Why We Fight About Black Spots
The road agency in Montreal, like that of many cities, works under a policy of fixing motorist-collision "black spots," where a black spot is an intersection with 8 or more collisions in a 5-year period. The unspoken premise of this policy seems to be that a higher frequency of collisions is evidence of design problems unique to that intersection. However, this paper cites recent research that suggests that faults in the road design are not site-specific but are nearly universal. This research found that one-quarter of all intersections in central Montreal were the site of at least one motorist-pedestrian collision over a period of 5 years. Reducing this collision risk will require modifying intersection design to make streets safe for walking, changing policies at the national and global levels to encourage a better balance between protecting pedestrians and minimizing traffic delay, and improving communication between injury prevention specialists and traffic engineers.
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13538047
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Authors:
- Jacobsen, P L
- Publication Date: 2006-12
Language
- English
Media Info
- Media Type: Print
- Features: References;
- Pagination: pp 356-357
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Serial:
- Injury Prevention
- Volume: 12
- Issue Number: 6
- Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
- ISSN: 1353-8047
- EISSN: 1475-5785
- Serial URL: http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: High risk locations; Highway design; Highway factors in crashes; Intersections; Pedestrian safety; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Pedestrian vehicle interface; Policy; Traffic engineering
- Geographic Terms: Montreal (Canada)
- Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Policy; Safety and Human Factors; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01042360
- Record Type: Publication
- Files: TRIS
- Created Date: Feb 28 2007 9:02PM