Ouch! Atari’s Pong is More Up-To-Date than Traffic Signal Research - http://t.co/FXl8FUu2tm http://t.co/eXWCIOB3vF

Perhaps they can make those gigantic signal control boxes as small as an Atari Pong cartridge sometime this century so that they don't take up half the sidewalk.

Ironically the old traffic signal boxes used to be about the size of a large suitcase or cooler, and they were small enough to be mounted to a telephone pole. In these days of solid-state relays and computers that get smaller and smaller every year, I'm surprised the opposite has happened with traffic tech.

 

Case in point... Near my old apartment in Fairview Park, it looks like they are finally replacing the ancient traffic light setup at Westwood and 210th that has been there since at least the 1940s (judging by one of the signal heads being a Crouse Hinds 4-way which were made in the 40s). They already put up the new control box, and it's the size of a refrigerator compared to the breadbox that controls the old lights...

 

(new box not pictured, of course)

It's actually a "Master" signal.  http://www.trafficsignalmuseum.com/pages/maker-master.htm  I thought at first it might be a Sargent-Sowell or Eagle from that era, but those hinged porthole doors aren't something I'd come across before.  I guess they didn't make it down to the Cincinnati area, which is mostly Crouse-Hinds, Eagle, and Marbelite territory historically http://jjakucyk.com/transit/lights/index.html

Thanks for the correction. I assumed they were Crouse-Hinds signals because they had the old style glass lenses with stop/caution/go painted on them, which were common with CH. Unless Master signals had them too. Anyway the old lenses were removed at some point and replaced with plastic ones. Maybe someone in the city government knew the glass ones were valuable? ;)

Most lenses of that era were swappable between brands.  I think Crouse-Hinds might have even sold lenses to other manufacturers as an OEM. 

Ouch! Atari’s Pong is More Up-To-Date than Traffic Signal Research - http://t.co/FXl8FUu2tm http://t.co/eXWCIOB3vF

Actually, Atari’s Pong is More Up-To-Date than Traffic Signal Warrant Research.  The technology used in traffic signals and equipment actually is quite advanced

 

---warrants being the criteria needed to be met to actually install a traffic signal

The dangers of Stroads:
 

 

 

Do Your Buses Get Stuck in Traffic? Traffic solutions & the Downs-Thomson Paradox

 

 

This is a test -- that we can be pretty sure is going to fail.  Brecksville is unhappy with the number of cars going over 90mph on I-77.  So they are going to increase the fines for speeding.  (Up to the levels of other communities in the area, apparently.)  Is there less speeding in neighboring Broadview Heights or Independence? 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/community/2021/08/brecksville-may-increase-speeding-fines-as-more-drivers-exceed-90-mph-on-i-77.html

 

Quote

“Believe it or not, we routinely have people traveling well over 90 mph on Interstate 77,” DiGeronimo told the committee Aug. 17. “We hear all kinds of excuses, like, ‘This is a new car. I didn’t realize I was going that fast,’ and, ‘I grew up driving a car from the (19)60s and 70s and it rattled when I was going 50 mph.’

 

As these excuses suggest, it's car design and roadway design determine speed, not the potential fine.  Cars with a smooth ride, powerful engine, and quiet interior, combined with a wide-open highway with multiple lanes, slow curves, and long sight lines encourage higher speeds.  I predict little reduction in speeding.

 

2 minutes ago, Foraker said:

This is a test -- that we can be pretty sure is going to fail.  Brecksville is unhappy with the number of cars going over 90mph on I-77.  So they are going to increase the fines for speeding.  (Up to the levels of other communities in the area, apparently.)  Is there less speeding in neighboring Broadview Heights or Independence? 

 

https://www.cleveland.com/community/2021/08/brecksville-may-increase-speeding-fines-as-more-drivers-exceed-90-mph-on-i-77.html

 

 

As these excuses suggest, it's car design and roadway design determine speed, not the potential fine.  Cars with a smooth ride, powerful engine, and quiet interior, combined with a wide-open highway with multiple lanes, slow curves, and long sight lines encourage higher speeds.  I predict little reduction in speeding.

 

Speeding tickets are just a conveinence fee for those who want to drive fast. 

@Foraker:  Yes.  Roadway design is the primary problem.  In 1970, the Netherlands had a higher rate of traffic deaths than the U.S.  40 years later, they reduced road accidents by 81% through an ongoing program of re-engineering their roads.  Today, very little traffic enforcement is done in the Netherlands.  They control speed by adding complexity to street and road design which intuitively signals drivers to slow down.  Want to reduce speeding?   Don't do by law what you can do by engineering. 
 

 

Why the Netherlands is the best country for driving:  

 

 

Edited November 21, 20213 yr by gildone

Quebec installs a traffic signal that turns green for those driving under the speed limit:

 

https://mass.streetsblog.org/2023/05/05/steal-this-idea-in-quebec-a-new-traffic-light-only-turns-green-for-safe-drivers/