By Steven Goodridge NCDOT and the state legislature are facing an inescapable reality: not only are fossil fuel tax revenues not keeping up with the costs of building and maintaining a road system that suits the speed and convenience preferences of motorists, but the state is also failing to protect public safety adequately on those state-maintained roads. The cause of the public safety problem on state-maintained roads is not the slow speed and vulnerability of bicyclists. Our humanity is a virtue for which we need never apologize. The cause of the safety problem is the high speeds at … [Read more...]
Autonomous Driving and Collision Avoidance Technology
Implications for Bicyclists and Pedestrians Will autonomous cars and automatic braking systems live up to their promise to improve public safety? Or will a rush to market flawed technology create greater peril for pedestrians and bicyclists? by Steven Goodridge, Ph.D. As I pedaled my bike along the road, Mercedes driver Farhan Ghanty approached me from behind at 45 mph, engaged the self-drive function of the E-Class luxury car, and took his hands off the wheel. It was December 4, 2017; BikeWalk NC Director Lisa Riegel and I were attending an autonomous vehicle demonstration held … [Read more...]
Get to Know the ITE Traffic Control Devices Handbook
A common complaint made about the 2009 Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is that it provides insufficient guidance about effective lateral placement of shared lane markings (aka sharrows) and bike lanes, resulting in some DOTs installing sharrows on the right side of narrow lanes (below) or placing bike lanes and sharrows in the door zone of parallel parking. Bicyclist safety advocates often describe frustration when traffic engineers defend such installations by claiming compliance with the minimum requirements of the MUTCD. The ITE Traffic Control Devices Handbook, … [Read more...]
School Bike Path Enters Finals in Grant Competition
Northwoods Elementary PTA Seeks the Public's Votes Accessibility at Northwoods Elementary: Our Story on Vimeo. Construction of a wheelchair and bicycle facility designed by NCSU students for Northwoods Elementary School in Cary could be funded through a competitive philanthropy program of State Farm Insurance. PTA members entered the project, which addresses existing access issues, into State Farm's Neighborhood Assist Program this year. On May 8th the school learned that they had been selected as one of 200 projects across the country to compete for 40 grants of $25,000 … [Read more...]
Defanging the Automobile
Sensor-assisted cars that can avoid injuring pedestrians and cyclists are here, and will become the standard in a few years by Steven Goodridge "A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm." - Isaac Asimov's First Law of Robotics An interesting thing happened on the way to the self-driving vehicle: Smart collision prevention technology such as automatic emergency braking became practical for regular cars. After premiering in high-end vehicles with adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning systems, radar and camera systems … [Read more...]
Understanding Pedestrian Signals
At signalized intersections lacking pedestrian signals, crossing pedestrians are regulated by the vehicle traffic signals. Unfortunately, vehicle signals have a shorter clearance interval than pedestrians may need to finish crossing wide intersections. This can trap pedestrians in the middle of the intersection when the light turns red and conflicting movements begin. Some vehicular signals, such as green right turn arrows, create special conflicts for pedestrians at the crosswalk. When no vehicles are present, demand-actuated vehicle traffic signals may never change to allow a pedestrian to … [Read more...]
April 17 Traffic Bicycling for Transportation Professionals in Winston-Salem
Traffic Bicycling for Transportation Professionals is an all-day intensive workshop designed for transportation planners, traffic engineers, public safety advocates, and law enforcement officers. Learn the essentials of bicycle maintenance, traffic safety, nutrition, emergency avoidance maneuvers and riding gear. The basics of bicycling is covered in the classroom and then you'll apply it in the streets. You will be a more confident and knowledgeable bicyclist at the end of the class, guaranteed! Instructor: Jesse Day, LCI #1691 Dates: April 17, 2015 Time: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Winston-Salem … [Read more...]
NCSU Students Design Solution for School Access
Update 5/14/2015: This project is competing to win funding for construction, and you can help by voting for it. Accessibility at Northwoods Elementary: Our Story on Vimeo. Walking and biking to school is popular at Northwoods Elementary in Cary. Every day, scores of children and parents can be seen walking between the school and the surrounding apartments and single-family homes. A local greenway runs alongside the school property and connects to the rest of the town’s greenway system. However, a tall concrete staircase that provides the main pedestrian connection to the school … [Read more...]