What makes a 'safe' road?
An academic in America has thrown his weight into the argument, and it's all got to do with intuitionOur road instincts are completely wrong, according to an American academic.
In an article published in American bimonthly magazine Psychology Today, Eric Dumbaugh, a civil and environmental engineer at Texas A&M University, says that when roads look more perilous, drivers exert more care and the roadways become safer.
“We assume that safety is the result of ‘forgiving’ roads,” Dumbaugh told the magazine, “and we figure that straightening our streets and widening shoulders makes a safe road.
“If you build something that looks like a highway, every instinct in a drivers’ body tells him to go fast.”
According to Psychology Today, over the last 10 years a number of local precincts (mostly outside of America) have begun making streets more ‘hazardous’ – narrowing them, reducing visibility, removing centre lines, and even discarding traffic signs and signals. These ‘white knuckle’ roads, according to research, have reduced the number of crashes and fatalities.
What do motorcycle riders think? Is it just all poppycock? Hit the comment button below to have your say.
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