Live data from Hacker News

Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

twitter.com

111–120 of 524 posts

Re: Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

#111
post #106

slightly off topic, but had no idea you could hide replies to your tweet on twitter. It's amazing how many inconvenient counterpoints (and trolls) we can now bury under an extra layer (the view hidden tweets button) because we don't like what they have to say on a public forum.

It’s a laughably poorly implemented feature that has the opposite effect of burying responses. It’s the Streisand effect at scale. Honestly kind of hilarious.

Re: Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

#112
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

same in the UK. but more than that, in the UK in any intersection with traffic lights the pedestrians will never have a green light at the same time as cars. meanwhile, in most countries i've visited making a left or a right turn in an intersection will most likely cause you to stop for pedestrians that also get a green light. frustrating and illogical!

”in the UK in any intersection with traffic lights the pedestrians will never have a green light at the same time as cars.” 3-phase signalled intersections (where pedestrians get a green signal to cross in all directions) are a relatively new development in the UK. They’re certainly common in London but I’d be very surprised if they’re rolled out to all intersections the UK.

Only European country I know about that has pedestrians on green crossing cars is Germany.

And I live in Europe.

Re: Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

#113
post #106

slightly off topic, but had no idea you could hide replies to your tweet on twitter. It's amazing how many inconvenient counterpoints (and trolls) we can now bury under an extra layer (the view hidden tweets button) because we don't like what they have to say on a public forum.

Is a tweet a public forum, or someone's back yard? I can kick people off of my back yard if I feel like it.

that's a fair question. I'd say the way it's been used so far (unless you have a private account) that it's a public forum.

If you want your backyard-privacy treatment then turn down your megaphone and make your profile private.

Re: Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

#114
post #96
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

pedestrians do cross the street when it's red for them You have to think what pedestrian lights are for. They exist solely to improve the flow of car traffic. Pedestrian lights are in gross contrast to the rights and benefits of pedestrians. Without lights, pedestrians would always have first priority on a crosswalk. Cars would have to stop for any pedestrian crossing the street. However, drivers (of inefficient but…

In Oslo at least, the crosswalks (usually) have lights if there's an intersection, and since there are no laws against crossing on red you are free to do so, as long as you don't create any dangerous situations. I'd argue that the lights are not to improve traffic flow, but to signal pedestrians that it's safe to cross, something sighted, young or otherwise healthy people often take for granted by just looking both w…

In the US, pedestrian signals do NOT signal when it’s safe to cross. Cars almost always have a green in the same direction, meaning they can turn into you. I almost get run over once a month because of this.

Re: Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

#115
post #82
post #13

One interesting observation on Oslo is that, pedestrians do cross the street when it's red for them, if there's no moving traffic close by. This is totally different from, for example, Copenhagen, Stockholm and places I visited in Germany. They're like Italians of the north. That's probably why we felt at home on the streets during our stay there, as a family from Turkey. I would love to have that 0 deaths statistics…

In Copenhagen there's a nuance that you're socially expected to wait at marked pedestrian crossings until they're green, but it's ok to cross the road yourself at points where there's no marked crossing (and therefore no lights). People will do this 20m from a marked crossing too. This extends to people waiting in the middle of the road between traffic flows (usually on wider roads) which in my experience is only com…

In Poland you can be fined when you cross on red, but you are allowed to cross anywherere if crossing is farther than 100 meters (unless there are barriers) and on any intersection without marked crossing. Also pedestrians don't have right of way outside of marked crossings, even if they are about to enter them.

We have a ton of accidents on pedestrian crossings so those rules are probably bad.

Re: Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

#116
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

pedestrians do cross the street when it's red for them You have to think what pedestrian lights are for. They exist solely to improve the flow of car traffic. Pedestrian lights are in gross contrast to the rights and benefits of pedestrians. Without lights, pedestrians would always have first priority on a crosswalk. Cars would have to stop for any pedestrian crossing the street. However, drivers (of inefficient but…

All other vehicles have lights for them, either for them to stop or have other vehicles stop for them (in the case of trains) It's natural that a locking mechanism would evolve for all cases. It's not a matter of being a car-centric monster, it's a matter of organizing traffic. > Without lights, pedestrians would always have first priority on a crosswalk Not all pedestrians cross in a crosswalk or look at what they'r…

Of course it is about organising traffic. And that makes sense if that is the only metric you care about optimising. The problem is that other things are obstructed (figuratively and literally) by that optimisation.

Re: Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

#117
post #86

Rome has probably the worst record: 111 traffic deaths from January to November 2019.

Worst record in Europe, right? That's like a two-day worth of accidents here in Bangkok: > A total of 256 were killed and 2,588 injured in 2,529 road accidents nationwide from Dec 27 to 31 https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1827019/seasona...

One would assume that the holiday season is a statistical outlier?

Re: Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, and this is true in virtually every country. The licenses of almost every country are accepted for visitors in any of those same countries, thanks to some UN conventions. An international driving permit which uses a standardized format and includes translations may be required.

I think the point here is that EU/EEA driving licences are considered as valid as local licences, without time limits, because Norway is in the EEA.

>without time limits

Not true in many EU countries. In France you're supposed to get a French driving license after two years of residence. Never heard of this being enforced, but I know people that changed when their licensed needed renewal so they could deal with a local administration.

Re: Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

#119
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Oslo at least, the crosswalks (usually) have lights if there's an intersection, and since there are no laws against crossing on red you are free to do so, as long as you don't create any dangerous situations. I'd argue that the lights are not to improve traffic flow, but to signal pedestrians that it's safe to cross, something sighted, young or otherwise healthy people often take for granted by just looking both w…

In the US, pedestrian signals do NOT signal when it’s safe to cross. Cars almost always have a green in the same direction, meaning they can turn into you. I almost get run over once a month because of this.

Seems like a cultural problem, not a crosswalk light problem. Most people (myself included) automatically slow down when driving into a crosswalk. Our intersections are usually fairly small, so it's hard to build up any speed, even if you wanted to.

Re: Oslo had 0 pedestrian, 0 cyclist, 0 children and 1 driver trafic deaths in 2019

#120
post #43

It's quite hard to drive in Oslo now. Not impossible but it's not very fun and the speed limits are very low. When I have to go inside "ring 1", I usually drive to a free parking/charging spot for electric cars and walk from there. It's quite close to aker brygge and close to the high way. Back when I was living in Oslo (and didn't have children) I didn't have a car at all, no need for it.

>it's not very fun Sorry to hear that other people's lives get in the way of your idea of 'fun'.

I don't think this was a complaint from OP. But instead an explanation of what makes them park and go to public transport. Which they go on to say is a good thing.
Post reply on HN