If you really think about it, it’s pretty miraculous how few accidents happen on a day-to-day basis relative to the number of drivers there are in the world. Considering the fact that we’re all driving giant metal machines at high speeds, it’s amazing that billions of people can all coordinate on the roads each day to prevent wrecks and crashes.
With that being said, crashes do still happen, and because of that, it’s important to consider all the factors at play. Some of them come down to the driver and there’s not much that can be done. But there are some types of wrecks that could ostensibly be avoided if existing systems were to be improved on.
At Diablo Controls, we develop innovative traffic control products which can help to make our roads safer, as well as contribute valuable data so that our infrastructure can continually be improved. We believe our traffic control devices can help to prevent accidents in the long run.
Here are some of the most common reasons for accidents on the road:
Speeding
It’s no secret that almost everyone speeds from time to time. Some people do it on rare occasion, while others are chronic speeding addicts. A little bit of speeding isn’t the end of the world, and on major freeways, it’s not uncommon for the bulk of traffic as a whole to be driving five or ten miles over the speed limit.
But make no mistake — speeding can be very dangerous. This is truest when one person is driving abnormally higher than the given speed limit. When one person is driving markedly faster than everyone else, they become a liability to themselves and other drivers.
We don’t need to break down all the reasons why speeding is dangerous, as it’s fairly self-explanatory. They’re more susceptible to sudden stops in traffic, they’re dangerous when they’re going around bends, their momentum makes collisions more lethal, and so on.
Traffic control devices can be useful in the long-term for preventing speeding-based accidents. Every road and freeway has a speed limit that’s suited to it, but sometimes the speed limit be too high or too low for its own good. By being able to collect extensive data on traffic activity, it can lead to informed decisions about whether or not the speed limit needs adjusting.
Tailgating
How many times have you been driving 80 MPH on a reasonably open freeway, only for traffic to come to an abrupt halt out of the blue? You’ll need lightning quick reflexes and a good braking system on your car to slow down sufficiently as to prevent yourself from ramming whoever is in front of you.
While it’s easy to say that traffic slowdowns are a cause for wrecks, it’s more accurate to say that tailgating is the real culprit. A responsible driver makes sure that there’s a safe difference between themselves and the car in front of them — enough to create a buffer in case of any sudden stops. Tailgating can be extremely dangerous because one collision from a sudden stop can cause a chain reaction that affects cars trailing behind.
Parking Lot Collisions
When you think of a collision, the immediate image is typically two cars wrecked on the side of road, as police cars standby and traffic slows to a snail’s pace. But not all accidents happen on the freeway. In fact, it’s not uncommon for them to happen in parking lots, driving no faster than a person could walk.
The good news is that parking lot collisions are far less dangerous than most other accidents. It often hurts one’s car or wallet more than the drivers themselves, but even with that being said, the less of these that happen, the better.
There are good parking lots and there are bad parking lots. While sometimes collisions happen for no other reason aside from ignorant drivers, there are measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of collisions in parking lots. To that end, you’ll appreciate our parking control equipment and access control devices.
It’s very much possible to direct the flow of traffic in a parking lot rather than letting it be a free-for-all. Accidents often happen because cars are driving in opposite directions and cutting through open spaces to reach a viable spot. With access control devices you can have more control over who enters the parking lot in the first place, and you have more power to direct where they go. By using parking gate systems, for example, you can automate the rate at which people come in, and open/close certain routes.
Construction Sites
Construction can cause major problems for the flow of traffic. Not only are roads blocked off, detoured, or condensed, it’s also often done in a confusing way. Sometimes cones are laid out in such a way to where it can be difficult to determine exactly where to go. Also, many drivers are used to driving the same roads every day and are thrown for a loop when their routine path is suddenly different.
Construction can be dangerous whether it’s on a high-speed road, a busy intersection, or even on the job site itself. This is another instance where traffic control products and parking gate systems are a boon to driver safety. To be able to monitor driving habits, collect in-depth data, and manipulate traffic is invaluable to any construction site.
Running Red Lights
Unfortunately, a lot of people have a much more subjective take on what streetlights mean. There are drivers who think green means “go,” yellow means “go faster,” and red means “go fastest.” This is, of course, counterintuitive to the intent of streetlights, and it often results in accidents.
Almost everyone has run a red light when it instantly turns, but this is not always safe, especially if you’re doing a left turn. While this is something that ultimately comes down to the person driving, it’s important for intersections to be designed in a way that mitigates the risk of people driving irresponsibly.
Traffic control products can add intelligent automation to intersections due to their ability to monitor traffic speeds and trends. Instead of a set system where the lights change on a predictable basis, it’s possible to have streetlights that dynamically react to traffic patterns. This creates a safer environment because it reacts in real-time to change the lights in an ideal way.
It’s never fun to be driving at a high speed with nobody else on the road, only for a string of lights ahead of you to arbitrarily turn red — and it’s also annoying when you’re in a massive queue of cars trying to turn left, but the light system only lets two or three cars through with every cycle. Smarter traffic control systems can mitigate these problems, resulting in less impatient and reckless drivers.
Traffic Control Systems Can Present Solutions
As the technology of our cars and overall infrastructure becomes ever more advanced, our traffic and access control tools should too. There are literally billions of people on the road each day all over the world, and by being able to have some degree of observance and control over how the traffic moves, productive decisions can be made which can increase the safety of our roads in the long-term.
Are you looking for traffic control products such as vehicle loop detectors, detection sensors, and more? Diablo Controls has you covered. Click here to check out our traffic control products, and be sure to contact us if you have any questions.
