Pedestrian safety
Pedestrian-counting cameras to replace London traffic cops
Call it the traffic version of “I Spy”: A smart camera system is fulfilling traffic cop duties in London, reports CNN, by counting crowds of people and granting them more or less time to cross the road. Pedestrian SCOOT (Split Cycle Offset Optimization Technique) relies on high-tech video cameras to determine the number of pedestrians […]
Americans don’t walk – but it’s not because we’re lazy
Most Americans don’t walk for one reason: In most communities, walking is both inconvenient and unsafe. At least that’s what F. Kaid Benfield, Special Counsel for Urban Solutions, Natural Resources Defense Council, argues in a recently published excerpt from his book of essays, People Habitat: 25 Ways to Think About Greener, Healthier Cities. Americans lose […]
Are pedestrian deaths the Titanic of intersection redesign?
The death of more than a thousand passengers aboard the sinking Titanic resulted in adoption of rigorous maritime safety regulations. It has taken a rising number of pedestrian deaths in New York’s busy intersections for the city to shift its focus to road safety. Take the example of a busy street where it took another pedestrian death […]
Rearview cameras more effective than parking sensors, according to IIHS study
Rearview car cameras are more effective than parking sensors at preventing drivers from hitting children or objects while backing up their vehicles, according to an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study. In a test of a group of volunteer drivers, IIHS found that cameras alone were more efficient than sensors, or even sensors and cameras […]
Charting traffic fatalities: New York’s deadliest neighborhoods
A Pratt University statistics professor has used 2013 data on crashes and fatalities to map out New York City’s most traffic-dangerous neighborhoods. The heat map highlights challenges faced by the city’s new Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to reduce traffic fatalities to zero in a city especially troubled by traffic-related injury and death. According […]
The most dangerous time to cross the street
It sounds like the opening of a bad joke: When is the worst time to cross the street? The answer has serious implications for pedestrian safety. As reported by FastCompany, five years of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data reveals that twilight is the most dangerous time for pedestrians to cross the street. User […]
Imaginative street art draws controversy in Hawai’i
Certain playful denizens have been adding paint lines to existing crosswalks in the Hawaii Kai and Kapolei areas of Hawaii to spell out the welcoming phrase, “Aloha.” First discovered this past Christmas, the alterations are considered by tourists and citizens to be, by and large, thoughtful touches — but for authorities, the painted lines amount […]
Sneckdowns: Should snowstorms plan your streets?
Throughout urban areas hit hard by wintry weather this season, Mother Nature is making her own traffic planning suggestions known. Piles of snow known as “sneckdowns” — more on the origin of that word later — are drifting into areas that, upon reflection, are ideal for road diets and sidewalk extensions. As Streetsblog reports, “all […]
Brussels receives a car-free makeover
Brussels, one of Europe’s most traffic-jammed cities, may soon go car-free — at least in part. The city’s newly inaugurated mayor, Yvan Mayeur of the Socialist party, hopes to transform the central area of Belgium’s capital into a pedestrian-only area, according to a recent report by The Atlantic. Brussels is notorious for its congestion. TomTom, […]
Distracted driving, sure, but distracted walking?
The University of Houston is warning its students of the dangers of distracted walking. Yes, you read that right — pedestrians are the most vulnerable group to use the road, and distracted walking is a major contributing factor. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), pedestrians were one of the few […]
