Life Without Traffic Signs

zuikaku writes, "Der Spiegel has an article titled European Cities Do Away with Traffic Signs reporting that seven cities and regions in Europe are doing away with traffic signs, signals, painted lines, and even sidewalks. With the motto 'Unsafe is Safe,' the idea is that, when faced with an uncertain, unregulated situation, drivers will be naturally cautious and courteous. Then again, they may end up with streets jammed with pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars like some places in India and China." I can't see this idea getting traction in the U.S.

Comments

Re:Unsafe is safe, war is peace...

[bored_engineer]

Circle have one huge disadvantage compared to traffic lights: if one cross street is backed up, the circle backs up and then prevents the other cross street from moving.

One of the benefits of roundabouts is that entry into the roundabout is limited by the vehicles already in the roundabout, so that the intersection isn't as choked by a high volume roadway; a roundabout tends to be more "egalitarian" in terms of access. The major trouble, though, is that the high volume 'way can be more severely limited by a roundabout than by a conventional intersection controlled by modern ITS, such as ATCS or ATSAC.

Please note that I said roundabout, not "traffic circle." A modern roundabout is a subtly different beast than a traffic circle of old.

If you're interested in roundabouts, a good reference is here .

p.s. I'm not a highway geek, I'm a traffic engineer.