German Town Scraps Road Signs to Increase Safety
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 09.13.07
Drachten roundabout
It started in the Dutch city of Drachten: Anarchy on the roads, no signs, no lights. Now they are trying in in the German town of Bohmte: no signs or lights, ripping up the sidewalks and asphalt and replacing it all with cobblestones. It's called "shared space," a concept developed by Dutch traffic engineer Hans Monderman.
Speigel notes: According to the concept, road users have to negotiate their behavior with each other, rather than have it prescribed by rules -- the idea being that people will pay more attention to what other road users are doing and hence cause fewer accidents. They report that the Drachten experience worked; accidents there have declined dramatically since the new regime was introduced.
"The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We're losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior," says Monderman. "The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people's sense of personal responsibility dwindles."
Could this work in North America? As Hank noted in an earlier post, "Anarchy seems to breed courtesy, in Holland at least, and at the very least, it increases awareness." But in Holland and Germany, citizens don't have guns. ::Spiegel
Funny to see this post about a town where I lived years ago. I've driven the roundabout and when it is busy, its pedestrians, bikes and cars all over. driving slowly and carefully.
nobody wants their car dented, I think that is the key. ;)
I'm sure accidents have gone down, but what about pollution? If every single driver has to negotiate their place with every other driver and pedestrian, doesn't traffic slow way down and cause congestion?
Dude, if i had to slow down that much to get where I wanted I'd walk or take the bus/bike/taxi. Even patient people only have so much patience. I like this idea.
I could see this working in only specific areas.
Problem with this working in N. America has more to do with the skills of the drivers (or lack there of). In the U.S. it has become extremely easy to obtain a drivers license, with only an 80% required to pass a written exam, and being offered to take the test in the language of your choice in most states, it is theoretically possible for someone to be allowed to drive with out them even knowing what a stop sign is or how to navigate an interchange. I believe the states have made it so easy to get a license for the simple fact that the U.S. lacks decent mass transit in most areas and it makes economic sense to keep the labor force mobile.
I also believe the average N. American driver has become lazy behind the wheel; thanks to safety advancements in cars which technically should really only have to kick in during special circumstances, example: to automatically correct improper braking and wheel slippage.
even if it did cause congestion, i'm sure that the end result would be people fed up with being stuck in traffic and deciding to walk or bike, or plan a route including multiple forms of transportation. That's a personal interpretation though,,, i'm not sure how many others would share my view.
Buckethead,
I imagine it's on par or better than idling at a red light. I've sat through many a red light with not a single car going in the opposite direction, so would save gas in some cases.
Driving slow is less polluting than idling, since idling wastes 100% of the gas burned.
Didn't many places do this during WWII to slow invading armies?
It may be difficult for Americans to understand the nature of this change in German society. Most places in Germany are plastered with road signs. My German friends often discuss with me the anarchic nature of American society and are amazed at how a society can function without so many rules. This system must be a complete shock to the teutonic way of life.
Thing works in civilized countries and small urban areas. I could only imagine how this would work in my country, Croatia, where everybody will sit on the horn, and where the "law of the stronger" prevails. Even fear of denting your car will not force people here to drive slower and more careful.
How do they determine who is at fault for collisions?
Knowing what inconsiderate idiots people are, I'm glad the government tells them when to stop, slow down, yield, etc.
I just don't believe it. The planners claim their experiment has worked elsewhere, but still it doesn't seem plausible. So much of human functioning relies upon the existence of rules - where is the evidence that drivers don't develop expectations of the behaviors of other drivers, even in the absence of traffic signals? I feel sure they will - and when those expectations clash, and collisions occur, who will be to blame? How will we know?
North-Americans would buy the biggest SUV available so they wont hurt themselves
Liam has it right. A city in Oregon redesigned its business district by narrowing streets and replacing stop light intersections with roundabouts. Cars go slower now. But slower speeds actually decrease travel time from point to point. With several wide lanes cars will drive too quickly and slow down quickly; it's those slow downs that cause the slinky-effect and traffic jams. Now, cars move slower, but don't stop as much.
Tree hugger is suprisingly behind the times again.
Slow streets or " Woonerfs" do work and are becoming increasingly common in contemporary urban design.
Slow streets can also be green streets, as the configuration of the streets and the materials used are easily adaptable and can accomodate environmental design such as porus paving and storm water gardens.
Slow streets dont have to go to the extreem of removing all signs and lights, I walk through one everyday here in NZ, and i havent been hit once, even on friday nights at rush hour, however just up the road is a conventional street crossing that has claimed 3 pedestrian lives this year. Which works better? i know where i would rather cross.
Quite unusual idea, but really, we pay more attention on other participants of traffic, than on sights and rules. For example, when I only started to drive a car, I usually simply repeat the motion of the car ahead of me.