When we try and prevent accidents are creating them?
Posted: July 18, 2012 Filed under: Cycling, Risk Management | Tags: #Safety, Cycling, England, Pedestrian, Risk Homeostasis, Roads and Highways, Segregated cycle facilities, Signs, Traffic, Traffic collision Leave a commentSome traffic studies show eliminating signs, curbs, and road lines actually substantially decreases accidents
This Wired article discusses ways to decrease traffic accidents as well as pedestrian and bike interaction. The basis of the article is when we tell people how to
drive, we allow them to drive to that limit. When we force drivers to pay attention, they slow down and pay attention.
Examples in the article include a roundabout with 20,000 vehicles plus pedestrians and cyclists going through the intersection each day with no signs. There is also no honking no screeching brakes and no yelling. By eliminating signs, crosswalks and lanes the drivers are forced to pay attention and watch for each other.
The drivers slow to gauge the intentions of crossing bicyclists and walkers. Negotiations over right-of-way are made through fleeting eye contact. Remarkably, traffic moves smoothly around the circle with hardly a brake screeching, horn honking, or obscene gesture.
A town in Denmark eliminated the signs and signals at an intersection and dropped fatalities at the intersection from three to zero. In England, center lanes were removed from roadways and accidents decreased by 35%.
When you tell drivers how to drive, they then ignore pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers. If you force them to pay attention because no one is telling them what to do (or not to pay attention), there are fewer accidents.
Are we putting people at risk by trying to keep them safe?
By telling someone what to do, how to do it, and what speed to do it at, are we taking away from them the “desire” to watch out for others. If you don’t have to watch for people, because we tell you, you don’t have to, do you quit watching?
These studies tend to indicate that.
A study that is frequently cited when discussing Risk Homeostasis is accident rates before and after putting antilock brakes on cabs. Once the brakes were installed the cabbies drove faster and shortened their stopping distance.
If we don’t have to think about safety do we ignore it?
Is the corollary true? Are we creating expectations of safety where none exist? Do crossing walks and curbs create a feeling of safety in pedestrians? Do bike lanes make cyclists feel safe? Do bike lanes make drivers believe that cyclists are safer? A study in England showed that cyclists in bike lanes were crowded more by cars. Another study showed that when cyclists wore helmets, cars and trucks gave the cyclists less room when passing.
Does this discussion extend to all parts of life?
Danger signs, fencing, no trespassing signs are needed to protect us from our own stupidity?
I always love signs that are obviously pointing out dangers to young children…..who can’t read.
Is litigation to make the world safer doing just the opposite?
For other studies on the issue of getting stupider see: Does being safe make us stupid? Studies say yes.
To read the article see: Roads Gone Wild
What do you think? Leave a comment.
