Traffic Calming Matters Blog

Radar Speed Signs Increasing Work Zone Safety

I RECENTLY HAD a chance to speak with Tad Blanton, a field operations supervisor for Medford, Oregon’s Public Works. He manages four crews that work year round on every type of public works project you can imagine - from underground maintenance to structural repairs, paving and concrete work. Many of the projects take place outdoors alongside moving traffic.

He told me that about three years ago, he got a call from someone in the city’s electrical repairs department. The guy had just seen a demonstration of a speedcheck radar speed sign from Information Display Company and thought Tad should check it out himself…and he did.

After the demo, Tad spoke with the folks at IDC and arranged to have one of their speedcheck displays loaned out for a few weeks. Tad said that providence brought the radar speed sign to his department when it did. They were just about to begin work on a storm drain repair project that would have them in the middle of heavy traffic - traffic that could not be shut down or detoured.

Tad told me that his crew came back entirely surprised and enthusiastic about the radar speed display. They told him that the difference the display made in slowing cars and increasing safety was (and I quote) “absolutely unbelievable.”

Of course, the city has since purchased several speedcheck radar speed signs from Information Display Company. When I spoke to Tad, he told me that even the original speed display - the one they first received as a loaner -  is still working as well as it did the first day they used it - and that was three years ago.

Fact is, the Federal Highway Administration reports that nearly 1,000 people are killed and more than 40,000 injured each year as a result of motor vehicle crashes in work zones. The majority of these cases involve excessive speeds.

Add to this the fact that an estimated 20 percent of our national highway system is currently under construction, and you have a lot of potentially hazardous work zones (about 3,000 on U.S. highways alone) Add to that thousands more including work being done on public streets, around construction sites and on public works projects, and were looking at thousands of work zones across the U.S. and thousands of workers and drivers at increased risk.

While we all look forward to getting America back to work and having some upgrades made to our nation’s infrastructure, let’s not forget about the safety element. Tad and the city of Medford would agree that radar speed signs could have a huge impact on keeping both workers and drivers safer in work zones.

WELCOME TO A new year!  2010.  Sheesh!  Is it just me or does simply saying 2010 sound futuristic?  Face it.  The “future” is today. We are seeing promises of tomorrow become mainstream realities. If you don’t believe me, just go see Avatar 3D Imax or make a purchase at an Apple (computer) store…or go for a drive.

We are now entering a new era of driving where technology is taking an increasingly larger role in getting us safely to our destination. It’s all about ITS or Intelligent Traffic Systems. If you haven’t yet heard the term, I suggest you say it now a few times to yourself, because before the year is over, it will become a commonly used idiom for most Americans.

ITS Command Center 2010

Given its relative newness, the term ITS has yet to be firmly solidified within the marketplace and so its currently being used for a fairly wide range of traffic management-related implementations. At the recent World Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transportation Systems and Services held this past September, the term was used to describe among other applications:

• Synchronized traffic lights coupled with active displays that tell drivers the optimal speed they should be traveling.
• In-car responder systems that notify emergency personnel of traffic accidents.
• Variable message signs that work with street sensors to instruct drivers of traffic accidents ahead, current drive times to various locations or alternative route suggestions. 
• Speed cameras that automatically record the license plate of traffic law violators.
• Instant drive-by toll collection technology.
• Emergency vehicle detectors that recognize approaching police cars, ambulances and fire trucks and automatically adjust traffic lights to give these vehicles the right-of-way.

As you can see from these examples, some ITS implementations are certain to cause controversy. In fact, the rapid increased interest in the technology is receiving support in the U.S. from various homeland security-related organizations that see a potential use of ITS for both surveillance and as a way to quickly and easily evacuate citizens in the event of an emergency.

Unclogging traffic jams with intelligent traffic signs

Information Display Company has already taken a leading role in marrying its display expertise with ITS technology. It is one of the first companies to offer traffic light synchronization displays and variable message signs. They are also working closely with others to adapt their radar display know-how with traffic monitoring systems. The result will be solutions that give motorists real-time information that will help them reach their destinations as quickly and safely as possible.

