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I think it's pretty interesting that you advocate for narrower roads and short setbacks because you belive that on roads like this people are less likely to spe

I think it's pretty interesting that you advocate for narrower roads and short setbacks because you belive that on roads like this people are less likely to speed. I don't know if people are less likely to speed on those roads; I think it is unlikely because growing up in a small town, people speed on backwoods roads all the time. Still, I'm not sure that this is the case. What I do know is that roads like that are less safe, particularly if you DO speed. So, unless you can show me that making a road less safe for speeding reduces the rate at which people drive, I'm going to keep thinking that that argument is like saying you can't give out condoms to kids because it makes them more likely to have sex.

TeMPOraL 12y ago
Risk compensating behaviour[0] is a real thing; the question is whether that effect is significant in any particular case. Making the roads look less safe will make people drive more carefully, but it has to be shown whether this will cause a net decrease of actual crash rate. [0] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation
- AnthonyMouse 12y ago
  > Making the roads look less safe will make people drive more carefully, but it has to be shown whether this will cause a net decrease of actual crash rate. There is also the matter that many of the ways to make roads look less safe would in actual fact make the roads less safe. At a given speed, narrower lanes increase the probability of a collision. Parked cars on the side of a road increase the probability that one will be hit, or conceal from motorists the presence of pedestrians about to step into the street. People focused on speed are asking the wrong question. The question is not "how do we get people to slow down" but rather "how do we make the roads safer"? Speed is only one variable.
enf 12y ago
Most of the recent research on factors affecting vehicle speeds is summarized in http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/circulars/ec151.pdf http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/circulars/ec151.pdf In it, Dimauita et al credit every foot of lane width with a 2 mph increase in vehicle speeds, and Wang et al credit each additional lane with a 6.5 mph increase.
- seanflyon 12y ago
  How much faster can one drive for every foot of lane width while maintaining the same risk of injury or death?

TeMPOraL 12y ago

Risk compensating behaviour[0] is a real thing; the question is whether that effect is significant in any particular case. Making the roads look less safe will make people drive more carefully, but it has to be shown whether this will cause a net decrease of actual crash rate. [0] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_compensation

AnthonyMouse 12y ago
> Making the roads look less safe will make people drive more carefully, but it has to be shown whether this will cause a net decrease of actual crash rate. There is also the matter that many of the ways to make roads look less safe would in actual fact make the roads less safe. At a given speed, narrower lanes increase the probability of a collision. Parked cars on the side of a road increase the probability that one will be hit, or conceal from motorists the presence of pedestrians about to step into the street. People focused on speed are asking the wrong question. The question is not "how do we get people to slow down" but rather "how do we make the roads safer"? Speed is only one variable.

enf 12y ago

Most of the recent research on factors affecting vehicle speeds is summarized in http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/circulars/ec151.pdf http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/circulars/ec151.pdf In it, Dimauita et al credit every foot of lane width with a 2 mph increase in vehicle speeds, and Wang et al credit each additional lane with a 6.5 mph increase.

seanflyon 12y ago
How much faster can one drive for every foot of lane width while maintaining the same risk of injury or death?