Virtual Speed-Bumps

Although coming by way of the Telegraph in England this is an idea that is being tried out in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as part of a campaign against aggressive driving.

In a certain, optical illusion sort of way, it seems rather close to that article of mine about virtual cross walks that make it very hard for a driver to miss that they’re approaching a) a cross walk that is b) occupied.

“The goal is to change the mindset,” said Philadelphia’s chief traffic engineer Charles Denny.

“The driver sees this in the roadway, and they think that it’s some protrusion up out of the roadway, and not a perfectly flat surface. So they slow down before they drive over it.”

Or, the driver notices the optical illusion/fake speed bump at the last moment, panics, slams on the brakes and skids wildly for a few yards, but hey, it’s making the streets “safer” now in’it?

I see most of these sorts of things as C+ answers to questions that nobody really asked.

I used to live in a city that had a lot of those little roundabout/traffic island deals in intersections; you know, little round raised areas in the middle of intersections about 85% the width of the road. It, in theory, forces you to slow down, steer right, arc back to the left and then steer right again … unless you’re in a small and nimble sports car, but I digress. The fire departments hated them, and if you lived within earshot, what you got was lots and lots of acceleration noise from people (in a hurry) slowing down/standing on it, slowing down/standing on it, slowing down/standing on it, from one intersection to the next.

Better ideas please …

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