Stay tuned for updates.

FINDING THE RESOURCES for traffic safety programs is never a slam-dunk. Given today’s economy it’s gotten even harder. However, while many traffic safety programs are being eliminated, there are still places to find funding.

There are still grants available

One of the most popular and effective national programs offering traffic safety grants comes from Safe Routes To School. Launched in 2006, the program is all about encouraging kids to walk and ride their bikes to school. A first step in making this even plausible is ensuring that the routes they take are as safe as possible - and that means slowing cars. Safe Routes to School has a variety of active programs taking place across the entire U.S. with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. Most importantly, they offer grants to qualified applicants. A good first start is visiting their site at www.saferoutesinfo.org.

Even in today’s economy, there are a variety of local, state and federal government programs that may be able to help. These come and go and are often difficult to find, let alone apply for. That’s why Information Display Company has an expert ready to help. If you’re wondering what grants may be available for your specific location, you may want to send an e-mail to IDC’s grant coordinator at grantinformation@informationdisplay.com.

And if you’re courageous enough to do some research on your own, chances are, you’ll stumble across a variety of private corporate grants that may also work. A great example is one offered by State Farm Insurance, which offers charitable contributions to (among other groups) qualified educational institutions and governmental entities. Their grants are focused on three areas: safety, community development and education. You can find out more about the State Farm grant program at http://www.statefarm.com/about/part_spos/grants/cogrants.asp. Specific information about their upcoming 2010 programs should be available around the first of the year.

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I HEARD A disturbing statistic a while back that I can’t seem to get out of my mind. Information Display Company had loaned some radar speed signs to Feet First, a great organization all about getting kids (and their parents) to walk rather than drive to and from school. One of Feet First’s directors told me that half of school children hit by cars in school zones are actually hit by parents of students at the same school. I would think that of all the drivers on the road during school hours, these drivers would be most cognoscente of the potential hazards and therefore the most cautious. Apparently not.

Then I came across a new report just put out by Safe Kids USA that might explain this phenomenon. The report, entitled Distracted Drivers In School Zones: A National Report, highlights some statistics regarding driving behavior - particularly in school zones. What they found was that school zone drivers are often distracted and distractions have a real impact on safe driving. Consider some of these statistics highlighted in the report:

• It takes about .25 seconds for an average driver to identify a road hazard (such as a child running out into the street)
• It takes another .25 seconds for the brain to process the situation
• And another .25 seconds for the driver to determine his/her course of action

As the report lays out, if the driver is traveling 30 mph in a school zone, his car will go 33 feet before he even reacts to the hazard.  THEN…

The car will travel another 33 feet by the time the driver applies the brakes…

and another 38 feet before the car actually stops.

Total braking distance from the moment the child is spotted till the car stops…104 feet.

That is IF the road is dry and IF visibility is clear and IF the driver is totally attentive.

On the other hand, if he or she is distracted  - say, by a cell phone call, or a GPS device, or a talk show host, or grooming, or kids in the back seat, or…Well, let’s just say, stopping distance can be greatly larger.

The Harvard Center of Risk Analysis estimates that, in 2003, cell phone use by drivers was a factor in 636,000 crashes involving 12,000 major injuries and 2,600 deaths. Now, add to this other distractions like eating or reaching for that CD cover under the seat.

One more quick bit of information. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a report that highlighted the impact that the speed of a car has on the severity of injuries once an accident does occur. According to the report, only 5 percent of pedestrians would die if hit by a car traveling 20 mph or less. This fatality rate jumps 8X - to 40 percent - when the car is traveling just 10 mph faster, and 80 percent when traveling 40 mph.

