Signs that Work Best for Traffic Calming

Two years ago in Germany, a study of a specific type of display sign was carried out. Unlike TraffiCalm's radar speed display signs that show a driver's actual speed and can be set to flash if that speed is over the limit, these signs followed a slightly different principle. The speed generally wasn't posted with the sign, but something like a picture of a child would be used to show drivers what was in the area. A child's picture indicated that children were in the area, and below it a dynamic display would either say "thank you" or "slow," depending on the driver's...

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TraffiCalm Systems and 3M Canada Company, Traffic Safety Systems Division Announce Renewal

Post Falls, ID -- January 25, 2011 -- Located at http://www.TraffiCalmSystems.com on the web, TraffiCalm Systems, a leader in the manufacture and worldwide distribution of urban/residential, highway driver feedback signs and traffic calming solutions, announced renewal of their private label manufacturing agreement with 3M Canada for TraffiCalm's Radar Driver Feedback Signs.

"TraffiCalm Systems has been proudly supporting 3M Canada since 2009 and we are happy to see that relationship continue through 2012" said Jan DeSantis, Business Development Manager for TraffiCalm...

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Better Roads Magazine features DriveBrite driver feedback signs as SAFETY PRODUCT OF THE MONTH!

Better Roads Magazine's Traffic Safety and Management Showcase January 2012 Newsletter features TraffiCalm Systems' DriveBrite™ driver feedback sign "Trade In/Trade Up" Program as their SAFETY PRODUCT OF THE MONTH!

Targeting the needs of needs of governments and construction contractors, Better Roads Magazine provides industry and product information on federal, state, county, city and township highway, road and bridge construction, winter maintenance, roadside and vegetation management and other highway-related projects.

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Managing Costs with Speed Display Signs

The Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program in the Transportation Department of Bellevue, Washington, created a 2005 report on the effectiveness of radar speed display signs after installing 20 in various locations and monitoring them over a 5-year period for results, cost and other factors. Aside from the results showing that the signs were effective and stayed effective over the course of the study, some other notable things can be taken away from the report, such as the low ongoing cost of using electric display signs.

TraffiCalm's LED Sign Displays

In the breakdown of...

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Joe Gustafson, PE, Washington County Public Works

"During a one-year study, conducted by Washington County in two site locations, a 15.5% mean speed reduction was recorded. "We (Washington County) have found the TraffiCalm Systems DriveBrite driver feedback signs to be effective at creating earlier speed compliance in these areas…braking in advance of the transition, resulting in measurable speed reductions within the transition area."
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The 85th Percentile and Speed Display Signs

The 85th percentile is an important concept when deciding the safe speed of a stretch of road. It's based on the general belief that most people want to drive safely and avoid crashes, while still getting where they need to go as efficiently as possible. When speed measurements are taken for a stretch of highway, the speed at which 85% of drivers travel is the speed often considered as the maximum speed limit. While in some cases that might be too high for a reasonable limit in certain areas, it's often accurate enough that speed limits are based on this factor, among...

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Reasons a Radar Speed Sign May Fail

In 2005, the city of Bellevue, WA, collated information from the past 5 years of testing radar speed display signs at a variety of locations. Not only did the report strongly indicate that these signs do reduce speeds and generally remain effective even after 4 years of use in the same spot, they also suggested some reasons why some signs aren't as effective and may not provide good traffic calming effects. While this isn't the fault of the signs themselves, it appears to be the choice of sign location.

Visibility Makes TraffiCalm Radar Speed Signs Effective

They...

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Speed Humps? Try Feedback Signs First

Speed humps are different roadway constructions than speed bumps. While bumps are best used in places like parking lots and other spaces where the desire is to have vehicles almost stop to move over the bump safely, speed humps are a little more subtle, but still designed to cause a small bit of discomfort or anxiety while a vehicle is traveling over it that should cause the driver to slow.

Speed humps are usually three or four inches high, and can be as long as twenty or twenty-five feet. Speed bumps, on the either hand, are about the same height but only about one to...

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Radar Speed Signs Better Than Stop Signs at Controlling Speed

A stop sign is the most basic traffic sign we have. One might think that the presence of a stop sign would actually slow traffic down. Cars approaching an intersection with a stop sign have to slow in order to stop, so it makes sense to think that an intersection with a 4-way stop may serve to slow the general speed of traffic.

Research and technical papers studying the effect of all-way and multi-way stop signs at intersections show that they do not control traffic speed, however, except under very specific circumstances that aren't faced by drivers every day at these...

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Driver Feedback Signs and Crosswalks

Crosswalks, with or without electric signs telling pedestrians when to cross, can be hazardous. Though these are the designated places for pedestrians to cross streets, they're sometimes more dangerous than intersections without painted crosswalks. A controversial study done in San Diego showed that accidents were more likely to occur at marked crosswalks than at unmarked ones. Some conclusions were that pedestrians may have felt safer at marked crosswalks and weren't as careful, thinking that the crosswalk would protect them by merely being a place where they were...

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The Future of Roadway Safety: High Tech Traffic Control Products

TraffiCalm’s variable speed limit signs, like our dynamic radar speed sign, showcase several innovative and technologically advanced features that are practical and efficient.

Our unique, fully-encased, modular electronics system makes installation easy and fast, saving money and helping you make roadways safer, faster. The on-board traffic data collection hardware allows for informed, real-time traffic planning. And our signs are fully programmable, and can be set to follow a schedule or be updated via a wireless Bluetooth connection.

Your Traffic Control Devices...

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Success Stories

    "The street at the front of Whitworth University's campus is a two-lane (previously four), 30 MPH arterial, which is busy most of the time. Students and staff must regularly cross this street on foot and the speed of the vehicular traffic was a constant concern. As part of our solution to this problem we installed two TraffiCalm Systems driver feedback signs two years ago. I believe they have had a calming effect on traffic speeds and we are very pleased with their performance. These signs are high quality, state-of-the-art technology, very programmable, durable, and fairly priced. We received great after-the-sale support from TraffiCalm as well. I am pleased to endorse these products."

    ~ Mark McFall - Supervisor, Security Services, Whitworth University, Spokane, WA 99251

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