The book Nudge brought new attention to subtle changes that can improve everyday life. One such traffic-related nudge can be found in Chicago.
The curve at Lake Shore Drive and Oak Street in Chicago is a favorite nudge. The tight turn makes it one of the city’s most dangerous curves. To .Read more...
The Syracuse.com headline reads, “Parish man, protesting motorcycle helmet laws, dies from head injury, troopers say.” John Mariana looks at the unfortunate and unusual case in the Post-Standard.
Philip A. Contos, 55, of 45 East St., Parish, was not wearing a helmet while driving a 1983 Harley Davidson motorcycle south on .Read more...
The Wall Street Journal looks at congestion on American roads and how to get things moving.
We have tremendous technology available that could help make transportation smoother and more efficient. Traffic signals that are centrally controlled by computer can optimize the flow of traffic. Electronic toll-collection tags let drivers pay without .Read more...
The New York Times reports on the new regulations from the Consumer Product Safety Commission regarding baby cribs. The author visits the testing laboratory for Delta Children’s Products.
The most pronounced change is that drop-side cribs, long a nursery staple, are prohibited from being sold. But manufacturers must also strengthen the crib .Read more...
Eric A. Morris from Freakonomics looks at the effects of rubbernecking and the possible solution in safety screen.
As we all know, terrific jams can be caused even when the wreck(s) is moved out of the traffic lanes, as passing drivers gape at the carnage. It’s been quite a long time .Read more...
The St. Pete Times reports on Tampa, Florida’s red-light camera system.
What sets off a red-light camera?
A laser sensor about the size of a hockey puck is embedded in the middle of each lane behind the white “stop bar” line, which signifies the beginning of a signalized intersection.
If a car crosses .Read more...
Google has been in the new with their robot car that uses software and a set of cameras to act as the driver. Fast Company looks at “How Google’s Robot Cars will Revive Sprawl”.
Google’s test cars had traveled 140,000 miles with only one accident. (A car was rear-ended while stopped .Read more...
Eric A. Morris looks at the strange things that cause traffic:
It’s hard to calculate precisely, but estimates I’ve seen suggest that incidents account for perhaps 50 percent of all roadway congestion. The most common incidents (80 percent) are breakdowns, stalls, flat tires, empty gas tanks, etc. In transportation lingo these .Read more...
Los Angeles is considering pulling the plug on their red light cameras (RLC’s). Freakonomics blogger Eric A. Morris weighs in:
Do we need RLCs? First off, yes, there is a problem. Intersections are dangerous places. The Federal Highway Administration has estimated that red-light running caused 676 deaths and 113,000 injuries in .Read more...
Popular Mechanics magazine looks at automotive light bulb technology.
We already use LEDs for taillights, a practice started by Cadillac on the 2000 DeVille. Aside from giving engineers the ability to design lights with substantially different styling, LEDs consume very little energy and illuminate 400 to 500 milliseconds faster than an .Read more...
USA Today discusses the growing trend towards flashing yellow left turn signals to improve safety and keep traffic moving.
The Federal Highway Administration estimates that the signals — which allow drivers to make a left turn after yielding, even when the light is red for traffic going straight and cross traffic has .Read more...
I worked for a man that had served in Iraq and was responsible for guarding transport trucks across the desert to various military installations. Now that the withdrawal in Iraq is in full effect, the issue of protecting the movement of troops and goods is in the news again. Currently, .Read more...
