What is Digg?190 Comments
- TriZz, on 10/12/2007, -5/+122This would NOT work in the US. We (Americans) have to have signs for EVERYTHING! Multiple signs at that...
Next exit - 1 mile.
Next exit - 3/4 mile
Next exit - 1/2 mile.
Next exit - 1/4 mile.
Next exit - NOW!! - piperj, on 10/12/2007, -6/+75This makes the oddest sense. Making you responsible for your own activity.
- mojo0510, on 10/12/2007, -10/+69This would never work in America. This concept relies on people caring about other people and not having the attitude that their time is more valuable than anyone else on the road.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+63"This makes the oddest sense. Making you responsible for your own activity."
Which is why it will never fly here in the US. - shakin, on 10/12/2007, -5/+46"Next exit - 1 mile.
Next exit - 3/4 mile
Next exit - 1/2 mile.
Next exit - 1/4 mile.
Next exit - NOW!!"
And then some jerk still cuts over at the last minute because he wasn't paying attention. I nearly got run off the road this morning by an RV crossing the median where the highway splits, and also last night by an SUV that turned left from the right lane (I was in the left turn lane).
The solution to our traffic problem has everything to do with shotguns and nothing to do with signs or traffic lights. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+45It's only bad because every other driver is an uncaring idiot that doesn't know how to treat the situation as a 4-way stop.
- Chompy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+32"How do you say, "Hit and Run," in Spanish?"
¡Arriba! ¡Arriba! ¡Ándale! ¡Ándale! - Cglass, on 10/12/2007, -14/+42Yay let's confuse the ***** out of everybody and make everything less clear so stupid people have to pay attention yay!
- vudicarus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+31I was reminded of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgB7Y5SFLow - captinherb, on 10/12/2007, -3/+30FTA "There have been a few small collisions, but these are almost to be encouraged, Mr Monderman explained."
Damn it, they should have been THANKING me not writing tickets. - vericjunk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+25@cawpin
The study actually takes place in the Netherlands. European countries use default speed limits. They have big signs when you enter the country and at the exits of major airports outlining these speed limits. I know Belgian/Dutch freeways are 120km/h, rural highways 90km/h, within city limits 50km/h, etc. French freeways are 130km/h. It varies slightly from country-to-country, but not much. Germany has no set speed limits on freeways, though they often have signs restricting speed on urban freeways. If there are no signs, the default speed limits apply. - musters, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20obviously you've never seen/used a round-a-bout to know how well they work
- noseeme, on 10/12/2007, -4/+23TriZz:
Next exit - YOU MISSED THE ***** EXIT! Pull into the shoulder and yell at your wife! - rasterbator, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21Uh, try that in San Francisco or Los Angeles and see where it gets you.
- cawpin, on 10/12/2007, -5/+22Imagine that, it is from the UK. I was just in Scotland on my honeymoon and I can tell you one thing. They don't have enough signs anyway. Taking away lights probably didn't change much. There wasn't one, NOT ONE, speed limit sign on the major highway I drove on. There were several instances of "Speed Cameras Ahead" signs but no indication of what the actual speed limit was.
- Hegemony, on 10/12/2007, -15/+31I don't think it's about people not caring, there are just so many cars in America. It's a country built around cars. Have you even been in traffic when a light goes out? It's bad.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17at rush hour people would never be able to get off the side streets or cross mainroads in most american cities, without lights
- ahawks, on 10/12/2007, -5/+20I was thinking something similar. Notice how it's getting common around the US for several cars to slip through the left-turn lane after their turn arrow has gone red?
(We) Americans all think we have priority over everyone else. Not to mention the red tape you'd have to get through to get this enacted in the US... - Katana, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17Replace all traffic light junctions/crossroads with mini-roundabouts/roundabouts, that way you only get the lower speed accidents he mentions.
- RadiantBeing, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18Oh please. I'm from NYC and every time blackout kills the traffic lights, normal people take responsibility and direct traffic themselves. If you give motorists more responsibility, I am sure they'll rise to the occasion. If anything, selfishness is a great motivation to drive safely as it will save you money repairs and increased insurance premiums. Everyone should be aware that driving has inherent dangers anyway, signs or no.
