An interesting article about using human behavior to create safer transportation environments. the main point I take away from this article is that most traffic engineers view drivers (and pedestrians/bicyclists) as acting completely rational when making decisions and plan/design based on this assumption. In actuality, the users of the transportation system can act irrationally or counter intuitive. Understanding human behavior can lead to unconventional solutions that cost a fraction of physical improvements.
My favorite is the use of perpendiculair lines to reduce speeds in Chicago:
Notice that the space between lines gets smaller. This creates the preception that your speed is increasing causing you to slow down. According to Chicago DOT, crashes have been reduced 36 percent.
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