alas the question is how do we counteract human nature?
What doesn’t work?
n Speed bumps--an abomination, just ask emergency vehicle drivers.
n Four-way stop signs and traffic lights--create more noise from braking and slingshot starts and drivers speed up between them. Parents who ignore local stop signs teach their kids to ignore them.
n Enforcement--the speeders caught typically live in the neighbourhood and all too often prove to be the complainers. Famously(?) one driver was caught speeding on a local road twice within half an hour. Obviously he learned nothing.
What does work?
n The wider the streets the faster people drive on them.
n Limit through streets in residential neighbourhoods.
n Boulevard plantings and curving roads.
n Traffic circles at intersections--also keep traffic moving.
Pet Peeves
A walk along a major thoroughfare will make it hard to believe there’s a law against texting or using a cellphone while driving.
Is there a law against signalling a turn or lane change?
Speeding is one thing but following too close simply ignores the basic laws of physics.
Leave sufficient room between you and the car ahead and some idiot is bound to leap-frog in front of you.
Aggressive driving has become epidemic.
Jaywalking is one thing but texting while walking?
If you don’t like my driving stay off the sidewalk.
The street is not a playground.
Leave in time to arrive early, don’t wait until the last minute and step on the gas to make it.
What doesn’t work?
n Speed bumps--an abomination, just ask emergency vehicle drivers.
n Four-way stop signs and traffic lights--create more noise from braking and slingshot starts and drivers speed up between them. Parents who ignore local stop signs teach their kids to ignore them.
n Enforcement--the speeders caught typically live in the neighbourhood and all too often prove to be the complainers. Famously(?) one driver was caught speeding on a local road twice within half an hour. Obviously he learned nothing.
What does work?
n The wider the streets the faster people drive on them.
n Limit through streets in residential neighbourhoods.
n Boulevard plantings and curving roads.
n Traffic circles at intersections--also keep traffic moving.
Pet Peeves
A walk along a major thoroughfare will make it hard to believe there’s a law against texting or using a cellphone while driving.
Is there a law against signalling a turn or lane change?
Speeding is one thing but following too close simply ignores the basic laws of physics.
Leave sufficient room between you and the car ahead and some idiot is bound to leap-frog in front of you.
Aggressive driving has become epidemic.
Jaywalking is one thing but texting while walking?
If you don’t like my driving stay off the sidewalk.
The street is not a playground.
Leave in time to arrive early, don’t wait until the last minute and step on the gas to make it.
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