- Litespeed, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15Roundabouts are the best. You simply give way to the traffic on the roundabout and when you're on the roundabout, everyone else gives way to you. They also adjust to traffic flow and they make getting onto a busy main road from a sideroad a lot easier.
- ZenMojo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16Americans are *****. We need to be forced to do things sometimes. If you have ever been in Los Angeles, you know that cars give pedestrians the right of way about 50% of the time. The rest of the time they actually drive into the crosswalk and wait for the signal to change.
Actually, maybe that's just California. California's full of ***** who always miss that question on the driver's test. - broeks, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16You see the road system is like a series of tubes...
- NorCal05, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Also, they give anyone who can breathe a license here.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+17How do you say, "Hit and Run," in Spanish?
- musters, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14However, it may work in Canada.
Already in Ontario around the Waterloo region I have noticed new round-a-bouts, and personally, I like them. I would much rather drive at a slow speed through an intersection instead of waiting for 2-3 min for the light to change.. and see if I even make the light because the amount of cars. - Chrysalid, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12"I know that human beings and fish can coexist peacefully". Sorry, just couldn't help it :)
- bobmcsmith, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12I agree...we got some new roundabouts here (Vancouver, Canada)...they work so much better than lights, if you know how to use them. Just yield and indicate right as you leave and there are no problems (much faster and better flow too)
- dvdmon, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12I think it's a great idea, but unless it's done uniformly, there are going to be lots of people who don't understand that their coming to an area with no lights but where you still need to pay attention to traffic from other streets. I'd love to be an optimist, but I see too many a-holes, or idiots to have that much hope that this thing would work. MAYBE if we started cracking down on how easy it is to get a drivers license in the U.S. It's laughably easy. All you have to do in most cases is drive around a block and park. I believe in Germany you have to pass much tougher tests, and you have to retest on a regular basis to make sure you still know what you're doing. Driving should be a privilege that you earn by showing you are competent, since it involves what could be a very lethal weapon if you aren't careful enough.
- ahawks, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Driving slower saves gas, is easier on your vehicle, and is safer (both due to longer reaction time and reduction in kinetic energy).
And just because you're driving slower doesn't mean it takes longer to get somewhere. Depending on the city, it's quite possible to spend most of your commute time sitting at a red light. Would you rather sit at a red light, or cruise right along at 25mph? - pabloD, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12This was posted on digg a few months ago. It makes a lot of sense. If people were forced to pay more attention on the road, I'm sure there would be less accidents.
- d00ley, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10It does work in America. There are many smaller cities that have replaced traffic lights with roundabouts and they work perfectly with no instruction or motorists requiring prior experience. Roads based on common intuition actually seem to work.
- bagelpirate, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13I don't want to drive slower
- evilTak, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13I've never been to a place that has consistently well-timed lights.
- EricAnderton, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9@shakin: I agree completely.
I've always said that, here in Maryland, one only needs to demonstrate the ability to operate a car in order to obtain a driver's license. Actually knowing *how to drive* is a separate matter entirely.
Removing stoplights is asinine, especially (as others have pointed out) here in the USA where we have too many signs already. It's like advertising: you stop seeing things after enough repetition.
I think the following are much better ideas for improving traffic safety:
- require the use of hands-free cellphone devices while operating a vehicle in all 50 states
- require Class C* driver's licenses for SUV's and/or anything with more than 180Hp.
- raise the bar for drivers-ed requirements for Class B licenses (or just the above).
- provide a means (website?) for common citizens to report traffic safety infractions, w/pics or video instead of relying on traffic cameras.
(* requires far more training, which should produce more capable, if not more aware, drivers) - musters, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10they cause a slowdown because of the american idiots who don't know use them.
- LordBug, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12In an odd way, it does make sense. If people get into one or two small wrecks, they'll (hopefully) learn to be more mindful of what's going on around them, thus prventing major wrecks.
- bobmcsmith, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Obviously there are exceptions...London has crazy traffic and there are traffic lights there. Roundabouts aren't for every single intersection
DISCLAIMER: I don't live in London, and can't be 100% sure of the traffic situation there :) but I have been there quite a few times - musters, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8There are new ones in Ontario, Canada too, they seem to work quite well improving the flow of traffic.
