Just found this excellent video from Youtube showing an innovative idea, may be strange to Singaporean but quite common in Europe, call a mini-roundabout.
The idea is counter intuitive for those who are used to follow the traffic lights at traffic junction. The idea of mini-roundabout to resolve conflict at traffic junction is based on the same principle as indicated in yesterday’s post (Vision Zero), that in locations with possible conflicts between pedestrians and cars, the speed of cars should be reduced to below 30km/h. Here the system designer is not relying on traffic signs and speed camera. It is the physical environment design that ensure when cars approach the roundabout, their speed will have to be reduced to below 30km/h.
How does the system designer do that?
1- by making the roundabout small in size. When car need to make a small turn, they have to slow down.
2- by ensuring open visibility of on coming traffics from all direction, that provide time space for the drivers and other road users to negotiate with each other.
3- by marking the road so that it is very narrow as approaching the junction- this provide a safety-island for pedestrians who need to cross, and at the same time further ensuring the cars are slowing to a safe speed.
All of the above factors contributed to the effectiveness of the solution, no traffic light, nor even signs. The principle is to remove the traffic signs so that the drivers can focus on the road and other road users to ensure safety of everyone.
Since there is no traffic light to control the traffic, the surprising result is that the traffic flow is better and safer around such sign-less junctions. Here is another example comparing two types of junction:
Here is another Youtube video showing some car accident on traffic camera. It shows how dangerous cross junction can be due to difference in speed, even in safe Japan. I feel really sad for the little kid cycling cross a small road and got crashed by a car. This is exactly the kind of situation system designer can helps to avoid by designing the space right for human being, not just for automotive.
Yet another example from Holland, this time showing how a cyclist safely ride through (from far left to far right, from 11 sec. onward) the roundabout and many moving cars without a single stop.
This is a well-known solution, but the LTA does not want to put this things in place:
1/ it wants cars to go fast: the elite Singaporeans have fast cars and are entitled to drive them fast.
2/ Control: in order to ensure that in case of emergencies, the elite Singaporeans can drive fast to ensure the elite of Singapore to run the country in their fast cars that they are entitled to buy and drive fast (otherwise they might go to other countries and Singapore would go down the drain; it takes one round-about to slow down an elite Singaporean driver and the country would be like its neighbours)
Hi Charles, thanks for dropping by.
I think this is one of those “low hanging fruit” opportunity to improve road safety AND traffic speed. I agree the problem is mindset and not technical.
What happen with the signaled junction now is that you can drive fast to reach the next junction and wait for the signal. Waiting at the junction is most frustrating for a driver, especially when there is no cars coming from the other directions. I think that is more likely to drive the elite away 🙂
By the way elite also walk, why should they allow other people drive through their neighbourhood at high speed and put their families into dangerous postion?