Can We Get Safer Roads With Self-Policing?
Removing road signage to save lives? Imagine...
In the UK they previously considered plans to remove white lines from the road because research has suggested that when you do it increases uncertainty in the driver which then makes them slow down.
The concept is founded upon the notion that traffic is safest when users police themselves.
“If you put stripes on the roadway, speed limit signs, stop signs, crosswalks, and tell everybody what to do, then you’ve removed the responsibility from the human beings who are moving around that space,..." - G Toth veteran of the New Jersey Department of Transportation
There are many cities that have turned to consider this option over the years, getting the sign clutter off the roadways to try and make it safer; ironic seeing as these signs were implemented under the guise of encouraging safety.
In the Netherlands and Germany they've also been embracing similar changes and removing road signs or lights in an effort to try and boost road safety and simplify the driving experience. In one town in the Netherlands they conducted an experiment where they had removed all of the traffic lights for all transportation modes and the results were so impressive that they made the change a permanent one.
For some towns it's been working great and they've seen a drastic reduction in accidents. Some leading engineers continue to insist that reducing the signs and traffic lights can help to make the roads safer.
Freedom to assess risk on our own is what makes people drive safer...
As one traffic architect, B Hamilton-Baillie, has previously pointed out in the past, what these signs are doing is essentially treating the driver as if they were an idiot.
The most dangerous place on the road is at traffic lights...
Reducing the signs and other distractions on the road might help to improve safety and traffic flow, if possible then it's worth investigating.
Drivers often ignore road signs and a great deal of collisions that take place at intersections occur because the driver neglected to pay attention and adhere to the stop sign. When those signs are removed there comes along with that a heightened risk and this pressure has been found to force drivers to pay closer attention, remain on alert as they approach and pass through the intersection.
Let's take the responsibility away from the government and give it back to the people, reduce the unnecessary road clutter. The streets might function better without so much top-down management. And the gradual realization that there might be a better way to go about managing traffic also has implications that extend far beyond the road, it could prompt a growing number to consider the possibility that liberty in various circumstances is the best approach to take.
Pics:
Pixabay
If signs are removed from the roads, there will be many accidents and problems
that isn't always the case:)
The town that had at least one serious accident a week now has none.
@doitvoluntarily a very interesting idea, I think it could work, as anecdote, one night we were traveling on a road with white signage hibamos quite fast, when arriving at a stretch where laruta was without signaling, all the motorists drastically lowered the speed. so it can work
Many Garcia dear friend for sharing this news
I wish you a great day