June 10, 2008


Distracting Miss Daisy

And so I came to reflect on the mundane details of traffic-control policies in Great Britain and the United States. And I began to think that the American system of traffic control, with its many signs and stops, and with its specific rules tailored to every bend in the road, has had the unintended consequence of causing more accidents than it prevents. Paradoxically, almost every new sign put up in the U.S. probably makes drivers a little safer on the stretch of road it guards. But collectively, the forests of signs along American roadways, and the multitude of rules to look out for, are quite deadly.

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posted by Patrick Burleson in cars, culture, observations, psychology, society 

comments

4 Responses to “Distracting Miss Daisy”

  1. Sheila Ryan on June 10th, 2008 at 11:56 am

    Yes. Yes. Yes. [Repeat.]

    This is one of the hobbyhorses I get up on and ride, given an opportunity.

    Just looking ahead to clusterflockstock and warning y’all.

  2. Billy Hoya on June 10th, 2008 at 10:49 pm

    I always thought it was funny that Brittan goes for a more democratic (at least in my opinion) form of intersection - the round-a-bout - while here in the home of democracy we tend to favor the more authoritative red-light / box intersection.

  3. Sheila Ryan on June 10th, 2008 at 11:32 pm

    But we in the States are catching up with the Brits in terms of ubiquitous camera surveillance!

  4. Billy Hoya on June 14th, 2008 at 8:28 pm

    Speaking of camera; has anyone noticed these little white cameras perched on traffic signal mast around Texas? It seems like alot of them have been appearing in Houston. I don’t think they’re Red Light Cameras - they’re not bulky and don’t flash when someone runs a red light. Anybody know what they are?

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