If you like this let your friends know or post it on FB, Twitter or LinkedIn
Copyright 2012 Recreation Law (720) Edit Law
Twitter: RecreationLaw
Facebook: Rec.Law.Now
Facebook Page: Outdoor Recreation & Adventure Travel Law
Mobile Site: http://m.recreation-law.com
#RecreationLaw, #@RecreationLaw, #Cycling.Law #Fitness.Law, #Ski.Law, #Outside.Law, #Recreation.Law, #Recreation-Law.com, #Outdoor Law, #Recreation Law, #Outdoor Recreation Law, #Adventure Travel Law, #law, #Travel Law, #Jim Moss, #James H. Moss, #Attorney at Law, #Tourism, #Adventure Tourism, #Rec-Law, #Rec-Law Blog, #Recreation Law, #Recreation Law Blog, #Risk Management, #Human Powered, #Human Powered Recreation,# Cycling Law, #Bicycling Law, #Fitness Law, #Recreation-Law.com, #Backpacking, #Hiking, #Mountaineering, #Ice Climbing, #Rock Climbing, #Ropes Course, #Challenge Course, #Summer Camp, #Camps, #Youth Camps, #Skiing, #Ski Areas, #Negligence, #Snowboarding, #RecreationLaw, #@RecreationLaw, #Cycling.Law #Fitness.Law, #SkiLaw, #Outside.Law, #Recreation.Law, #RecreationLaw.com, #OutdoorLaw, #RecreationLaw, #OutdoorRecreationLaw, #AdventureTravelLaw, #Law, #TravelLaw, #JimMoss, #JamesHMoss, #AttorneyatLaw, #Tourism, #AdventureTourism, #RecLaw, #RecLawBlog, #RecreationLawBlog, #RiskManagement, #HumanPowered, #HumanPoweredRecreation,# CyclingLaw, #BicyclingLaw, #FitnessLaw, #RecreationLaw.com, #Backpacking, #Hiking, #Mountaineering, #IceClimbing, #RockClimbing, #RopesCourse, #ChallengeCourse, #SummerCamp, #Camps, #YouthCamps, #Skiing, #Ski Areas, #Negligence, #Snowboarding, sport and recreation laws, ski law, cycling law, Colorado law, law for recreation and sport managers, bicycling and the law, cycling and the law, ski helmet law, skiers code, skiing accidents, Recreation Lawyer, Ski Lawyer, Paddlesports Lawyer, Cycling Lawyer, Recreational Lawyer, Fitness Lawyer, Rec Lawyer, Challenge Course Lawyer, Ropes Course Lawyer, Zip Line Lawyer, Rock Climbing Lawyer, Adventure Travel Lawyer, Outside Lawyer, Recreation Lawyer, Ski Lawyer, Paddlesports Lawyer, Cycling Lawyer, #RecreationalLawyer, #FitnessLawyer, #RecLawyer, #ChallengeCourseLawyer, #RopesCourseLawyer, #ZipLineLawyer, #RockClimbingLawyer, #AdventureTravelLawyer, #OutsideLawyer, Risk Homeostasis,
WordPress Tags: accidents,Some,road,article,bike,interaction,basis,drivers,attention,Examples,vehicles,pedestrians,intersection,lanes,intentions,walkers,Negotiations,horn,Denmark,zero,England,roadways,Risk,Homeostasis,accident,cabs,Once,corollary,expectations,cars,Another,helmets,trucks,room,Does,discussion,life,Danger,dangers,litigation,Studies,Roads,Wild,Leave,Twitter,LinkedIn,Recreation,Edit,RecreationLaw,Facebook,Page,Outdoor,Adventure,Travel,Blog,Mobile,Site,Outside,Moss,James,Attorney,Tourism,Management,Human,Rock,Ropes,Course,Challenge,Summer,Camp,Camps,Youth,Areas,Negligence,SkiLaw,OutdoorLaw,OutdoorRecreationLaw,AdventureTravelLaw,TravelLaw,JimMoss,JamesHMoss,AttorneyatLaw,AdventureTourism,RecLaw,RecLawBlog,RecreationLawBlog,RiskManagement,HumanPoweredRecreation,CyclingLaw,BicyclingLaw,FitnessLaw,RopesCourse,ChallengeCourse,SummerCamp,YouthCamps,Colorado,managers,helmet,Lawyer,Paddlesports,Recreational,Line,RecreationalLawyer,FitnessLawyer,RecLawyer,ChallengeCourseLawyer,RopesCourseLawyer,ZipLineLawyer,RockClimbingLawyer,AdventureTravelLawyer,OutsideLawyer,cyclists
Can a Standard Impeded Inventions?
Posted: August 10, 2010 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: England, fuel tank, invention, Jim Moss, Roman, Roman Empire, space shuttle, Track gauge Leave a comment
Image via Wikipedia
Although the following is sent out as a joke, it is reality.
When an organization attempts to protect its members by creating standards dozens of other issues are created. Here is an example of one of them.
Why are to boosters on the space shuttle 12.17 ft (3.71 m) in diameter? Because that is the width of two horses butts.
