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PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 06:33 
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Traffic technology hereInteresting use of technology
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3D road safety campaign aims to shock drivers into slowing down

A new road safety campaign being launched in West Vancouver, Canada, uses 3D decals to shock drivers into slowing down in schoolzones. Starting Tuesday, drivers along 22nd Street will be confronted by a 3D illusion of a young girl chasing a ball into the street.

The image is essentially a decal laid in the middle of the northbound lane, which becomes a 3D image as motorists approach.

The road safety campaign – believed to be the first in Canada to use 3D – is a joint initiative by the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation, Preventable (a group dedicated to raising awareness of preventable injuries) and the District of West Vancouver.

β€œThe idea was to find new ways to raise attention to what is a chronic problem,” said David Dunne, director of road safety strategies for the BCAA foundation.

The optical illusion is meant to jolt drivers into slowing down, especially in schoolzones as children return to school next week. The 3D decal of the girl will be installed on the northbound lane of 22nd Street, north of Inglewood Avenue near the busy Ecole Pauline Johnson.


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 13:08 
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What happens when drivers become accustomed seeing false alerts?
Is there any danger that they will, one day, see a child about to cross but inadvertently dismiss it as a 3D 'decal'?

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PostPosted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 17:29 
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I'm totally against anything that distracts drivers un neccessarily and as Steve says, it can get to the point where by you see so much of something that's false, that can you tend to dismiss it as a fake when the real thing does present itself.

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My views do not represent Safespeed but those of a driver who has driven for 39 yrs, in all conditions, at all times of the day & night on every type of road and covered well over a million miles, so knows a bit about what makes for safety on the road,what is really dangerous and needs to be observed when driving and quite frankly, the speedo is way down on my list of things to observe to negotiate Britain's roads safely, but I don't expect some fool who sits behind a desk all day to appreciate that.


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 03:52 
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It is an exceptionally dangerous game of cry wolf and extreme distraction.

They have been proposing the idea for roads in this Country too - I saw a little bit of it on the One Show a while back and even the presenter lady said that she saw it as a problem ...

When this causes panic braking that it will inevitibaly do those that have brought this highly dangerous concept out to be held personally responsible and potentially held on manslaughter charges when someone dies.

You can sadly just hear it can't you "Oh I thought it was just one of those road images - I didn't think it was a real child !?" or I didn't think it was a real pot hole because the Council has been painting them on the road - now that my car spun across the road and crashed into XX can't be my fault can it !?

Appalling - a bit of fun on a pedestrian Mall walkway but on the road !

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 12, 2010 16:10 
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Found this today.

http://www.wimp.com/slowdown/

How many things can they get wrong by trying to do right. :roll:


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PostPosted: Wed Oct 13, 2010 00:17 
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Absolutely disgraceful. There is so much wrong with this that I almost don't know where to start.

Having a child run out in front of your car is genuinely terrifying. It has happened to me and I had to pull over for quite a while and regain some sort of concentration again. It can leave you really shaken up. I think anybody who has had a child (or any person) run in front of their car will know this feeling. So why on earth would you want to recreate that feeling of terror deliberately? All that's going to happen is that people who see it for the first time will shit themselves and then drive around with a nervous and slightly unpredictable disposition. Great stuff guys!

As others have suggested, this is the closest thing to crying wolf in road safety terms. The first time a driver approaches this, they will panic brake (and will be visibly jumpy and less able to concentrate as a result). They may even be a bit surprised the next time they traverse that stretch of road. But after a while they would become immune to it. They will drive over the image as they would drive over any stretch of road. Is the image of a crouching child in the road one for which we should create an immunity?

It also strikes me as an extremely odd way of viewing the responsiblities of different types of road users. The objective should be to both create awareness and understanding on the part of motorists and to teach children when, where and how to cross roads safely. I wonder what the response would be if children who cross the road inappropriately between rows of parked car were greeted with a 3d representation of a 4x4 with enormous bull bars.

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 17:13 
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Also when people see 'real objects' in the road - like a box or a tyre etc etc it will cross their minds (also waste valuable thinking time) that this is 'just' another image.... so it is likely to cause accidents.

Also people will concentrate on that 'potential danger' and perhaps miss a real danger.
It is badly thought out and the thought that someone has actually considered for more than 1 minute is just disgraceful and shows that they are completely incompetent and unfit for purpose.

If one was to stand at the side of a dual carriageway and deliberately distract drivers for the heck of it, I am quite sure BIB would arrive on seen very quickly to escort you off, if not arrest you - although precisely what for :
Breach of the peace?
Incitement to cause injury ?

At there moment there seems to be an horrific increase in pure enforcement and the fear of driving so as to make drivers more fearful and more paranoid .... this is absolutely no way to instil better skills, abilities and knowledge which would make the roads safer!

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PostPosted: Tue Nov 09, 2010 19:49 
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And it's sited just after a pedestrian crossing - which will be sure to divert drivers' attention away from real pedestrians using the crossing. :roll:

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