Road Safety

Are Bike Lanes Less Safe?

A new study from the University of Leeds claims that drivers are more careful and leave more room for bikers when there is no bike lane.

14 September 2009 - 12:00pm

WorldChanging

London's Naked Street Experiment

London is attempting to make streets safer for cyclists and motorists by turning off traffic lights in one part of the city for a short amount of time.

7 September 2009 - 11:00am

The New York Times

America's Killer Roads

This oped takes on American street design and blames it for causing countless road injuries and deaths.

20 August 2009 - 8:00am

The Boston Globe

Study Showing Danger of Cellphone Driving Buried

The former head of the NHTSA has admitted that he was encouraged to bury the results of a study showing the mounting risk of cellphone use by drivers. The study is being released today under a Freedom of Information Act request.

21 July 2009 - 1:00pm

The New York Times

»

2 comments

Jess Zimbabwe

Cul-de-sacs verboten?: Tim Kaine and Roman Polanski on dead-end streets

Tue, 03/31/2009 - 07:20

As you may have heard in yesterday's Planetizen Podcast, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine doesn't like cul-de-sacs.

Most news reports on the story have claimed that the state is "forbidding," "banning," or even "outlawing" the cul-de-sac. In fact, Virginia municipalities can still design, build, and approve any road patterns they wish, but the State will no longer agree to foot the bill for the ongoing maintenance of cul-de-sacs. The news item came up in a staff meeting yesterday and one colleague told us that a friend he was having dinner with declared the move "Un-American!"

»

Using Prison Technology to Avoid Roadkill

Colorado Department of Transportation has launched a pilot program that uses technology that detects wildlife in order to help drivers avoid hitting them.

2 October 2008 - 7:00am

Chicago Tribune

Traffic Signs Driving Us to Distraction

Traffic signs on American roadways are so numerous and so distracting to drivers that they are having the opposite effect intended, writes John Staddon.

23 June 2008 - 10:00am

Atlantic Monthly

Biking In Indianapolis Like 'Russian Roulette'

High rates of accidents and few bike lanes make Indianapolis a dangerous place to ride a bike, according to this article.

21 March 2008 - 6:00am

The Indianapolis Star

Nate Berg

Safety Through Singing Streets

Tue, 11/27/2007 - 16:56

A bit of bizarre news caught my attention recently and it got me thinking. It was about these roads in Japan that had been designed to play music as cars drive over them. The engineers behind this idea cut thousands of grooves into the roadway, separated them by certain specific intervals, and then drove their cars. What resulted is a weird humming melody that reverberates in the cars as they drive. The video linked below showing the roads and their songs is awesome, but so much more could be done.

»