The folks at Information Display Company are pretty excited about being the first manufacturer to make the FDOT’s approved product list and they attribute this accomplishment not only to superior product quality and features but also to unmatchable customer service. It seems that radar speed signs are rarely off-the-shelf purchases but rather require some level of customization to fit specific needs. Maybe it’s synchronized scheduling capabilities or special message displays – or maybe it’s just help with installation. Turns out Information Display wins top honors for responding to these special requests.

Oh yes, I should mention that the Escambia County speed displays were purchased as part of a “safe routes to school” program set up in the state. I was told by the county’s safety coordinator that not only were the traffic calming effects of the speed signs immediately apparent, but along with added street lighting, sidewalks and other route improvements, they are proving to have a real impact on getting both school children and local residents out of their cars and on their feet – and that’s good news for everyone.

Radar Speed Displays Go Up In Clinton, MO

Wanted to share a nice Facebook Post from the Clinton Daily Democrat (Click here).  Here’s to a safer year ahead for drivers and pedestrians and an increase in walkable routes to school in 2012.

Since around 1997, SRTS has been hard at work evangelizing the positive aspects of having our children walk or bicycle to school. More importantly, they have been working directly with communities across the nation to make streets safe for pedestrians and promoting the positive aspects of walking/riding instead of being chauffeured to school. In 2005, Congress dedicated funds (about $600 million) towards SRTS that is being used for both infrastructure projects and non-infrastructure activities. A recent report shows that since first being funded, more than 10,400 U.S. schools across all income levels have participated in Safe Routes To School Programs.

Information Display Company first came into contact with Safe Routes to School in 2009 through Feet First, a regional affiliate that has promoted the principles of SRTS throughout Washington State. At that time, Information Display Company had donated several radar speed signs for use in the organization’s Walk and Roll Month events. This included a host of activities designed to encourage both children and parents in the Seattle area to walk together to school rather than drive. The radar speed signs were used effectively to slow traffic and increase pedestrian safety along some of the more busier routes.

During my conversations with Feet First volunteers, I heard some pretty intriguing statistics that I have often thought of while passing through a school zone. It turns out that about 25 percent of morning traffic in Washington State is made up of parents driving their children to school. More harrowing is the fact that half the school children hit by cars in school zones are actually hit by parents of students at the same school.

I also learned that slowing down just a little bit can make a big difference when an accident does occur. A study a read found that only five percent of pedestrian accidents resulted in fatalities when the cars were traveling 20mph or less. This number jumped to 40 percent when the cars were driving 30mph and 80 percent at forty mph.

So as the new school year begins, let’s support the healthy habit of walking and biking to school and be particularly cautious when driving around school zones. If you forget to check your speed, chances are growing that a radar speed sign will be nearby to remind you.

The purpose of this blog is to share the latest information and thoughts about traffic calming and safety technology and we’ve had some great discussions on various related topics.  So is it ok to get excited about our own products when they do really well in the marketplace? I can’t help it. Information Display Company puts so much thought and effort into designing and manufacturing the best traffic calming displays made, we get excited when our products and services continue to get industry acclaim. 

We recently introduced a speed trailer that was really a game changer. Editorial coverage of the SpeedCheck DuraTrailer confirmed it’s revolutionary place in an area that has been stagnant for so long.  And when I learned about how the SpeedCheck radar speed sign rose above competitive products during a city evaluation, and how that city has really embraced these speed displays for their ability to improve school zone safety, I couldn’t help but share the info with everyone. 

The city of Stamford Connecticut recently purchased ten new radar speed signs to support their ongoing school safety initiatives. That brings the total number of city-owned speed displays to thirty-four. They soon hope to have enough radar speed signs installed along their various school zone routes to slow cars around each of their twenty public school buildings.

Stamford bought their first radar speed sign about nine years ago, after conducting field testing on several different models. They ultimately chose SpeedCheck speed displays manufactured by Information Display Company. According to Veera Karukonda, Signal Systems Engineer for the city of Stamford, the SpeedCheck signs were chosen for several reasons.

“A comparative analysis found that the SpeedCheck sign provided the best construction and most visible display among those we tested,” said Karukonda. “The size, shape and design of the SpeedCheck display created the most official looking sign among the test group and it offered many of the features we were looking for. We were also impressed with the dedicated service that we received from Information Display Company.”

In the past, the city’s team of signal engineers had to manually open and adjust each radar speed sign when upgrades or scheduling changes needed to be implemented. Now each of the signs includes Bluetooth wireless technology that lets the engineers make firmware upgrades and scheduling changes from the comfort of their car. The city also invested in Information Display Company’s DisplayManager™ system that, when in operation, will allow city engineers to monitor, adjust and control each sign from one central office location.

