Animated Traffic Law » Weekly Safety/Law Tip

Exits and Idiots

kurt — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:57:08 +0000

When on limited access roadways (ie., freeways, expressways – roads with limited entrances and exits) be careful of drivers suddenly cutting in front of you to make the off ramp. These sections of roadway are notorious for crashes. What often happens is drivers become impatient with the backup of traffic in the exit lane and try to save time by passing on the left until the last possible moment. This behavior is dangerous and dumb but also ubiquitous.
Expect it. Two things you can do to ensure you don’t become a crash stat:
1. keep plenty of space between you and the vehicle in front of you.
2. mirror scan every 5 to 8 seconds.
Knowing what’s happening behind you is just as important as what’s happening in front of you.

Elderly Pedestrians at Crosswalks

kurt — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 01:21:31 +0000

Older people, as pedestrians, are at an increased risk of being hit by a motor vehicle. This is especially true at crosswalks.
One reason for this is that as we age we become more vulnerable to falls. And with this, the fear of falling. So as an older
person crossing the street, there is the temptation to pay more attention to the pavement and our footsteps and less attention
to cross traffic, out of a fear of falling. This puts the older pedestrian precariously dependent on surrounding motorists.
It’s hard to understand and empathize with the physical limitations of others – especially those much older than ourselves.
The reality is, we will not begin to understand the physical limitations of an older person until we’re of that age.
Until then, we must be patient and exercise due care when operating a motor vehicle around those walking.

Driving: too much, too fast can mean too little, too late

kurt — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 04:20:45 +0000

When behind the wheel of a motor vehicle the world comes at us fast. In fact, so fast that our brain can’t handle all the available information. It’s too much, too fast.
Therein lies the danger. Because our brain is physically limited to the amount of stimuli it can pay attention to it attends only to a small fraction of it. The more complex
the driving environment the more we must focus on the driving task or it may literally mean – too little, too late.

Older drivers and pedestrians in urban centers

kurt — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:44:30 +0000

When on the roadway it’s helpful to be aware of the vast differences that exist between
road users. One such group is the older driver and pedestrian – those 65 and up. Information takes time to process.
The older we get the longer it takes us to process information. This is especially true when under time pressure
from other drivers in an unfamiliar urban environment where speeds are high and infrastructural design is complex.
When in such contexts, older road users tend to slow their movement’s down so their minds have time to process all
that’s going on around them. If under too much pressure they may act erratic and unpredictable, putting themselves
and others in danger.
What can we do to help? Exhale and be patient. Don’t exacerbate the problem by
honking or forcing them to make a decision they’re not ready to make.

Driving: an illusion of simplicity

kurt — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:11:22 +0000

Driving is an illusion of simplicity. It is shrouded in many untruths – one of which
is that what the eyes focus on the mind perceives. This myth assumes the mind is some kind of
video machine recording everything passing in front of the eyes. The truth is, it’s
what the mind focuses on that the eyes see, or don’t see. The mind has a limited
ability to pay attention. So when driving, minimize those distractions in your mind by paying
attention to what really matters – that which is going on outside of your head, on the
other side of the windshield.

Kids, Cars and Crashes

kurt — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 02:58:13 +0000

Every thoughtful motorist’s greatest fear is hitting and hurting another human being.
Least of which are children. According to AASHTO, children to:
*have a relatively narrow field of vision.
*have difficulties accurately judging the speed and distance of an approaching vehicle.
*assume a vehicle can see them if they can see the vehicle.
*have difficulty understanding danger.
*have difficulty determining the direction of auditory input.
*have little experience with the rules of the road because they do not drive motor vehicles.
They above information is a direct quote from AASHTO’s 2010 Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Bicycle Facilities

What happens at turns

kurt — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:31:43 +0000

When a motorist passes a bicyclist mid-block and intends to make a right turn two things
need to happen inside that head of his: 1) realization that he is slowing his motor vehicle down to make the turn;
2) awareness of the strong possibility that that bicyclist he just passed is speeding up to catch the
light. The law in every state is the same when it comes to turning a vehicle. It may only be done when it is
reasonable and prudent to do so.

Pass like it matters

kurt — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:00:19 +0000

When passing a bicyclist, whether or not h/she is in a bike lane, ensure there’s enough
space between you and the cyclist to avoid hitting them were the bicyclist to
fall down. Bike lanes give drivers a false sense of what is a safe distance between them
and cyclists. It doesn’t take much to bring down a bike, a small rock or crack in the
pavement can easily do. The true measure of safety in these cases is distance.

Expect the unexpected

kurt — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:50:29 +0000

We often see or don’t see what we expect to see. The result can be damaging.
For example, if we come to an intersection every day and have never seen a pedestrian crossing there,
we begin to form an unconscious expectation of what we will find there tomorrow, and the day
after that and the day after that. What’s happening here is that as drivers we inhibit or
suppress attention to areas in our visual field where we’re not expecting to see something appear. In this case, it’s a pedestrian crossing at a particular intersection.

Older drivers

kurt — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:56:28 +0000

The playing field on which we drive is not equal. Drivers are of all ages.
Experience, skill level and physical and mental conditions are just as varied.
It is all too easy to assume just the opposite – that we all share similar vision,
hearing, reflexes, ability to process information, etc. We can’t. To assume otherwise
is dangerous. Older drivers – those 65 and older, are characterized by the following:
(courtesy of Geometric Design of Highways and Streets – AASHTO)
*slower information processing
*slower reaction times
*slower decision making
*visual deterioration
*hearing deterioration
*decline in ability to judge time, speed and distance
*limited depth perception
*limited physical mobility
*side effects from prescription drugs