"Optical Speedbumps" - Unusual Road Safety measures in BC, Canada

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Mainly indended as pedestrian safety but traffic calming is of particuilar interest to cycling too..

Taking it a bit further than Nottinghams Child Bollards
Optical speed bumps to create the illusion of a child in the road...

http://www.popsci.com/science/artic...lusion-reminds-drivers-slow-down-change-pants


I can kind of see both sides here - bringing safety and the idea of looking out for hazards is a good thing but are they TOO distracting possibly?

 

[rosscbrown]

The child-shaped bollards are like something out of Dr Who.

As for the Optical Illusions - is it really a good idea to condition road users to "run over" representations of children playing on the roadway. Not really "on-message" is it?

 

[ufkacbln]

Mainly indended as pedestrian safety but traffic calming is of particuilar interest to cycling too..

Taking it a bit further than Nottinghams Child Bollards
Optical speed bumps to create the illusion of a child in the road...

http://www.popsci.co...wn-change-pants


I can kind of see both sides here - bringing safety and the idea of looking out for hazards is a good thing but are they TOO distracting possibly?

This is where the Burqa plays such a vital part in road safety... can't have pretty girls walking around on pavements can we?

Now all we need is a male equivalent so we can solve the distraction problem for female drivers

 

[benb]

I await the first case where a driver runs over a child, but claims in their defence that they thought it was one of those optical projections.

 

[guitarpete247]

What an absolutely crazy idea.

I can see lots of accidents happening with drivers slamming on their brakes or swerving to avoid the child. As the article suggests "It seems like there’s room for epic backfire here, something that reads in the Vancouver Sun like “Driver Runs Down 11 Schoolchildren on Sidewalk After Swerving to Miss Optical Illusion.” But it is an interesting way to trick drivers into thinking about the ramifications of their driving habits. Right after they pull their hearts out of their throats." If it was in the underground car park as shown in photo I'm sure there'd be lots of smashes into pillars. Motos (most anyway) would rather avoid hitting peds and will swerve away out of instinct.

 

[dellzeqq]

I think the starting point might be a little different in Vancouver. I've never visited a city that took road safety as seriously.

 

[amasidlover]

I think the phrase that's been missed here is "they’re painting an elongated image of a child chasing a ball into the street in 2-D on the pavement" - So no-one should be swerving, just slowing when they think they see a child playing with a ball on the pavement...


Personally, I think anything that allows councils to get rid of the menace that are traditional speed bumps would be highly welcome - The council round here (Trafford) seems desperate to install as many as possible. In summer the 'cushion' style ones encourage motorists (and cyclists) to veer around them unpredictably and in winter the additional camber introduced by all types of speed bump coupled with wet leaves has almost taken me off my bike a number of times...

 

[skrx]

I think the phrase that's been missed here is "they’re painting an elongated image of a child chasing a ball into the street in 2-D on the pavement" - So no-one should be swerving, just slowing when they think they see a child playing with a ball on the pavement...

Remember that in North America "pavement" means "road[way]", and "sidewalk" means "pavement", i.e. the image is in the road.

 

[RedBike]

Oh no, they're freaky.

Whats the sands called between Liverpool and Southport?

 

[amasidlover]

Remember that in North America "pavement" means "road[way]", and "sidewalk" means "pavement", i.e. the image is in the road.

In which case I take it back and they are in fact an insane idea...

 

[thomas]

Woking has some of these optical 'speed bumps'

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en...5efchtNFK5fnfvM0HNirqg&cbp=12,253.71,,0,14.51

No bump, just paint that looks like a speed bump. Probably worked the first time, then people realised...but it may make people think more about keeping their speed down - who knows.

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Woking has some of these optical 'speed bumps'

http://maps.google.c...253.71,,0,14.51

No bump, just paint that looks like a speed bump. Probably worked the first time, then people realised...but it may make people think more about keeping their speed down - who knows.

..or it's an evil car-hating planner who will have REAL speed humps installed just when everyone "knows" that they are fake