So if there was a way to slow drivers just a bit - say from 30 to 20 mph - while driving through a school zone AND a way to draw driver attention from distractions back to their own driving speed, we can make a real impact on the number of accidents and the severity of injuries that occur in school zones.

And that, in a nutshell, is the reason why studies show radar speed signs to be so effective at increasing pedestrian safety in school zones. Long after speed limit signs and school zone posting have become all but invisible to passing drivers, radar speed signs continue to grab driver attention and refocus attention away from distractions and back on their own driving speed.

I really like Feet First’s idea of getting our children back in the habit of walking and riding their bikes to school. I like it even better when I know we are doing all we can to increase pedestrian safety around school zones. The evidence clearly points us in the required direction - eliminating driver distractions and reducing speeds.

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Speedbumps. Just say the word in a crowd and chances are you’ll soon start arguments that’ll make today’s town hall meetings seem sedate. While most everyone agrees speeding cars pose a real danger to school children and other pedestrians, there is a growing contingent of people who are fervently opposed to the use of speedbumps.

While protests against these axle-grinding obstructions continue to top the news throughout the U.K., stateside opposition has also begun to make headlines. From Los Angeles to Tampa Bay; Salt Lake City to Mesa Grande, newspaper articles highlight the fact that citizens across the country are up in arms about the disconcerting use of speed bumps by local governments looking to slow traffic.

There are now social network groups such as The Anti Speed Bump Club on Facebooks and organizations like The National Motorists Association and CRASH (Citizens Against Speed Humps), web sites such as No Speed Bumps.com, and bloggers such as Richard Layman in Washington D.C. and Cartype in Chicago. There are forums and essays, commentators and editorials - all who’ve had enough with this antiquated and obstructive means of slowing traffic.

Do speed bumps work? Sure, for the 1 to 3 feet of space that they take up on the road. But according to several government studies, drivers often try to make up the “lost time” or just relieve their frustrations over their use by speeding up between each bump.

Other reasons that a growing number of people are saying “no” to speedbumps in their neighborhood include:

1. They impede emergency vehicles
2. They simply divert traffic to streets without the obstructions
3. They increase traffic noise
4. They reduce fuel efficiency
5. They increase pollution
6. They ruin car suspension
7. They can be a hazard to wheelchairs and bicyclists

The troubling part of all this is that there are traffic-calming solutions that are more effective and less troublesome. In some cases, simple changes to street design can have a huge impact on slowing cars. Radar speed signs have also proven to be highly effective and highly rated by neighborhoods where they are employed.

Bottom line: speed bumps are on the outs - and should be. They represent an antiquated solution to a legitimate problem - one where alternative solutions offer more effective results without the considerable side effects.

Radar speed signs can differ dramatically from model to model

On Choosing

1.  Displays with built-in data collection features can be valuable, saving staff time in conducting future studies or proving effectiveness.

2.  Choose sign features based upon need. In some cases, simple signs may be best. Additional features such as data collection may increase technical issues that require management. Also, additional features typically come with additional costs.

3.  Choose a sign that provides a settable speed threshold limit. This prevents drivers from testing to see how high they can get the display to register.

I would like to add a few to this list.

1. Choose signs that look official. There are lots of models out on the market today. Some simply look wrong.  MUTCD provides design guidelines that govern everything from the color and shape of the sign to the size and style of lettering. Even if your application does not require MUTCD compliance, the effectiveness of the display is contingent upon driver perceptions of its legitimacy.
2. Vandal resistance. Displays will get abused. Choose a radar speed sign that is resistant to being hit, slammed and shot at. Solid-state designs are best. Shields protecting the display are important.
3. Easy to repair. If a display is damaged, it’s important that a non expert can easily fix it - in the field. Some radar speed signs require that the display be taken down and sent back to the factory. Others can be easily repaired right from where they are mounted.
4. Clear, visible and focused. Today’s top rated display signs offer designs that make them clearly visible only to THOSE DRIVERS BEING TARGETED. Poorly designed signs can easily distract unintended drivers.

