Anywhere autos and pedestrians share a space, the potential for devastating accidents is there. Managing the speed of traffic is a big step in improving safety. Because one size doesn’t fit all in several places like school sections, work sectors, mining and industrial sites and other areas of road, variable speed signs can be a very important tool in managing traffic flow and improving safety.
A school section is a particularly clear example of a multi-purpose area. When children are present, there is often an especially slow speed limit in effect. When school is out and there are no activities requiring that youngsters be in the area, a higher speed limit regularly kicks in. Many areas like this follow the same speed limit on that particular road during all times when school is out, with a sign reflecting the “school hours” speed limit for times when children are present.
Unfortunately, what often happens is that drivers disregard the school section speed limit signs, or may not even be realizing the time of day it is or day of the week, and may continue to follow the general speed limit in the area. A variable speed sign that’s easy to see with bright LED lights is tough to miss, however. It can show the slower speed while children are there, and the regular speed limit at other times.
When the speed limit can change numerous times in one enormous area, driver confusion may also be an issue. Changing the velocity too often in a little area will result in many ignoring the changes altogether.
Variable speed signs that will simply be modified to reflect the dynamic conditions can be useful. Forcing traffic go to 10 MPH on an empty side-road, as an example, means most drivers will surpass that, which can cause more accidents when the limit actually must be observed.
Variable speed signs from TraffiCalm utilized in key places, instead of static signs that reflect different speed limits too close together, can help with traffic calming in several areas. Contact trafficalmsystems.com today for information about these traffic calming devices.
