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3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

icelandmag.visir.is

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Re: 3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

#131

Post by vacri »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #44
malgorithms wrote: post #10

There is an analogy here to the slippery-slope of attention-getting ads on the Internet. Once upon a time an ad was just a static (not even animated) banner of a certain size and shape. 468x60 was one of the earliest, IIRC. Advertisers invented new formats ("skyscrapers", "xl-leaderboards", "300x250", and so on), and also they got animated, and then they started expanding outside their areas, and so on; each new ad t…

I have wondered if anyone has studied the 'Dole light' which in the US was the additional brake light added for additional visibility and to cut down on rear end accidents.

High-mounted brake lights had an effect for the first 5-10 years or so, while they were still a novelty. After that, the benefit disappeared.

Re: 3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

#132

Post by Tomis02 »

snowAbstraction wrote: post #126
Tomis02 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The speed is likely caused by tourists looking around and not paying attention I suspect it's Romanians, as they're really bad drivers. For example, in Romania drivers will not stop at a crosswalk to let you pass unless you stare at them for a few seconds to make eye contact, and even then it depends on their mood and how hurried they are. They're basically a menace on the roads.

Why would you suspect Romanians in particular in Iceland? Why not citizens from other European countries who as have relatively many road fatalities per capita? I am usually most worried about Americans since many have little experience with roundabouts and they are used to turning right on red, often in practice without a full stop. This is very dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians.

> Why not citizens from other European countries who as have relatively many road fatalities per capita?

When it comes to pedestrian safety, the only EU country with a record that can match Romania's is Latvia, but it has a population that's 10 times smaller.

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/...

> I am usually most worried about Americans since many have little experience with roundabouts and they are used to turning right on red

Except the crossing in the article has nothing to do with roundabouts and turning, just stopping to give way to pedestrians, which is something Romanian drivers are very bad at. I'm speaking from experience.

Re: 3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

#133

Post by Tomis02 »

madeofpalk wrote: post #128
Tomis02 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The speed is likely caused by tourists looking around and not paying attention I suspect it's Romanians, as they're really bad drivers. For example, in Romania drivers will not stop at a crosswalk to let you pass unless you stare at them for a few seconds to make eye contact, and even then it depends on their mood and how hurried they are. They're basically a menace on the roads.

Considering the majority of tourists (from my observation) in Iceland are American, I’m not really sure why you bring up Romanians.

Who said anything about tourists? It can also be economic migrants. I bring up Romanians because they have a very particular disability - they find it really difficult to stop at pedestrian crossings, even when people are obviously about to cross the street.

Re: 3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

#134

Post by adventured »

snowAbstraction wrote: post #126
Tomis02 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The speed is likely caused by tourists looking around and not paying attention I suspect it's Romanians, as they're really bad drivers. For example, in Romania drivers will not stop at a crosswalk to let you pass unless you stare at them for a few seconds to make eye contact, and even then it depends on their mood and how hurried they are. They're basically a menace on the roads.

Why would you suspect Romanians in particular in Iceland? Why not citizens from other European countries who as have relatively many road fatalities per capita? I am usually most worried about Americans since many have little experience with roundabouts and they are used to turning right on red, often in practice without a full stop. This is very dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians.

> I am usually most worried about Americans since many have little experience with roundabouts

That's no longer a very accurate statement. The US has been on a roundabout building frenzy in the last ten years, particularly in the last five. We've gone from having a thousand roundabouts ten years ago, to having more than 15,000 now.

To put it into contrast. Ten years ago the US had about 1 roundabout per 10,000 intersections. That's now down to somewhere around 1 per 600x. Germany is at 1 per 300 (France is at 1 per 45). The US will catch Germany in that roundabout ratio within the next ten years. It's a large traffic change for the US in such a short amount of time.

Re: 3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

#135

Post by grkvlt »

jschwartzi wrote: post #115
lozenge wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about a pelican crossing? Red yellow and green lights for cars like at a junction, activated by pedestrians pressing a button. Wikipedia says these only came to the US in the year 2000, which seems ridiculous.