The Bellevue study has several tips for radar speed sign placement. These include:

1. 

   Radar Speed Signs: Proper Placement - Bellevue Study 2009

   Set up the radar speed sign at a location that has a minimum distance of 300 feet of clear sight between the display and the drivers.

2. Choose a spot with a convenient power source nearby. If this is not possible, consider solar powered displays.
3. Solar powered signs work best where light levels are adequate for the sign application.
4. Chose a spot where the light from the display will not disrupt homeowners.
5. Avoid obstructions. Try to avoid locations where parked cars and other objects may obstruct the view of oncoming motorists.

Once the location for the radar speed sign is chosen. The Bellevue report provides the following tips on installation:

1. Install the sign at an appropriate angle so that the radar can pick up passing motorists (specified by the manufacturer).
2. Mount with concrete footing.
3. Install at a minimum height of seven feet from the bottom edge of the sign to the ground.
4. Include a posted speed limit sign above the radar speed sign.

We really owe the city of Bellevue our gratitude for sharing this information and personal experience with the rest of us concerned with traffic safety. Their report shares important data that serves as an excellent guide for others looking to slow traffic and increase pedestrian safety.

30+ Radar Speed Signs In Bellevue, WA

Perhaps the most comprehensive field study on the effectiveness of radar speed signs was just conducted by the city of Bellevue, Washington. Results were so overwhelmingly positive that the city rewrote their own rulebook on when and how to use these traffic-calming displays.

Prior to the study, Bellevue city officials viewed radar speedcheck signs as a secondary fallback option for applications where speedbumps, traffic circles or other physical traffic calming measures just could not be installed. But that has changed. Due in most part to the results of their own study, Bellevue has now installed more than thirty permanently mounted radar speed displays around school zones, on neighborhood streets and other locations where speeding traffic is a concern - and in many cases, in locations where speedbumps might once have been employed.

Old habits are hard to break. It doesn’t take a scientist to conclude that a big obstruction in the street (speedbump) will tend to slow drivers, and so installing them has often been the knee-jerk response that many cities exhibit when speeding traffic becomes an issue. 

What simple observation may not show, however, are some of the signficiant drawbacks to speedbumps. Drivers, for instance, oftentimes increase their speed from bump to bump. Speedbumps slow fire trucks, ambulances and other emergency vehicles and may increase traffic noise and present a hazard to bicyclists and handicap pedestrians.  The installation of speedbumps often result in simply shifting traffic from a main through route to quiet neighborhood side streets.

According to the Bellevue report, radar speed signs have a similar effect in slowing traffic, without the drawbacks associated with traffic calming road obstructions. Speedcheck signs have no effect on emergency vehicles or bicycles. They don’t cause increased traffic noise and they don’t cause damage to your automobile.

Perhaps most surprising to those following the Bellevue study is that the radar speedcheck signs continued to be effective over a long period of time. In some cases average traffic speeds continued to decrease years after the radar displays were first installed.

The Bellevue report not only provided evidence of the effectivness of radar speedcheck signs but also provided experienced recommendations on choosing and installing the displays. A review of these findings coming up in our next blog post.

Last week, I posted my thoughts on traffic congestion and potential solutions. My observations suggest that adding additional lanes to jammed streets and highways never solves the problem - it simply invites more cars to join the fray.

American drivers apparently have a (very high) set threshold for delays and traffic jams. Until congestion reaches that threshold, we are unwilling to change our behavior or look at alternative transportation strategies. By widening roads we only invite more drivers to fill the gap until more cars are stuck in the same level of congestion as before the widening occurred.

The frustrating part for me is that it seems this pattern is repeated again and again in cities across the country. Widening streets is a costly and inconvenient proposition, yet it seems to be the knee-jerk “solution” no matter how often it is proven ineffective.

