Life without traffic lights--really!

a 
Date: 2002-06-26

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A British urban design consultant wants the U.K. to try out a Dutch idea--intersections with no traffic lights or stop signs. The system isn't as crazy as it sounds, but it all depends on the speed limit being reduced to 20 mph and a reversion to basic traffic rules instead of lights or signs. The basic idea is that, with none of these controls, motorists, pedestrians and other road users would be forced to make eye contact and decide among themselves when it is safe to proceed.

However, the key to the system is the reduction in speed and eye contact. "Slower speeds and more intelligent driving appear to provide better capacity on our roads," says Hamilton-Bailey. "At speeds below 20mph, two things happen. "Firstly, it's much easier for pedestrians, cyclists and cars to mix together and secondly, we tend not to get killed in collisions at less than that speed. "But more importantly, we make eye contact and humans are remarkably good at sending messages through eye contact, but we can't do that at speeds of more than 20mph." Read the BBC article

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