Each of the radar speed signs are installed along with two flashing warning lights; one above and one below the speed display. Both the sign and the flashing lights are connected to the SpeedCheck sign’s built in scheduling program. During school hours, the lights automatically begin to flash and the speed signs remind drivers of their passing speed. Most importantly, the radar speed signs refocus driver attention away from various distractions and back on their own driving behavior.

In a recent study conducted by Safe Kids USA, one in six drivers traveling through one of several active school zones was observed in a state of distraction. According to the accompanying report, statistics show that even small distractions can dramatically increase the chance of an accident. 

If you’ve had experience with SpeedCheck speed displays or any other radar speed signs or if you’ve tried other traffic calming strategies, I’d love to hear about it. What worked for you and what didn’t?

In a 2008 study conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute, radar speed signs topped the list of safety devices tested in short-term maintenance work zones. The speedcheck signs not only provided the largest speed reduction among the various traffic-calming methods reviewed, but workers reported that when mounted onto a trailer, the installation and removal of the signs was reasonable for even short-term work zone projects.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation first began using radar speed signs in work zones several years ago. Originally embraced by the department’s metro area maintenance crews, the electronic displays helped keep traffic moving at a safe speed while workers filled potholes. As the effectiveness of the speedcheck signs became clear, demand for their use spread. Today, Mn/DOT has expanded the deployment of radar speed signs to include use in construction sites, on ongoing maintenance projects and for other hazardous work zone applications.

“We often mount a radar speed sign along with an arrow board to the tail gate of one of our trucks,” said Marvin Sohlo, work zone standards engineer for MnDOT. “When we use the radar speed signs, it’s easy to observe the break lights come on. On a multi-lane highway, we’ve found average speeds are typically reduced by 8 to 10 miles per hour.”

Reducing speed is a critical issue for those concerned with work zone safety. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) 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.

“It’s estimated that more than 20 percent of our national highway system is currently under construction,” said Gary ODell, president of Information Display Company, a leading U.S. manufacturer of radar speed signs. “That equates to about 3,000 work zones on U.S. highways alone. You can add thousands more when you include work being done on public streets, around construction sites and on public works projects.”

Tad Blanton is the field operations supervisor for Medford, Oregon Public Works. He manages four crews that work year round on every type of public works project from underground maintenance to structural repairs, paving and concrete work. Concerned with worker safety, he attended a demonstration of a portable radar speed sign presented by IDC, and then signed up for a three-week free rental program.

“Providence brought the radar speed sign to us just when we needed it,” said Blanton. “We were about to begin work on a storm drain repair along the intersection of a busy four lane thoroughfare. We placed the sign about 350 feet before the work. The crew that I had out there said that the difference the display made was absolutely unbelievable. I knew are traditional warning signs wouldn’t of had nearly the same effect.”

Why radar speed signs work

We know they work. Over the past dozen years or so, a variety of studies have shown that radar speed signs are effective at slowing cars. In some of these studies, they rank the highest among traffic-calming strategies being tested – better than rumble strips, flashing lights and even speed bumps.

Even more impressive is the fact that research has shown that they continue to slow cars even years after first being installed. I remember speaking with a campus police chief at a prestigious east coast university who told me their SpeedCheck signs have been dependably slowing cars for the past five years. I remember that his inflection expressed puzzlement. He knew they worked, he just didn’t know why. Now we do.

A recent report entitled Distracted Drivers In School Zones, sponsored by Safe Kids USA, sheds a spotlight on what is most likely the answer – radar speed signs directly address issues related to driver distraction.

In their study, researchers had trained observers set along a variety of school zones to record evidence of driver distraction. If they saw a driver talking on a cell phone, they wrote it down. If they saw a driver turning around to talk to a child in the back seat, they wrote it down. At the end of the study, they found that one in six drivers traveling through an active school zone was in a state of distraction. One in six!

SpeedCheck signs break through the distractions and serve to refocus driver attention on his or her speed. And that distraction-busting phenomenon never wears out. A passing driver sees their posted speed displayed on the sign face and immediately reacts.

That’s not true for other traffic-calming devices. Rumble strips make noise but don’t give driver’s the same kind of direct feedback that makes them slow down. Either does school zone signs, cross walks, speed bumps or anything else except perhaps a policeman aiming a radar gun. And unlike traffic officers, SpeedCheck radar speed signs don’t mind working 24/7 or require lunch breaks. 

If you are at all interested in pedestrian safety issues or are looking for possible funding for your traffic calming project, you should know about the federal Safe Routes To School (SRTS) program. The idea is to improve the ability for children to walk or ride their bikes to school. Not a bad idea for a generation that has gotten used to being chauffeured from one place to another. The program offers training, education, events and funding.

Of course, a big part of that funding goes towards grants that states can use to improve traffic safety. I recently came across an article that explained how the city of New Hope, Minnesota did just that.

With an SRTS grant of $31,200 the Minnesota Department of Transportation implemented a variety of actions to slow traffic around its Sunny Hollow Elementary School. Since the school is surrounded by busy streets, few of the students walk or bike to school. During the morning commute, local traffic is congested with parents driving to school in order to deliver their kids to the front of the building.

