With more and more people on the roads every year, engineers, public safety specialists and visionaries are working hard to help improve safety on the roads. We have managed toll roads that increase or decrease the tolls based on the need to funnel traffic off main thoroughfares, sounds on crossings for the hearing impaired and even lasers to help keep pedestrians safe. While there could be pros and cons for everything, many solutions have seen great success in cities that have already tested them.
Variable Speed Limit Signs
Though the idea behind these signs is sound, there are critics of variable speed limit signs. Some say that they are confusing to drivers and that they could potentially cause accidents, not prevent them. Others say that these smart signs can calculate the risk associated with current weather conditions and slow the traffic to accommodate. A 70 mile per hour speed limit may make perfect sense for tollways in normal circumstances, but when icy conditions on raised roadways present a high risk to motorists, smart signs can slow the traffic to a rate that prevents deaths and severe injuries in the event of a crash.
Traffic Lights for the Colorblind
Four designers have created a prototype traffic signal to assist drivers who can discern the difference between red and green. It uses a combination of shapes and colors to make it easier for those with colorblindness to understand. While this sounds like a great idea, some critics say this could confuse drivers and pedestrians who are used to standard vertical rather than horizontal signs.
Warning Signs for Wrong-Way Drivers
Wrong-way drivers kill too many people each year. While it is sometimes the elderly that get confused driving at night and enter the wrong way, it is frequently a result of drinking and driving. Even though sober drivers may find it very difficult to figure out how to enter some highways via the exit ramps, it seems to draw inebriated drivers like a beacon. Though it happens everywhere, it is a persistent problem for cities.
Some cities have seen a dramatic decrease by using warning signs placed low to the pavement on exit ramps facing the potential wrong-way driver. Other cities are using radar-triggered signs with bright flashing lights that sense a driver facing the wrong way to get their attention. Another potentially effective countermeasure is smart thermal signs that detect drivers driving on the wrong side and not only alert the wrong-way driver, but turn lights on entrance ramps red to alert other motorists of an oncoming driver.
