00474845

Component

The article notes that the traffic system in its present form is inherently inefficient, uneconomical, unsafe, and contrary to the purpose of traffic control and to public policy. It shows how traffic laws provoke accidents, and examines if traffic laws are reasonable (crossing a one-way street, signalized mid-block crosswalks, automatic obedience to a traffic control device, legislating by statistics, jaywalking, traffic signal warrants, wrong right-of-way rule). Early traffic regulations created unnecessary complexities. Correcting the many misconceptions and controlling traffic on less restrictive lines, mainly by a wider use of the yield sign, more pedestrian refuges, better intersection designs and other methods that simplify road user decisions but keep traffic fluid, could eliminate much of today's control equipment, reduce the need for highway construction by making better use of existing roads, and put traffic regulation on the path to achieving goals.

p. 477-502

1987-10

Transportation Quarterly

Figures; References

Intersections; Public policy; Traffic control; Traffic islands; Traffic regulations; Traffic safety; Yield signs

Traffic laws

Highways; Law; Operations and Traffic Management; Policy; I73: Traffic Control

TRIS

Oct 31 1987 12:00AM

• "MANAGING" SUBURBAN TRAFFIC CONGESTION: A STRATEGY FOR SUBURBAN MOBILITY
• COMMUTER PARKING LOTS - VANDALISM AND DETERRENCE
• MANAGEMENT OF BICYCLING IN URBAN AREAS
• MANAGEMENT OF HIGHWAY ENGINEERING DISTRICTS
• MARKETING RESEARCH APPLICATIONS IN INTRASTATE TOUR BUS MARKETS
• REGIONAL CHANGES IN AIRLINE SERVICE SINCE DEREGULATION
• STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP OF FREIGHT RAILROADS
• TECHNIQUES FOR MANAGING FREEWAY TRAFFIC CONGESTION
• THE HISTORICAL AND RESEARCH FRAMEWORK FOR FREEWAY TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT