Walkability
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And a scheme of heavy fines/suspension of operating privileges for those who endanger the safety other road users by careless or aggressive driving.
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But when/how to catch them? The "beauty" of other bad behavior is:
1) Speeding is easy to document with radar
2) Invalid paperwork can be seen in expired stickers etc
3) Accidents involving cars are easy to document relative to the personal harm they cause (or usually don't cause), and, better, everyone & their insurance companies have a vast infrastructure for and habit of documenting them. Bad behavior results in photographs of damage.
Bike and ped stuff--particularly scary close calls-- is a mystery, poorly monitored, and we're not in the practice of documenting it--not that this is a good thing, just that it is a hard thing to fix. Cyclists (partly) address this with GoPros.
So far, it is too weird/expensive for pedestrians to be documenting themselves as they go (maybe in 5 years we'll all have have a drone hovering over our shoulders documenting our lives) but for now peds have even less of an infosphere around themselves.
If we had more city cameras pointed at crosswalks, maybe that'd help
Don't get too excited about UK zebra-crossings. They're actually rather rare here, at least compared to American crosswalks that are usually on every block. I suspect that part of it is the difficulty of installation: there's a lot of paperwork and then they must also install two (pointless and dim) flashing 'Belisha' beacons at either end. I saw one roundabout in London where they did manage to install a large number of the Belisha beacons -- it was quite trippy at night. Anyway, in America you expect to find a crosswalk at the end of every block. Not so in UK. Even at tiny side-streets, it's normally car-priority, and the people walking always seem to be scared. The real zebra crossings are found at infrequent locations in mid-blocks, typically.
This has been a problem for installation of protected bike lanes too. Many of the really poorly designed ones require you to yield to cars at every intersection, because they're just a sidewalk that allows bikes. There is no culture of yielding to people on foot or bike at turns. It's wacky. Mainly saved by virtue of the small street sizes, but still wacky.
This has been a problem for installation of protected bike lanes too. Many of the really poorly designed ones require you to yield to cars at every intersection, because they're just a sidewalk that allows bikes. There is no culture of yielding to people on foot or bike at turns. It's wacky. Mainly saved by virtue of the small street sizes, but still wacky.
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Hey, this Pitt PhD candidate has given us: guerrilla traffic-speed monitoring!
http://bikepgh.org/2015/11/13/guerr...rack-traffic-speeds-on-forbes-ave-in-oakland/
https://github.com/mbauman/TrafficSpeed/blob/master/TrafficSpeed.ipynb
This is how were going to catch unsafe driving. Community observation followed by request for police to intervene at hotspots.
http://bikepgh.org/2015/11/13/guerr...rack-traffic-speeds-on-forbes-ave-in-oakland/
https://github.com/mbauman/TrafficSpeed/blob/master/TrafficSpeed.ipynb
This is how were going to catch unsafe driving. Community observation followed by request for police to intervene at hotspots.
Actually, speaking of the UK again, that is something they do. Community speedwatch. The police arrange some sort of speed monitoring device, and you can stand there and write down any license plates that exceed the limit. Then the police will write a warning letter and mail it to the driver. I think that if the speed exceeds a certain threshold over the limit, you can raise an alert that will dispatch an officer immediately to track down the vehicle. I haven't tried participating yet, due to time, but I might some day.
They also have automated speed cameras but I'm not entirely sure how they get used. I think that only a certain number can be operating at a time.
They also have automated speed cameras but I'm not entirely sure how they get used. I think that only a certain number can be operating at a time.
The RMV has or had a process where one could make a complaint against a driver for "improper operation" by filling out a form and mailing it. A hearing would then be scheduled and the driver and complainant would have to appear. If the driver didn't appear a default may be entered against them and a fine levied. I'm not sure if they still do it, and I tried to find it on the RMV site, to no avail, but the form is available on several towns' websites, including Boston's.
They don't. I tried to use it once on a driver who nearly clipped me intentionally. I called them up and they were surprised to hear anyone reference the document even. I mailed a copy anyway (one that I found on another website) and never heard back.
There's no accountability for bad driving in the USA. Or most anywhere, really.
There's no accountability for bad driving in the USA. Or most anywhere, really.