People still blow past them, in my experience. The only real way to make roads safer for pedestrians is to remove all the cars.

Wow. Surely (and especially if there are red-light cameras) that'd be an automatic ticket, with fine and points? Same for not stopping at a zebra crossing. I can't say I've ever witnessed this sort of behaviour in the UK, except maybe as exceptional events shown on 'World's Worst Driver' clip shows on TV...

Re: 3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

#136

Post by ChuckMcM »

vacri wrote: post #131
ChuckMcM wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have wondered if anyone has studied the 'Dole light' which in the US was the additional brake light added for additional visibility and to cut down on rear end accidents.

High-mounted brake lights had an effect for the first 5-10 years or so, while they were still a novelty. After that, the benefit disappeared.

And a source for that would be interesting, while it makes intuitive sense I'd love to see someone who tested that hypothesis rigorously.

Re: 3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

#137

Post by falsedan »

seszett wrote: post #95
zachkatz wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also you need wide spaces between buildings to have light at ground level. Tell that to almost anywhere in Europe: http://newworldeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Shin...

In Europe (and Japan) though, the places with narrow spaces between buildings usually have low buildings as well. There is much more light in most European cities, even in the business districts with high buildings, than at least the few American cities I have been to, like Montreal or NYC, because usually where there are tall buildings, then there are also wide spaces between them, see in Paris for example: http://p…

> but nobody likes a place that never gets sun

I take it you have not visited beautiful Scotland.

Re: 3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

#138

Post by falsedan »

Swizec wrote: post #79
zachkatz wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also you need wide spaces between buildings to have light at ground level. Tell that to almost anywhere in Europe: http://newworldeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Shin...

Correction: when you have tall buildings they need to be spaced apart to avoid murkiness at street level. In San Francisco financial district it gets dark around 4pm in summer when sunset is around 9pm. Imagine if those skyscrapers were as close together as the buildings in your picture. Also I’m pretty sure that’s Japan. The filename says Tokyo.

> In San Francisco financial district it gets dark around 4pm in summer when sunset is around 9pm.

No it doesn't, the ambient light is sufficient to allow normal activities without requiring additional illumination until well past the summer solstice's dusk at 8:30pm.

Unless by 'dark' you mean "I couldn't see the sun when I left to get a MUNI".

Re: 3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

#139

Post by falsedan »

ianamartin wrote: post #16
malgorithms wrote: post #10

There is an analogy here to the slippery-slope of attention-getting ads on the Internet. Once upon a time an ad was just a static (not even animated) banner of a certain size and shape. 468x60 was one of the earliest, IIRC. Advertisers invented new formats ("skyscrapers", "xl-leaderboards", "300x250", and so on), and also they got animated, and then they started expanding outside their areas, and so on; each new ad t…

Strongly agree with everything here. Just wanted to add that getting people accustomed to this has unintended consequences as well. Say you grow up in a place where this is the norm. Then you go to some place where this hasn’t caught on yet. You’ve been trained to look out for these obvious things and therefore pay less attention in general. You are now a more dangerous driver outside of this environment and possibly…

> I’m just making the connection explicit.

You're making things up. Don't use 'common sense' and arguing by analogy for this: read actual behavioural science studies on driving instead. Or simply realise the difference between attention-grabbing as a distraction to your web using & as a signal to help you avoid killing yourself or others.

My anecdotal evidence is that I don;t have any problem with this, I learned to drive three times in three wildly-different automobile environments, and I find street signs extremely useful and easier to miss. Holy crap why are UK speed limit signs the size of a paper plate.

Re: 3D crosswalk in Iceland helps slow down speeding motorists

#140

Post by falsedan »

Tomis02 wrote: post #133
madeofpalk wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Considering the majority of tourists (from my observation) in Iceland are American, I’m not really sure why you bring up Romanians.

Who said anything about tourists? It can also be economic migrants. I bring up Romanians because they have a very particular disability - they find it really difficult to stop at pedestrian crossings, even when people are obviously about to cross the street.

Just flat-out racist…
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