According to the 2009 Urban Mobility Report just released by the Texas Transportation Institute (part of Texas A&M University), traffic congestion across the country has actually gone down a bit in the past couple of years. This trend is even more pronounced in Portland, Oregon. It is suspected that smarter development strategies (anti-sprawl planning) and a growing use of mass transit (higher gas prices) are responsible for the downward trend.

Here are some findings:

In 2007, Portland drivers spent an extra 37 hours behind the wheel during rush hour. This is down one hour from 2006 (Nationally, drivers saved about 30 minutes in 2007).

While time spent in rush hour traffic has gone down in the past couple years, it is still much higher than it was five years ago. In 2007, American drivers spent an additional 34.4 million hours of time in rush hour traffic - up 21 percent from 2002.

Nationwide, getting from point A to point B takes American drivers 25 percent more time during rush hour than during non-commute times (In Portland, it takes almost 30 percent more time).

Portland’s focus on usable mass transit seems to be slowing the rate of congestion growth. While the negative effects of traffic jams typically increase with the size of the city, Portland ranks 34th worst city in rush hour delays even though they are the 24th largest metro area (measured by population). Over the past ten years, commuter delays in Portland rose from 35 hours a year to 37 hours. Nationally, these figures are about 5 times worse (36 hours vs. 41).

It is estimated that, if not for their public transportation system, Portland-area drivers would be adding an additional five hours to their commute time annually - at a cost of about $98 million a year in lost time and wasted gas.

Of course, there are those that continue to demand that we widen roads to solve our traffic problems. To many, mass transit is merely an encroachment on our freedom to drive when, where and how we want. The last thing I feel when I’m sitting in a bumper-to-bumper traffic jam is freedom.

For the past couple of years, the city of Portland, Oregon - like many cities across the country - has been home to a heated debate regarding growing traffic congestion. Does the city spend money on widening existing highways or focus on funding alternative transportation?

Here are some interesting statistics I gleaned from The American Public Transportation Association and elsewhere that may sway the debate:

• From 1980 to 2005, the U.S. population grew 30 percent, while the number of registered motor vehicles increased 60 percent and the number of vehicle miles traveled grew 95 percent.
• According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, congestion is one of the single biggest threats to our economic prosperity and way of life, costing America $200 billion a year.
• In 2007, congestion caused urban Americans to travel 4.2 billion hours more and to purchase an extra 2.9 billion gallons of fuel for a congestion cost of $78 billion.
• In 2007, the the average American family spent $8,758 on transportation.
• In New York, where public transportation is widely available, only 14.0 percent of consumer expenditures are for transportation. In Phoenix, where there are fewer transportation options, consumer expenditures for transportation are 21.5 percent.
• The typical automobile user consumes twice as much oil as the public transportation user.
• Each year the use of public transportation in the United States saves 1.4 billion gallons of oil, representing 4 million gallons of gasoline per day - This is the equivalent of 140,769 fewer service station tanker trucks clogging our streets each year.
• Without public transportation, Americans would have suffered an additional 541 million hours of delay and consumed 340 million more gallons of fuel in 2005. The value of the delay and fuel that would be consumed if there were no public transportation service would be an additional $10.2 billion.
• Public transportation uses reduces delays for both public transportation riders and highway users. In one study of six urban corridors served by high-capacity rail transit, public transportation passengers saved 17,400 hours daily over auto travel. The remaining road users saved an additional 22,000 hours of delay per day due to the absence of vehicles from public transportation users. Travelers on surrounding roads in the corridors saved an additional 20,700 hours daily as spillover congestion was reduced. These reductions represent an annual savings of $225 million in the six corridors analyzed.

Want a few more facts? Consider these statistics the next time you are stuck in traffic.

• Nearly 60 percent of the U.S. population lives in major metropolitan areas of over 1 million, but only 8.3 percent of households have access to subway service.
• Over 50 percent of Americans do not live within one quarter mile of a transit stop.
• Only 4.3 percent of miles on our road system are served by public transportation.
• Two-thirds of rural Americans-60 million people-are almost wholly unserved by public transportation.
• Sprawling development patterns in America’s suburban areas often provide no choice but to use private vehicles for every travel need. This increases congestion requires more roads and parking facilities.