- pabloD, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Naw, Americans aren't necessarily stupid, they're just lulled into stupidity by an over-inflated sense of entitlement.
OK, some of them are stupid, but not most of them. It's a big country. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12Though it seems to work out well in small European towns, I doubt it would turn out too goo in America.
For one, the size and relative emptiness of America lends itself to long stretches of major roads with minor roads feeding into them. At these intersections, it makes sense to have a stop sign for the minor road and let traffic flow normally for the big road.
Problem with this is that if the major road's traffic doesn't yield at some point, nobody on the minor road can get through in reasonable time.
Sticking a roundabout at each intersection would cause excessive delays for anybody who wants to go straight for several miles.
Major accidents in traffic lights typically only come from idiots who run the light. The solution to that problem isn't to take out the light; it's to take out the idiot. Massive police crackdowns on traffic violations would result in a surge of revenue from tickets, and would convince people that it's not worth risking lives to get home 30 seconds earlier. - Tenlow, on 10/12/2007, -6/+14Yeah but roundabouts suck because nobody in america knows how to drive in one. Especially multi lane roundabouts.
- noodlez, on 10/12/2007, -4/+10america would look like moscow traffic.
http://digg.com/world_news/Pictures_of_Moscow_24_7_Traffic_Jam - CiXeL, on 10/12/2007, -9/+15perhaps it works in societies where people are considerate, cooperative, and altruistic such as the uk or australia. but in societies where those most selfish get ahead (the united states) it would be a nightmare. i live in miami. traffic in miami is already psychotically scary with near misses constantly. i was commuting from homestead to hialeah everyday on the turnpike for a month long tech contract and i am not joking when i say i saw 3-4 accidents everyday and had my life flash in front of my eyes once a day. obeying traffic laws here will get you killed. sometimes tourists slow down to the 25mph speed limit sign going through the tolls and get rear ended, driven into the toll booth wall and killed because noone actually expects them to slow down. in addition you cant turn signal here. turn signals are considered a sign of weakness (a phrase coined by a friend of mine who moved from fort lauderdale to orlando) and turn signalling only opens you up to an accident because if you try to change lanes by turn signalling the person in that lane rushes in to fill the spot.
- MrKite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5What frustrates me the most is when you try to be nice and you let someone go and they just sit there like a vegetable. And then when you say screw it and step on the gas, that's when they decide to go causing both cars to stop again.
So you see, sometimes being nice actually creates more traffic and frustration because there are so many idiots on the road. And since there are so many idiots on the road, my time does become more important and we do need lights to control who goes first. :)
The moral of the story: there are too many idiots on the road. - Koosebane, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8"This would never work in America. This concept relies on people caring about other people and not having the attitude that their time is more valuable than anyone else on the road."
Actually, Americans DO care about denting their cars and having higher insurance premiums.
Maybe it would never work on the coasts and large metropolitan areas, but in the heartland where people in small towns look out for each other a bit better, I think it would do just fine. - geuisteses, on 10/12/2007, -9/+14This absolutely WILL not work. It didnt get much national press, but last year after hurricane Wilma hit down here in south Florida power was out for 2-3 weeks in most places. Traffic ground to a halt in areas that normally flow very smoothly. Trying to cross through intersections was literally taking your life in your own hands. There were even a couple of fatalities where people were trying to cross at cross-walks and drivers, not sure when to stop or go, hit them when the pedestrians thought it was safe to cross. I used to think traffic lights were pointless until that mess. I still get irked at them now, but I understand why they're there.
- g30ph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I was in Hialeah, which is a notoriously bad area to have to drive in in Miami, Fl. I was in the intersection waiting to make a left turn. When the light turned red, I started going and almost had a head-on, because the traffic going the opposite way still had a green light!
- Kazrog, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Very cool, but Americans are too stupid for this to work.
- nerd05, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7@nougat,
The idea is that if a small accident occurs some time, the community will be reminded to be more careful so as to prevent future accidents. It's not at all unlike how a virus (computer or otherwise) outbreak will remind people to be careful to protect themselves from them. -
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