The motorist may, of course, not have time to react to a red light or stop sign
because they are traveling too fast as they approach the intersection. If this
is the problem, a variety of speed reducing measures may be considered such as
narrowing the travel lanes. Many communities now have traffic calming programs
which use a variety of techniques to slow traffic down.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers, in cooperation with the FHWA, published
Traffic Calming: State of the Practice in 2000 and much of the material in the
book can be found at http://www.ite.org/traffic/index.html.
In addition, FHWA has created a new website with traffic calming resources, including
a useful page of links http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/tcalm/part3.htm
that take you directly to the traffic calming web pages of more than 30 local
governments across the United States.
As many of the crashes involving motorists failing to yield or stop at an intersection
occur on urban roads with 4 lanes or more, many of the traffic calming techniques
used on local streets may not be appropriate. For example, it is highly unlikely
that speed humps would be used on a four-lane road. However, the use of bike
lanes, medians, or wider sidewalks to narrow travel lanes might be appropriate.
(Go to Chapter 11 of FHWA Course on Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation)The motorist may, of course, not have time to react to a red light or stop sign
because they are traveling too fast as they approach the intersection. If this
is the problem, a variety of speed reducing measures may be considered such as
narrowing the travel lanes. Many communities now have traffic calming programs
which use a variety of techniques to slow traffic down.
The Institute of Transportation Engineers, in cooperation with the FHWA, published
Traffic Calming: State of the Practice in 2000 and much of the material in the
book can be found at http://www.ite.org/traffic/index.html.
In addition, FHWA has created a new website with traffic calming resources, including
a useful page of links http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/tcalm/part3.htm
that take you directly to the traffic calming web pages of more than 30 local
governments across the United States.
As many of the crashes involving motorists failing to yield or stop at an intersection
occur on urban roads with 4 lanes or more, many of the traffic calming techniques
used on local streets may not be appropriate. For example, it is highly unlikely
that speed humps would be used on a four-lane road. However, the use of bike
lanes, medians, or wider sidewalks to narrow travel lanes might be appropriate.
(Go to Chapter 11 of FHWA Course on Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation) |
