German Town Scraps Road Signs to Increase Safety

[Piwoslaw]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMYib3IR43I

[Laurentiu]

yea, that's the one I was talking about, i think the Dutch invented it...smart folks
Another aspect that is to be considered in roundabouts is the cyclists' safety. That's probably the only downturn of a roundabout,(much) more cyclists get injured in roundabouts than "square" intersections.

But fortunately the Dutch thought of that also...after all, there's more cyclists than motorists there, even the Prime-minister used to ride one Bicyclists in Amsterdam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP-gkoCc3b0

[davidgrey50]

I'm Canadian, and a few years ago, my (English) wife and I lived in England for a year-and-a half. We took one of our cars, a Dodge/Mitsubishi Colt automatic (LHD) with us. While the car was having a few necessary tweaks made to make it legal, we bought a 5-speed Vauxhall to drive. I had never driven a manual before, never driven on the left, and never seen a roundabout. Driving on the left was an easy adjustment, which perhaps shows how much we all tend to go with the flow. Roundabouts you only blow once, then you've got it. Learning to drive manual took a couple of lessons with a good instructor, a bit of practice, then no problem.

After all this, a few observations: driving on the left or right makes no difference. Surprisingly, which side the steering wheel is on makes no difference - you're closer to this line, further from that line. Europeans generally pay more attention to their driving and have much better car-control skills, perhaps due to cars which are more involving to drive, manual transmissions being the norm, also lots of high-speed roads, and not just highways. And in England at least, very, very, narrow streets - you've got to be able to place your car accurately.

Roundabouts? Love 'em! Write your local authorities and ask for them by name.

[Formula413]

Roundabouts (or as we call them "Rotarys") are fairly common in the northeastern U.S., so much so that I tend to forget they are unknown elsewhere. They can pose their own problems but I generally prefer them to traffic lights.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Daox

I just found this. Its a bit old, but is interesting. A German town has gotten rid of all road signs and traffic lights. The idea being that you now have to pay more attention to what is going on. Not too surprisingly, it works!

It means you basicly fall back on the general traffic rules - as traffic signs are mainly used to impose deviations from these rules.

The goverments who installed "shared spaces", claimed they work.
But actual data I've seen on it says it does bugger all or was even detrimental to road safety.
Pedestrians got pushed aside by agressive cyclists, and measures needed to be taken to restore pedestrian safety.

In just about all "shared space" experiments I've read about, signs have quietly been added again later on or road demarcations have been re-introduced.
That makes it a failure ...

If you look closely, at the illustrated roundabout in Drachten (NL), give way triangles have been painted on the road again.
In the Netherlands, just the triangular road markings are sufficient and mean the same as the give way sign - but not so in all EU countries.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by Laurentiu

-
But fortunately the Dutch thought of that also...after all, there's more cyclists than motorists there, even the Prime-minister used to ride one

What you're seeing in this video, is actually what is really killing these motorist's mileage in urban settings:
Stretched out strings of individual pedestrians and cyclists alike, that cause a lot of cars to stop and start repeatedly.

To let 1 individual pedestrian cross the road, a string of cars needs to stop - whereas often enough, a pedestrian could cross in the gap between 2 cars.


I most often cross the street during a short lull in traffic - not at a pedestrian crossing where and when I'd force cars to stop.

[dcb]

you gotta be tolerant of someone riding a bike. An efficient driver would usually see them coming and time it better.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by dcb

you gotta be tolerant of someone riding a bike. An efficient driver would usually see them coming and time it better.

That's the whole point, you can't time for all of 'em - and the drivers in front of you don't time them at all.

[dcb]

should efficient driving be part of drivers education?

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by dcb

should efficient driving be part of drivers education?

Applying most of the hypermiling driving techniques promoted here during a Belgian driving test would have one result : FAIL !

Engine braking is a requirement though, and they're not supposed to rev the car's socks off either.


Personally, I don't consider most of the hypermiling driving techniques safe for use by rookie drivers.