I met up with some mates in Athens, Georgia, to observe the UGA recreation final yr. I don’t take care of Auburn, so seeing them lose 42-to-10 was gratifying, particularly since I used to be spending time with longtime mates, in addition to two Auburn followers who actually thought that they had an opportunity that yr. Once the sport was over, it was time to go away. As I headed again to my automobile, I needed to cross the road, and when the stroll signal got here on, I did precisely that. And it almost ended with me within the hospital.
While I used to be already within the crosswalk, the driving force of a Lincoln Navigator determined that was the proper time to show proper, coming terrifyingly near hitting me. And, in fact, he determined it was my fault as a result of, I, a pedestrian, was in his means. How dare I cross the road? Streets are for vehicles. Thankfully, he didn’t run me over, however sadly, as anybody who’s ever walked anyplace can let you know, it’s the form of factor that occurs on a regular basis. I can’t even depend what number of instances drivers turning proper on crimson have nearly hit me, a lot of whom didn’t trouble to cease on the intersection earlier than barrelling on by.
According to a latest Fast Company article, experiences like mine are far too frequent, as are experiences the place issues go even worse for the pedestrian or bicycle owner. It’s not simply because impatient drivers blow by the intersection with out regard for any pedestrians who could also be legally crossing the road. It’s additionally as a result of it’s onerous even for accountable drivers to observe site visitors coming from their left for a gap whereas additionally checking for pedestrians on their proper. As the writer of the Fast Company article, David Zipper, places it, “Cognitive overload is inevitable.”
Considering that pedestrian and bicycle owner deaths are at a 40-year excessive, Zipper argues it’s time to easily ban proper turns at crimson lights. And frankly, I agree with him. If not altogether, no less than ban it in areas the place there’s an inexpensive probability {that a} pedestrian could use the crosswalk. Sure, it’s an inconvenience for drivers, but it surely’s onerous to care since ending up within the hospital or lifeless is rather more inconvenient for pedestrians and cyclists who get hit.
It’s additionally not like having the ability to flip proper on crimson has been the regulation of the land since vehicles first hit the streets. As Zipper factors out, it was nearly unparalleled within the U.S. till the oil disaster hit. Believing that right-on-red would scale back fuel consumption, the federal authorities strong-armed states into making it the regulation by default. States that didn’t comply could be lower off from federal vitality funding, and by 1980, the final state lastly gave in.
But whereas Zipper argues it isn’t clear how a lot fuel was saved by legalizing right-on-red, we do know that it nearly instantly made our roadways much less protected. He factors to a 1982 research that discovered a big improve within the variety of pedestrians and cyclists who had been hit by drivers. In Ohio, for instance, that determine jumped 57 p.c for pedestrians and 80 p.c for cyclists. Wisconsin was even worse, with pedestrian impacts up 102 p.c and bicycle owner impacts up 72 p.c. Improving air high quality is necessary, however particularly contemplating how a lot cleaner fashionable engines are, is the little fuel saved shifting by an intersection quicker actually definitely worth the hazard that right-on-red poses to everybody who’s not in a automobile?
Thankfully, increasingly cities are coming round to the hazard that right-on-red poses to others. From Cambridge, Massachusetts to Washington, D.C., Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Seattle, turning proper at a crimson mild has now been banned, following a precedent set by New York City years in the past.
Proponents of right-on-red will argue that it doesn’t simply waste fuel, however that it additionally will increase site visitors congestion. However, in a latest research, the Institute of Transportation Engineers discovered that banning right-on-red makes intersections safer, the coverage change solely created “minor impacts to traffic operations.” And personally, I’m OK with site visitors shifting a bit slower if it means drivers ship fewer folks to the hospital. Plenty of others will disagree, but it surely’s previous time to make right-on-red the exception, not the rule.
There’s additionally extra within the unique article than I’ve time to incorporate right here, so head over to Fast Company to learn the entire thing.
Source: jalopnik.com