Automotive
Why we’re less likely to die in car wrecks today
Fewer people are dying in car crashes, Vox recently reported, and some of the reasons behind this positive trend are surprising. First, the facts: Since the 1970s, fatalities from traffic accidents have decreased 40 percent. Deaths have been on a steady decline after peaking in 1969 at 55,043. By 2012, the figure stood at 33,561, […]
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 […]
Have scientists been measuring traffic wrong all this time?
Transportation is changing, compelling experts to reexamine the way they analyze transport problems – and they may have been operating with faulty data for decades, argues Todd Litman, executive director of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, in a recent blog post on Planetizen. In the past, efforts to figure out how effective transportation systems are […]
America’s most notable road signs
With news breaking last week on Montana’s gorgeous new “Welcome to Montana” highway signs, we thought it an appropriate time to reflect on some of the U.S.’s most interesting, curious, or otherwise notable highway signs. (As for Montana, the new signs will feature landscapes of the rocky Badlands, haunting photos of dinosaur remains, and images […]
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, […]
![Tvilight, the next big energy efficiency innovator [Interview]](http://www.roadtrafficsigns.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/tvilight-1-150x150.jpg "Tvilight, the next big energy efficiency innovator [Interview]")
Tvilight, the next big energy efficiency innovator [Interview]
A city may spend up to 50% of its electricity costs on keeping streetlights on, even when there is no one on the road. The result? Bright streets… and an immense waste of energy and funds that would likely be better used elsewhere. Enter the Tvilight zone: a Dutch company’s sensing streetlight system, known as […]
Self-driving cars: Are Americans ready to give the keys to a computer?
Does the idea of a self-driving car inspire more dread or relief with you? Some drivers are afraid of relinquishing control of the vehicle to a computer. Those in favor of autonomous vehicles say that the benefits – in terms of accidents, fuel, congestion, and dollars – are immense. Under a pilot program, Volvo and the Swedish government […]
Does parking make microcar ownership worthwhile?
Van, SUV and truck drivers may often fantasize over the parking options open to microcar drivers: it seems that tiny cars can park over, around, and in between all other vehicles on the road. Mini Coopers, Smart Cars, the KAIST Armadillo-T, and the Fiat 500 are all easily parkable, environmentally friendly vehicles. But even microcars […]
Should you bother buying a personal breathalyzer?
Nearly all U.S. states have a standard .08 blood alcohol content (BAC) limit in place for drivers. Driving drunk can have life-changing consequence, from injury and death to arrest and skyrocketing insurance premiums. For some drivers, a personal breath analyzer (often known by the brand name, Breathalyzer) may help increase safety on the road. As most […]