Traffic law
(INFOGRAPHIC) Obscure law could trigger 20mph New York City speed limit
Last week, we discussed how greatly improved pedestrian casualty rates had led neighborhoods to request localized changes to the New York City speed limit – but the NYCDOT claimed that they didn’t have the budget for the switch. Now, it looks like an oft-forgotten rule might mean trigger a speed limit drop not just in some […]
Woman with Google Glass on ticketed for distracted driving
Google Glass, a wearable computer that the user dons as a pair of glasses, is as useful as a smartphone and as easy to use as, well, a pair of glasses. The device translates your own voice; sends messages; and pulls up directions “right in front of you,” as Google says, among other functions, helping […]
Congestion charge to counter pollution in Shanghai possible
In an attempt to reduce traffic volume and control soaring levels of air pollution, Shanghai officials may soon impose a congestion charge at peak hours. If this type of road pricing is levied, Shanghai would be the first city in China to implement such a move. Similar initiatives in London and Singapore have been successful (though […]
Bridge suicides prompt lifesaving barriers
For people in the throes of mental disturbance or difficult life situations, bridge suicides often look like accessible, fatal solutions. Advocates say that bridge suicides often occur as a result of impulse and accessibility — one of which can be prevented with deterrents, such as bridge barriers. Take San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, where over […]
Distracted driving targeted by Florida texting ban
Louis C.K. fans remember his rant against distracted driving last month on late night’s Conan O’Brien. (Watch it here if you haven’t already.) “You’re in your car,” the comedian explained, “and you start going, ‘Oh no, here it comes… I’m alone’… It starts to visit on you, this sadness. That’s why we text and drive. […]
New York traffic speeds up – despite bike lanes
In New York City’s most traffic-burdened hub, the past is picking up, according to a recent Department of Transportation study and GPS-obtained taxi data, which states that average taxi speeds in Manhattan’s central business district have jumped from 8.9 mph in 2011 to 9.3 mph in 2012. There’s also been a nearly 7% increase in […]
History of the Yield Sign
Motorists slow down and look around cautiously when they see a yield sign. But they don’t wonder how that sign got there in the first place. The yield sign, an unsung hero, has actually been saving lives since 1950, when the first sign was placed at the corner of First Street and Columbia Avenue in […]
Prudent speed limits? Impossible in the U.S.
The U.S. Interstate System Since the beginning of the 20th century, personal vehicles have allowed quick travel across the United States. The Model T, an early affordable car, had a top speed of 45 mph. People traveling across the country found themselves on unpaved roads better suited to horses. The ensuing decades saw changes in […]
New regs needed for single-unit trucks?
After analyzing a five-year-long study which discovered that single-unit trucks were involved in an inordinate amount of fatalities, The National Transportation Safety Board has assembled a host of safety recommendations that, if heeded, will affect highway safety for all drivers who share the road. For the uninitiated, single-unit trucks are considered large trucks with a […]
Traffic congestion and loathing in Toronto
It may be surprising to some located south of the Canadian border that Toronto has the second worst traffic congestion in Canada, and the sixth most congestion in North America, according to one study. (In case you’re curious, Los Angeles, CA; Honolulu, HI; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA took top “honors.”) Traffic congestion is […]