Stop Signs in Your Community
If your neighbors or your HOA are deliberating speeding, impulsive driving or other traffic issues on your street, become involved so that the right traffic slowing solution is chosen. Speed bumps are a poor choice, since they slow fire trucks and ambulances, damage cars, make snow removal tricky, increase maintenance costs and increase noise.
If speeding is the issue on a street, a stop sign at an intersection may seem like a smart idea. Sometimes, it may be. However it isn't every time depending on the street itself, its layout and the general flow of traffic. When a street is peppered with stop signs, drivers will often speed up between them, which causes a traffic danger. They know they must stop soon, costing them time, so quicker driving between the signs could be viewed as a way to make up for wasted time.
Many drivers also have an inclination to stop at a single stop sign encountered after a reasonably long stretch of road, but roll thru stop signs that are a block or two apart. Drivers are usually impatient and in a hurry to get where they need to be. This "rolling through" can be seen as a way to make up lost time, as well.
Both of theseâ€"faster driving between signs and rolling through themâ€"are potential accident risks. Crosswalks at stop signs may give pedestrians a sense of safety that actually does not exist if many drivers rush up to the sign or roll through it. And if drivers sense the stop signs should not even be there in the first instance, both these behaviors are more likely.
Threatening intersections where accidents have taken place, where visibility is poor or where other issues cause problems are often good places for stop signs or stop lights. But to slow traffic on streets when stop signs actually aren't required, radar speed signs are a superb choice. These display the drivers' speeds back at them, and generally lead them to slow down.
If speeding is the issue on a street, a stop sign at an intersection may seem like a smart idea. Sometimes, it may be. However it isn't every time depending on the street itself, its layout and the general flow of traffic. When a street is peppered with stop signs, drivers will often speed up between them, which causes a traffic danger. They know they must stop soon, costing them time, so quicker driving between the signs could be viewed as a way to make up for wasted time.
Many drivers also have an inclination to stop at a single stop sign encountered after a reasonably long stretch of road, but roll thru stop signs that are a block or two apart. Drivers are usually impatient and in a hurry to get where they need to be. This "rolling through" can be seen as a way to make up lost time, as well.
Both of theseâ€"faster driving between signs and rolling through themâ€"are potential accident risks. Crosswalks at stop signs may give pedestrians a sense of safety that actually does not exist if many drivers rush up to the sign or roll through it. And if drivers sense the stop signs should not even be there in the first instance, both these behaviors are more likely.
Threatening intersections where accidents have taken place, where visibility is poor or where other issues cause problems are often good places for stop signs or stop lights. But to slow traffic on streets when stop signs actually aren't required, radar speed signs are a superb choice. These display the drivers' speeds back at them, and generally lead them to slow down.
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Driver feedback signs from TraffiCalm Systems solve traffic problems better than stop signs. Read this for more information.