What If the Safety Upgrades We Need Are Outside the Car?

Safe driving involves staying sober, not driving while distracted, and not speeding. There are many other things, however, that Tulsa and other cities can do to make their roads safer.

A few road safety suggestions

According to the US Department of Transportation, some strategies that can help reduce roadway, pedestrian, and bicycle deaths and injuries include the following:

• Crosswalk Visibility Enhancements. These enhancements include:
  • High-visibility crosswalks. These crosswalks use patterns that both the driver and pedestrians can see from farther away than traditional crosswalks. The USDOT Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recommends these crosswalks for uncontrolled intersections and “midblock” pedestrian crosswalks. Materials such as “inlay or thermoplastic tape, instead of paint or brick” should be used.
  • Better lighting. “The goal of crosswalk lighting should be to illuminate with positive contrast to make it easier for a driver to visually identify the pedestrian. This involves carefully placing the luminaires in forward locations to avoid a silhouette effect of the pedestrian.”
  • Enhanced signing and pavement markings. The FHA recommends using “YIELD Here to Pedestrians” or “STOP Here for pedestrians” or multilane roads. The signs should be placed 20-50 feet before the crosswalk to indicate where the driver should stop if state law permits. Another method is to “install a STOP or YIELD bar (commonly referred to as ”shark’s teeth”) pavement markings.”
• Medians and Pedestrian Refuge Islands. A median is the area between opposing traffic lanes (not counting turning lanes). The medians can consist of pavement markings or islands to separate motorized and non-motorized road users. A pedestrian refuge area is a median “with a refuge area that is intended to help protect pedestrians who are crossing a road.” According to the USDOT, medians and pedestrian refuge islands can reduce pedestrian crashes by nearly half.
• Bicycle lanes. Separate bicycle lanes can also reduce accidents by nearly half on some four-lane roads and local roads. Most deadly bicycle accidents occur away from intersections. About one in three bicycle accidents happen when a driver overtakes a bicycle rider because their speeds and sizes are different. Bicycle lanes can help bicycle riders feel more secure.
• Rumble strips. The USDOT states that rumble strips on the “center line of two-lane rural roads” can reduce deadly head-on crashes and injuries by nearly two-thirds.
  • Longitudinal rumble strips are raised or milled elements on the pavement that vibrate and create sounds that help alert drivers that their vehicle is outside of the travel lane. These may appear on the edge line, shoulder, or near the center line of undivided roadways.
  • Rumble strip placement. Rumble strips are installed either on the center line of the road or the edges of the road. Installing these can help avoid fatal and serious crashes by alerting drivers who are distracted, tired, or otherwise not focusing on their driving.

Per the DOT, “Transportation agencies should consider milled center line rumble strips (including in passing zone areas) and milled edge line or shoulder rumble strips with bicycle gaps for systemic safety projects, location-specific corridor safety improvements, as well as reconstruction or resurfacing projects.”

Some alternatives can be used in areas where there are noise concerns. Studies show that rain, ice, and snow should not affect how rumble strips work.

Additional road safety suggestions

According to the World Resources Institute, other road design features that can help protect drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and bicycle riders include:

• Shorter blocks. Shorter blocks in cities help improve pedestrian safety by creating more intersections. More intersections force drivers to drive slower and provide more places for pedestrians to cross. Where the blocks are already designed, mid-block crossings and pedestrian refuge islands (as discussed above) can help pedestrians feel safer.
• Narrower lanes. Narrower lanes provide more room for sidewalks. Adding these will shorten the distance that pedestrians need to cross the road. Narrower roads also tend to force drivers to drive slower.
• More roundabouts. Installing traffic circles and roundabouts directs all traffic in the same direction and reduces the danger of head-on crashes. Many states and cities are beginning to utilize roundabouts more frequently.
• Chicanes. These are “artificial turns, created by adding alternating extensions of the sidewalk or barriers.” They encourage drivers to go more slowly. Chicanes can also help create wider sidewalks for pedestrians.
• Speed bumps. Speed bumps help to slow down cars. They’re especially helpful when children are routinely in the area, such as in neighborhoods in near schools or playgrounds.
• Raised crossing. Raising the height of a pedestrian crossing has the double advantage of acting as a speed bump for drivers crossing through the intersection and giving pedestrians a better eyeline view of the drivers. A raised crossing also makes clear to drivers that pedestrians are present and have the right to cross. Raised crossings that are raised to sidewalk level also make it easier for people with mobility problems who need wheelchairs or walkers to cross.

According to the National Center for Mobility Management, a traveler on US roads is six times more likely to be killed than a traveler in Norway, accounting for the population differences. The FHWA states that the Indian Nations Council of Governments (INCOG), a voluntary association of local and tribal governments in the Tulsa, OK, metropolitan area, received funds to examine Oklahoma traffic data and found that “71% of crashes that result in fatal and serious injuries occurred at intersections.”

“Now they’re implementing proven high impact, low-cost countermeasures as they work towards a goal of zero traffic fatalities.” The INCOG is reviewing what safety measures can help. Some of their suggestions include:

• Pavement markings that are “retrofitted with reflective paint or tape to make them more visible to drivers.”
• Changing the back plate of traffic signal heads to a reflective yellow sticker, as opposed to their traditional nonreflective black coloring.

At Biby Law Firm, our Tulsa car accident lawyers know how to show how car accidents happen, why they’re preventable, and who is responsible. To discuss your right to file a claim stemming from an incident you were involved in, please call our office or complete our contact form to schedule a free consultation.