While a portion of the grant will be used for training and education, the majority of the funds will be used to purchase three radar speed signs. The signs will be installed next to current speed limit signs and are intended to remind drivers to check their own speed and make sure they are within the limits.

Sounds simple, but it works. A variety of government studies have shown that radar speed displays are particularly effective around neighborhood streets and school yards.

Next step? The city plans to apply for additional grants to fund similar projects near other elementary schools in the state. 

Truckee California, Atlanta Georgia and Winnipeg, Canada are a few of the latest cities to deploy radar speed signs in a big way. The growing acceptance of these traffic-calming displays is particularly noteworthy given the correlating decline in the popularity of speedbumps and radar speed cameras.

radar speed signs' increasing popularity

According to Sam Katz, the mayor of Winnipeg, their recent installation of seven solar-powered radar speed signs is “anything but a cash grab,” – one of the major concerns of Winnepeg citizens opposed to speed cameras. Studies show that radar speed signs are highly effective at slowing cars without being obtrusive or financially threatening (spelled t.i.c.k.e.t). Katz made it clear that none of the new displays will take pictures or be used to issue tickets.

In California, the city of Truckee took advantage of funding provided by the federal Safe Routes to School program to buy and install six flashing crosswalk signs and radar speed signs. The displays are being permanently mounted along a busy school route and are intended to be operational in time for the 2010-11 school year.

And then last year, residents of Wildwood, Georgia, a city just North of downtown Atlanta, used the data collected by a radar speed sign to convince local police that there was a major speeding problem around their local school zones. Surprising to many who analyzed follow up data, that the majority of speeders were local residents. This, however, coincides with findings of numerous traffic-calming studies and highlights one of the key reasons radar speed signs work so well. Most speeders are just distracted drivers. Radar speed signs are an unobtrusive way to redirect driver attention to their current driving conditions. And that doesn’t require photos or ticketing.

I CAME ACROSS A study by Safe Kids USA that looked at distracted drivers in school zones. While it’s no surprise that distracted drivers are more likely to cause or be involved in an accident, some of the specifics noted in the report were surprising to me. For instance:

Fact. Drivers using a phone are as likely to get in an accident as drunk drivers ( .08 blood alcohol content). 

Fact. Drivers dialing a phone are six times more likely to be involved in an accident. 

Fact. Drivers texting on their phones are 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident. 

Fact. Drivers talking on a phone are four times more likely to be in an accident.      

Fact. Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimated that in 2003, cell phone use was a factor in 636,000 crashes, 12,000 major injuries and 2,600 deaths.

But this post isn’t about bashing cell phone use. It’s about the impact of driving distractions in general and what we can do about it to increase pedestrian safety.

In the Safe Kids study, trained observers were posted in school zones located in 15 states throughout the U.S. They observed each car that passed through the school zone, making note of the drivers’ sex, the type of cars they were driving and any marked evidence of driver distractions. Of the 41,426 total drivers observed, about 7,000 of them (1 in 6) were distracted by something – eating, reaching in back, talking on a phone etc.

Specific findings include:

• Cell phone use was the number one leading distracter 
• Men and woman drivers were abut equally distracted.
• Distracted drivers appeared more frequently in school zones without flashing lights.
• Drivers of SUVs, pickup trucks and other large vehicles tended to be distracted more than car drivers.
• Drivers not using their seat belts were 35% more likely to be distracted than those who did use seat belts.

Why does any of this matter? I suggest two reasons:

1. Distractions lead to more accidents as well as a higher severity of accidents when crashes do occur.       

2. Traffic calming methods that interrupt diver distractions during critical times (such as while passing through school zones( are particularly important in reducing accidents.

As the Safe Kids report points out, a distraction that takes the driver’s mind off of his or her driving environment can have a huge impact on accident avoidance. By the time you calculate how long it takes for a driver to see a child run into the street, for the brain to process the situation and for the driver to make a decision on how to avoid the hazard, a car traveling just 30 mph will have traveled about 33 feet. Once you add driver reaction time and the time it takes the car to stp, it has now traveled about 104 feet from when the danger was first spotted.

From Safe Kids USA

That’s on a dry road…with clear conditions…without driver distractions. For each second that the driver is distracted, you can add another 33 feet to that stopping distance.

Radar speed signs, variable speed limit signs and violation alert signs are all bout refocusing a driver’s attention away from distractions and back onto his or her own driving speed and road conditions. And they work.

A variety of government studies show that radar speedcheck signs are one of the most highly effective means of reducing accidents in school zones, work zones and other places where pedestrian safety is of particular concern.

And now we know why.

If interested, you can find a nice collection of links to many of these government traffic calming studies at www.informationdisplay.com.

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.

Therer are still SRTS 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.