8 ms·
Oslo has been doing this for years. I wrote a blog post about my learnings there - "Engineering over enforcement": > Enforcement philosophy is rooted in the i
by philip1209 7mo ago
Oslo has been doing this for years.
I wrote a blog post about my learnings there - "Engineering over enforcement":
> Enforcement philosophy is rooted in the idea that behavior can be controlled by threatening punishments. Engineering philosophy believes that infrastructure can be designed to incentivize desired behavior. When Oslo sought to reduce pedestrian deaths, it turned to engineers.
> [ . . .] Intersections are one small example where philosophies can diverge. But, as I learned in Oslo, engineers have a whole toolkit of methods to make cities safer. Bumping out a curb slows down turning speeds and protects pedestrians. Bike lanes can be safer by being raised above the street instead of relying on a painted barrier. Limiting how far cars can see ahead of them slows them down. Behavior can be designed rather than just enforced, and in aggregate these small changes can make a city safer.
https://www.contraption.co/engineering-over-enforcement/ https://www.contraption.co/engineering-over-enforcement/
- mooreds 7mo agoAKA "make the right things easy" and "build sensible defaults" rather than "all the responsibility is the individuals".
- philip1209 7mo agothere's a reason speedbumps are called "silent policemen"
- Scoundreller 7mo agoI call them SUV/pickup truck sellers or reasonably-sized-vehicle killers. Alternatively, greenhouse-gas bumps. Dunno which genius in my town put them on a road riddled with potholes, poorly filled road cuts and marsh-related unevenness.
- philip1209 7mo agoWe should return to the original double-humped design from Compton: https://libanswers.wustl.edu/faq/76174?ref=contraption.co https://libanswers.wustl.edu/faq/76174?ref=contraption.co
- Scoundreller 7mo agoOr non-newtonian fluid speedbumps that are soft when hit with light stress and hard when hit with a lot of stress https://www.jalopnik.com/these-speed-bumps-only-turn-solid-if-you-are-driving-to-1851545857/ https://www.jalopnik.com/these-speed-bumps-only-turn-solid-i... Probably highly temperature dependent or get stabbed with a knife in 2.3 hours depleting its reserve of non-newtonian goo.
- busterarm 7mo agothe SUV/pickup culture is bad enough here in the South but they place speedbumps aggressively all over the place here. Like 4" tall ones with no curve so that it absolutely slams the shit out of your small car if you're doing anything over 3mph. And they place them like every 8 feet. If you're in the lifted trucks most people drive here you can't even tell.
- ljm 7mo agoBut if you imported a lifted truck, or another daft US vehicle like the Cybertruck into another country it would probably not be roadworthy and the traffic and speed calming measures are more appropriate. Bullbars used to be a trend in the UK, for example, until they were band in the late 90s/early 00s because they were fatal to pedestrians.
- busterarm 7mo agoWe also don't have pedestrians here and deer are everywhere -- bullbars are great here. I once counted over 100 deer on or next to the road during a 20 minute night drive...
- belorn 7mo agoSome of the speed bumps-like techniques here in Sweden will do more than just be a bump, it will severely damage the tires if you don't slow down. Curbs that require the driver to make very tight turns for example can be made from fairly sharp stone with an clear edge. A SUV/pickup truck can speed over it, but the trip to the repair shop will make it less fun. They added some square-like flower pots in the middle of a lovely road next to where I live in order to force drivers to make a double S turn. Those are made from sharp rust-painted steel, and most of the corners are now painted with other peoples car paint. The only way to make it through is to drive at walking speed, which basically everyone do.
- MrSkelter 7mo agoThat’s not how speed bumps work. You can drive over a speed bump in a sports car. It’s just uncomfortable and potentially damaging to do so at speed. Most SUVs ride poorly compared to cars due to solid axles and huge unsprung weight. If you took a speed bump fast you would be very shaken up and possibly launch into the air or tip. TLDR. Speed bumps aren’t “invisible” to SUVs unless you are in a competition pre-runner or a monster truck.
- fnord77 7mo agoif you live next to one they're not very silent.
- rectang 7mo agoHow depraved, to solve problems without inflicting punishment.
- cyberax 7mo ago[flagged]
- efebarlas 7mo agoI want to learn more about “it did not work in the us… excess deaths” Do you have a link handy for this?
- RickS 7mo agohttps://www.elkandelk.com/washington/seattle-car-accident-statistics/ https://www.elkandelk.com/washington/seattle-car-accident-st... Since it started in 2015, accidents are down 50%, but deaths up 90%. This analysis leaves a lot to be desired. I didn't see per-capita stats (Seattle had massive growth during a lot of those years), and we don't really enforce traffic laws at all anyway, so IDK what to think without digging in further.
- piva00 7mo agoHow have average car sizes and weight changed in this period of time?
- irishcoffee 7mo agoYou're asking the wrong question. The answer is 10% The interesting question is power-to-weight, which was (apparently) a direct result of EPA regulations that were enacted in 1975. The below article, which I found from a search engine copying your question and looking at a few results, is an interesting read. Ignoring all that, the actual question would be: how have car sizes and weights changed _in this region_ during this period of time. Sizes and weights of cars in brasil have little bearing to accidents in the PNW, for example. https://carbuzz.com/new-vehicles-bigger-heavier-more-powerful/ https://carbuzz.com/new-vehicles-bigger-heavier-more-powerfu...
- efebarlas 7mo ago
- RickS 7mo agoThis is the way. It's maddening that we use the term "speed limit" for what is better understood as a "speed request".