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Archive for July 14th, 2008

Mind-bending Illusions on LSD

Photo courtesy of CDOT

The recent discussion in the press of illusory speed bumps in Philadelphia reminded me of a conversation I had a while back with the Chicago Department of Transportation. For years, the curve at Oak Street on Lake Shore Drive has been something of a crash hot-spot. It’s within the typical engineering guidance for acceptable curves, but given that drivers on LSD tend to treat the Drive as an urban expressway rather than the boulevard it really should be, there’s been a consistent crash problem, particularly on rainy days and the like.

CDOT responded with a series of gradual alterations. They made the lane markings more distinct. They made the curve warning signs bigger. Then they added flashing lights. Drivers still weren’t getting the message. So CDOT got perceptual. (more…)

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Posted on Monday, July 14th, 2008 at 2:17 pm by: Tom Vanderbilt
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Traffic Tom Vanderbilt

How We Drive is the companion blog to Tom Vanderbilt’s New York Times bestselling book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), published by Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S. and Canada, Penguin in the U.K, and in languages other than English by a number of other fine publishers worldwide.

Please send tips, news, research papers, links, photos (bad road signs, outrageous bumper stickers, spectacularly awful acts of driving or parking or anything traffic-related), or ideas for my Slate.com Transport column to me at: info@howwedrive.com.

For publicity inquiries, please contact Kate Runde at Vintage: krunde@randomhouse.com.

For editorial inquiries, please contact Zoe Pagnamenta at The Zoe Pagnamenta Agency: zoe@zpagency.com.

For speaking engagement inquiries, please contact
Jenna Meulemans at the Knopf Speaker Bureau.

Order Traffic from:

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Drive-on-the-left types can order the book from Amazon.co.uk.

For UK publicity enquiries please contact Rosie Glaisher at Penguin.

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