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2023.10.07
カテゴリ：facts
Traffic signs are used to inform and warn all participants in traffic. Ancient Romans were the first who used traffic signs - milestones marking the distance of certain locations to Rome (and we all know 'All roads lead to Rome.'). These simple signs were practically the only traffic signs for many centuries. Additional signs informing about the direction of certain places and other informational signs were placed at crossroads and other important locations.
Only after the Middle Ages when traffic improved (roughly after the discovery of America) the speed of traffic improved so much some kind of standardization was needed. But the earliest road signs (warnings about dangerous curves and steep hills were among the first) were still handmade, their dimensions varied, and colors and placements were not always logical, ... At the end of the 19th century different organizations related to the traffic were formed and they started different campaigns aiming at additional safety at more and more hectic traffic. Many steps were made before we came to this point where traffic signs are covered with illuminated plastic sheets and the construction of the pole and the sign is mounted on the slip base to diminish the possibility of injuries of drivers and passengers in the case of an accident. Here are some traffic signs by shapes: Round  Bicycles Only  Direction Left Only  No Bicycles Road  No Motor Vehicles Road  Roundabout Traffic Octagon  Stop Diamond  Pedestrian Crossing Ahead  Road Narrows Ahead  Road With Priority  Speed Hump Ahead  Two Way Traffic Ahead Triangle (upside down)  Give Way (after 150 m) Triangle (equilateral)  Loose Stones On The Road  Possible Road Cues  Wild Animal  Workman Ahead Rectangular  Bike Route  End Of Motorway Section  End of Regulated Highway  No Motorcycles And Cars  Pedestrian Crossing  Slippery When Wet Meaning of shapes: round: warning, order, prohibition octagon: stop diamond: caution, warning triangle (upside down): caution triangle (equilateral): warning, danger rectangular: information, regulation crossbuck: railroad crossing oval: welcome Meaning of colors: red: stop, demand, prohibit black and white: regulation yellow: warning green: guidance orange: danger brown: recreation, culture blue: service, information Feel free to check these conventions with generally accepted symbolic meanings of colors: Click Here A few fun facts about road and traffic signs: The first electric traffic sign was installed on August 5, 1914, in Cleveland Ohio. It was not the first attempt to control traffic with lights. They tried that in London already in 1860s but it was powered by gas and exploded very soon. The first electric traffic signs had only green and red lights. Yellow as a warning was added only in 1920 in Detroit. There is at least one scientific evidence to prefer a red light for the stop sign. It has the longest wavelength which means it can be seen from a farther distance giving the driver the earliest possible signal to use the breaks. It's hard to say what the traffic lights of the future will look like. There are several experimental systems in use already. One is displaying news while the lights are red, trying to keep the attention of the drivers on the road, not on their smartphones. There are also apps that are trying to communicate with smart systems in cars, informing drivers about the speed needed to avoid a red light at the next crossroad. Did you know? The line at the middle of the road, dividing the road for the traffic in opposite directions was inspired by a milk wagon leaking milk and leaving a trail, seen by Edward N. Hines (1870-1938). One of his other innovations was snow removal from public roads. Carmel, Indiana, USA, replaced the majority of their traffic signs with roundabouts. Maintenance costs are now lower up to 180,000 US dollars per year, traffic accidents down by 40 %, and fatal accidents by 90 %. Michael O’Leary, a millionaire, and CEO of airline Ryanair, established his own taxicab company to get legal permission to use bus lines, thus avoiding traffic jams. This company has just one cab so he can legally use one car only - to drive Michael O'Leary. Rich Russians are using a similar trick - they hire fake ambulance cars costing several hundred dollars per hour. Right-hand traffic was introduced to Continental Europe by Napoleon. There were two reasons for that: to annul already established left-hand traffic which was seen as too aristocratic, and to avoid sword fighting on horseback. Finland calculates traffic fines according to available data on the income of the rule-breaker. This led to a more than 100 thousand dollar fine for a Nokia CEO who was speeding at 75 km per h in a 30 km per h zone. お気に入りの記事を「いいね！」で応援しよう
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2023.10.07 06:19:25
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