Happy New Year and welcome to 2011. It’s a new day.

And for the world of traffic-calming radar speed signs, the new year is starting off with quite a stir. The folks at Information Display Company just introduced a new MUTCD- and NHTSA-compliant speed trailer that is creating a real buzz throughout the industry. But just look at it. You can instantly see why.

A Real Game Changer

Yes, that’s a speed trailer – the new SpeedCheck DuraTrailer. Turns out that after about a zillion years of the same old speed trailer design, the engineers at IDC thought it was time for a change. The old design had so many flaws but was so ubiquitous for so long, that we’ve all assumed that’s simply the way it is. IDC engineers thought differently.

It started with a simple question, “Why are so many portable radar speed signs left back in the warehouse rather than being deployed with work crews or traffic patrol units?” More often than not, the answer they found pointed to the speed trailer – the equipment that was used to transport the radar speed signs from place to place: they were heavy and hard to maneuver, they were often broken or in some state of disrepair. They were hard to set up. In a nutshell, if the speed trailers were working at all, they were just too big of a pain to use.

Now comes the SpeedCheck DuraTrailer.

Rethinking speed trailer design from the ground up, the DuraTrailer is an entirely new beast. Here’s just a few of the differences:

• It’s lightweight and balanced. One person can easily move it manually from place to place and hook it up to a car or truck.
• It’s made to last. For instance, it incorporates a heavy duty galvanized frame that cane easily withstand the worst road salt and weather conditions.
• Its one-piece molded cover completely protects the speed trailer’s components from the elements and WONT RUST.
• The offset pole design brings the display up front and closer to the view of the driver. The low footprint makes sure workers and pedestrians are clearly visible and not hidden by the machinery.
• It’s simple to remove the radar speed sign so you can use the display for other applications. Or you can easily replace the radar speed display with a variable speed limit sign, intelligent traffic sign or other display.

This isn’t the first innovation introduced by Information Display Company. These are the same guys that have patents and unique designs that upped the bar for vandal resistance, remote office functionality, glare resistant displays and multi-display time sync. It’s nice to see U.S. ingenuity and manufacturing is still alive and well.

So here’s to a great year ahead. We’re out of the shoot with quite a blast.

Choosing the Right Radar Speed Sign

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. 

   Mounting considerations - radar speed signs

   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.