TTI’s 2007 Urban Mobility Report offers a variety of suggestions on how to reduce congestion on U.S. streets. These range from widening and redesigning roads to changing usage patterns and offering viable public transportation alternatives.

My personal observations suggest that widening roads doesn’t work. All of the highway expansions that I’ve witnessed simply resulted in larger backups. Apparently, when it comes to traffic congestion, there is a threshold that we as Americans are willing to persevere. Widening a road allows more cars to sit in the same mess that existed before the extra lanes were added.

I am coming to the conclusion that our best hope for real traffic relief will come in the form of:

1. New technologies that allow individuals to telecommute (work from home).
2. Smart city planning (and re-planning) that creates bike friendly / pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods. Instead of suburban sprawl where cars are required for even the most basic chores, these are mixed communities where homes and businesses create neighborhoods and getting a cup of coffee or loaf of bread doesn’t require you to get in your car.
3. Viable public transportation. To be viable, it must be fast, clean, safe and convenient.

What are your thoughts? You can leave your comment hear or e-mail me at blog@informationdisplay.com

Traffic Calming At Binghamton University

Radar speedcheck signs first installed more than four years ago continue to operate effectively and maintenance free according to campus police at Binghamton University. In 2005, four of the displays were placed on the university campus as part of several measures aimed at ensuring pedestrian safety. University police say the radar speed signs, all manufactured by Information Display Company, continue to be highly effective at slowing cars at all four locations throughout the heavily trafficked campus.

“We had some initial concern that drivers would eventually become used to the radar speed displays and that the signs would lose their effectiveness over time,” said Timothy R. Faughnan, deputy chief of police, Binghamton University, “but that has certainly not been the case. Years later, we still see brake lights come on as the signs remind drivers to observe their current rate of speed and make adjustments as needed.”

Findings like these are putting to bed questions regarding the long-term effectiveness of radar speed signs. When the technology was first introduced, their immediate effectiveness was easily observed. But many wondered if drivers would eventually become immune to the displays over time.

The observations of the Binghamton University police align with a growing body of scientific evidence.

In a 2004-2005 study conducted by the City of Bellevue, Washington, researchers found that stationary radar speedcheck signs continue to reduce 85th percentile speeds more than four years after first being installed.

In another study by the Texas Transportation Institute, the effectiveness of permanently mounted radar speed signs was observed in school zone applications. Before installation, average speeds were nearly ten miles per hour higher than the posted limit. Four months after the speedcheck displays were installed, average speeds were still 9 mph lower than before installation.

Binghamton University mounted their four displays near campus crosswalks where pedestrian traffic is particularly high and posted speed limits are reduced. The displays tell passing drivers their actual speed and flash the numbers if the driver exceeds a pre-set limit.

“We worked closely with the university to ensure they had the right traffic calming equipment for the job,” said Gary ODell, president of Information Display Company. “The four locations chosen for the signs were next to easily accessible power sources, so we suggested they forgo solar power options. We also suggested they use the signs’ maximum speed display settings to alleviate concern that some drivers might try to purposely achieve high display numbers.”

IDC also worked closely with the university to ensure the models they chose were designed to maximize driver compliance. Studies show that design features such as the colors used, overall dimensions and the size of the signs’ letters and numerals can all have a significant impact on the unit’s overall effectiveness. A 2008 article published in the IMSA Journal noted that in public-use applications, those units adhering most closely to MUTCD guidelines for sign designs were most likely to be taken seriously by drivers - and therefore were found to be most effective.

The studies are in - and the results are conclusive. In a variety of applications, radar speedcheck signs have clearly proven to be effective traffic calming devices for both the short-term and the long-term.

Case closed.