Resources
Reflectivity celebrates its 75th anniversary
Technology is easy to take for granted — consider the often-forgotten reflective road signs that punctuate our highways, warning and guiding drivers throughout all hours of the night. Seventy-five years ago, an innovation at the 3M Company set the groundwork for today’s reflective signage, a development that has improved driver and pedestrian safety ever since. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Golf carts now legal to drive on some city streets
Golf carts aren’t merely the stuff of prepubescent boys’ driving dreams and elderly golfers’ daily lives – they’re street legal in some areas. Supporters claim that golf carts are friendlier to the environment than their gas-guzzling counterparts, cheaper to run and maintain, and that the vehicles are particularly useful for short trips – which are, […]
How your car’s color affects your insurance – and safety
Car convention has long dictated that insurance rates are higher for red cars; and, at first blush, the urban legend seems to make good sense. After all, aren’t flashy red Corvettes are more likely to draw attention, and therefore the eye of traffic cops? And aren’t cherry red roadsters are easier to see, and thus […]
Digital safety signs mean a traffic engineer has given up
We’re delighted to be joined by Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns for this post. You’re driving down an open road you travel every day, thinking more about your work, your kids or what awaits you at your destination than your surroundings. You don’t notice the cones or the construction signs, but when the big digital safety […]
Cars pose greatest danger to NYC children’s safety
From deadly shark attacks to gunfire, many parents’ fears for their children are terrifying but unlikely, while a very real threat passes by nearly unregistered: traffic accidents. In bustling cities rife with traffic — such as New York — the biggest threat to children’s safety is found right on the road. (Case in point? Car crashes kill […]
Rural car accidents may prove more fatal
A recent investigation into 10 years of car accident data provided by the Colorado Department of Transportation suggests that accidents occurring in rural areas are more fatal than those occurring in more urban zones. The investigation, led by I-News at Rocky Mountain PBS, analyzed the decade of traffic fatality information and contrasted it with the […]
