If your neighbours or your HOA are debating speeding, reckless driving or other traffic issues on your street, get involved so that the right traffic slowing solution is selected. Speed bumps are a poor choice, since they slow fire trucks and ambulances, damage cars, make snow removal difficult, increase upkeep costs and increase noise.
If speeding is the issue on a street, a stop sign at a crossing may seem like a smart idea. Sometimes, it may be. It isn't every time relying on the street itself, its layout and the general flow of traffic. When a street is peppered with stop signs, drivers will generally speed up between them, which causes a traffic problem. They know they must stop soon, costing them time, so quicker driving between the signs might be seen as a way to make up for wasted time.
Many drivers also have a tendency to stop at a single stop sign encountered after a reasonably long stretch of road, but roll through stop signs that are a block or 2 apart. Drivers are generally impatient and in a rush to get where they're going. This "rolling through" can be seen as a way to make up lost time, too.
Both of theseâ€"faster driving between signs and rolling through themâ€"are potential accident risks. Crosswalks at stop signs may give pedestrians a feeling of safety that certainly does not exist if many drivers rush up to the sign or roll thru it. And if drivers sense the stop signs shouldn't even be there to start with, both these behaviours are more likely.
Dangerous intersections where accidents have happened, where visibility is poor or where other issues cause problems are usually good choices for stop signs or stop lights. But to slow traffic on streets when stop signs really are not needed, radar speed signs are a superb choice. These show the drivers' speeds back at them, and typically cause them to slow down.
If speeding is the issue on a street, a stop sign at a crossing may seem like a smart idea. Sometimes, it may be. It isn't every time relying on the street itself, its layout and the general flow of traffic. When a street is peppered with stop signs, drivers will generally speed up between them, which causes a traffic problem. They know they must stop soon, costing them time, so quicker driving between the signs might be seen as a way to make up for wasted time.
Many drivers also have a tendency to stop at a single stop sign encountered after a reasonably long stretch of road, but roll through stop signs that are a block or 2 apart. Drivers are generally impatient and in a rush to get where they're going. This "rolling through" can be seen as a way to make up lost time, too.
Both of theseâ€"faster driving between signs and rolling through themâ€"are potential accident risks. Crosswalks at stop signs may give pedestrians a feeling of safety that certainly does not exist if many drivers rush up to the sign or roll thru it. And if drivers sense the stop signs shouldn't even be there to start with, both these behaviours are more likely.
Dangerous intersections where accidents have happened, where visibility is poor or where other issues cause problems are usually good choices for stop signs or stop lights. But to slow traffic on streets when stop signs really are not needed, radar speed signs are a superb choice. These show the drivers' speeds back at them, and typically cause them to slow down.
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Driver feedback signs from TraffiCalm Systems solve traffic problems better than stop signs. Read this for more information.
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