Each such moment is one where small incremental improvements can be implemented. When a road from 2009 is re-done in 2024, govts can easily enforce that it must adhere to the 2020 guidelines. Each time a line is re-painted, it can be re-painted to increase safety. Each time a curb or bollard is fixed, it can be fixed to protect pedestrians just a bit better. etc.
Yes, it takes ages. But infrastructure is never finished it's a constant evolution of small steps. It's trivial and cheap (as in: free) to make those steps in the direction of more safety. All that is needed is a will do to so...
You can make a new protected bike lane by just throwing a bunch of jersey barriers on the side of a road. It costs (in relative transportation cost terms) almost nothing.
These sort of things would instantly make the roads dramatically safer.
The only reason this isn't done isn't due to cost, but due to political opposition to having any amount of road space removed from exclusive car use.
obviously it's not a long-term one, as the only real one is to offer effective alternative to all this constant mandatory carmageddon by having walkable/bikeable cities, blablabla.
The engineering explanation fails to account for the major change from pre- to post- 2020. The road design didn’t change, but clearly driving behavior did. Strong Towns says it’s because roads are less congested now, but I’ve seen plenty of aggressive, reckless driving regardless of congestion level (it seems some people are frustrated by it and act out).
We seriously need to radically re-engineer most roads around me, but the police also really need to step up enforcement.
Before 2020 I could count the number of cars with either no plates or expired temp plates on one hand, since 2020 the number of cars with no plates is crazy, and the number of cars with months expired temp tags is just insane. That also tells me those cars don't have insurance, since I don't know of any insurance that will actually cover any claims you have with no valid registration.
https://www.thv11.com/article/traffic/arkansas-has-27000-car...
Even crazier to me, it looks like California is going to exact opposite direction and making it something you can't be pulled over for.
If somebody uses the car on the owner's behalf and the fine is tied to the driver the fine must be forwarded by the owner to this person.
Not just this, but people who continue to drive like maniacs need their licenses and cars taken away. Driving is a privilege.
The rightmost lane is somewhat similar. You really shouldnt travel in it. It's for getting on and off the road. If you are in it you're making it harder for other to merge on/off the road. But again you're not going to get a ticket for pulling into that right lane and staying as long as you'd like.
Some people are actually not even aware of these, "rules". I had a friend who at 25 still drove in the right lane all the time and would get mad when people were always slowing down to get off the highway.
How do we pass on this knowledge that, while fairly important, is not actually law?
I'm curious as to where this is the law. It was not in the state where I learned to drive.
The developing world (generalizing hugely) can be better in some ways. Yes, the traffic isn't as regimented. But in many places, lots of people are on mopeds and scooters, and a shared sense that everyone is a vulnerable meat-bag persists. Plus there are forms of politeness, like chirping the horn to warn people -- "heads up on your left".
The US, by contrast, is full of SUV and pickup drivers who feel invulnerable, and I don't see the same nods at civility.
On the whole, though, the US' more regimented traffic culture is still safer, I have to admit.
The "car culture" lunatic drivers I've met in the Baltimore / DC area just make a hobby of fighting tickets. They have lawyers they regularly work with and somehow always make it out with their license intact.
The lawyers involved don't stop these individuals from having to pay fines. They can afford the fines and the lawyers.
The lawyers are there to keep the licenses intact. "But Mr. X needs his license in order to get to work at his important job for Corporation Y!"
Financial deterrents don't work well in places with high median incomes like Maryland.
(Still disappointing that he was only banned from driving for 10 days, even though it was a third offence.)
Police cannot effectively solve this issue. This requires engineering. DC's super wide, straight streets tell drivers "its safe to go really fast here, you have a ton of space". That's where the problem starts, and thats where the solution has to start.