The US standard railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches.
Why was that gauge used? Well, because that’s the way they built them in England, and English engineers designed the first US railroads.
Why did the English build them like that? Because the first rail lines were built by the
Image via Wikipedia
same people who built the wagon tramways, and that’s the gauge they used.
So, why did ‘they’ use that gauge then? Because the people who built the tramways used the same jigs and tools that they had used for building wagons, which used that same wheel spacing.
Why did the wagons have that particularly odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to use any other spacing, the wagon wheels would break more often on some of the old, long distance roads in England. You see, that’s the spacing of the wheel ruts.
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial Rome built the first long distance roads in Europe (including England) for their legions. Those roads have been used ever since.
And the ruts in the roads? Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, which everyone else had to match or run the risk of destroying their wagon wheels. Since the chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing. Therefore, the United States standard railroad gauge of 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original specifications for an Imperial Roman war chariot.
So the next time you are handed a specification/procedure/process and wonder ‘What horse’s ass came up with this?’ you may be exactly right. Imperial Roman army chariots were made just wide enough to accommodate the rear ends of two war horses. (Two horses’ asses.)
Now, the twist to the story:
When you see a Space Shuttle sitting on its launch pad, there are two big booster rockets attached to the sides of the main fuel tank. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The SRBs are made by Thiokol at their factory in Utah. The engineers who designed the SRBs would have preferred to make them a bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by train from the factory to the launch site. The railroad line from the factory happens to run through a tunnel in the mountains, and the SRBs had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is slightly wider than the railroad track, and the railroad track, as you now know, is about as wide as two horses’ behinds.
Where am I going with this? Standards limit, rather than expand in many cases. Technology and inventions are limited to the technology that they are forced to conform too.
What do you think? Leave a comment.
Copyright 2010 Recreation Law (720) Edit Law, Recreaton.Law@Gmail.com
Twitter: RecreationLaw
Facebook: Rec.Law.Now
Facebook Page: Outdoor Recreation & Adventure Travel Law
Blog: www.recreation-law.com
Mobile Site: http://m.recreation-law.com
#RecreationLaw, #@RecreationLaw, #Cycling.Law #Fitness.Law, #Ski.Law, #Outside.Law, #Recreation.Law, #Recreation-Law.com, #Outdoor Law, #Recreation Law, #Outdoor Recreation Law, #Adventure Travel Law, #law, #Travel Law, #Jim Moss, #James H. Moss, #Attorney at Law, #Tourism, #Adventure Tourism, #Rec-Law, #Rec-Law Blog, #Recreation Law, #Recreation Law Blog, #Risk Management, #Human Powered, #Human Powered Recreation,# Cycling Law, #Bicycling Law, #Fitness Law, #Recreation-Law.com, #Backpacking, #Hiking, #Mountaineering, #Ice Climbing, #Rock Climbing, #Ropes Course, #Challenge Course, #Summer Camp, #Camps, #Youth Camps, #Skiing, #Ski Areas, #Negligence, #Snowboarding, #RecreationLaw, #@RecreationLaw, #Cycling.Law #Fitness.Law, #SkiLaw, #Outside.Law, #Recreation.Law, #RecreationLaw.com, #OutdoorLaw, #RecreationLaw,
Technorati Tags: outdoor law, recreation law, outdoor recreation law, adventure travel law, standards, technology,,Standard,recreation,adventure,technology
Windows Live Tags: outdoor law, recreation law, outdoor recreation law, adventure travel law, standards, technology,,Standard,recreation,adventure,technology
WordPress Tags: outdoor law, recreation law, outdoor recreation law, adventure travel law, standards, technology,,Standard,recreation,adventure,technology
Blogger Labels: outdoor law, recreation law, outdoor recreation law, adventure travel law, standards, technology,,Standard,recreation,adventure,technology
Recreation Law 