[sustran] Re: FW: Traffic in India

[Walter Hook]

I agree with those who say this video should be viewed with a bit of care.
I would be loath to make too many assumptions about the safety of the
intersection or its capacity and flow characteristics without more careful
study.  For now the main problem is the lack of decent pedestrian refuge
islands, a built out median, some clear indication that pedestrians belong
in the space.  This would not be solved by signalzing the intersection, and
the situation might be made worse by increasing traffic speeds and providing
no clear time for pedestrians to cross anyway.  The traffic flow is not
really the main safety issue, I think.  Most of the victims on Indian and
Chinese roads are pedestrians, like 60% as i recall, and most of the
accidents are not at intersections such as these but mid block on higher
speed arterials, particularly where intercity highways enter denser urban
areas, and at bus stops.  The traffic is flowing ok, and at modest speeds,
at least at this volume of traffic.  If it gets higher maybe it will logjam
and require signalization.  I agree that the problem here, at least at this
level of traffic flow, is not the lack of a traffic signal.


-----Original Message-----
From: sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org at list.jca.apc.org
[mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+whook=itdp.org at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf
Of S.K. Jason CHANG
Sent: Monday, April 24, 2006 1:17 PM
To: sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
Subject: [sustran] Re: FW: Traffic in India

It is a trade-off of efficiency and safety! Similar driving behaviors
and situation in most of Chinese cities, resulting an "official record"
of 100,000 more fatalities and 520,000 more injuries annually!!

Jason

--
台大土木系教授  張學孔博士 Dr. S.K. Jason CHANG (ZHANG Xue-Kong)
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
National Taiwan University
Taipei, 10617, Taiwan
Visiting Professor
Tongji University, Shanghai China
voice:+886-935178543 fax:+886-2236369990
skchang at ntu.edu.tw  skchang2020 at yahoo.com.tw
http://ce11012.ce.ntu.edu.tw


Quoting Brendan Finn <etts at indigo.ie>:

> Dear Paul,
>
> Thanks for that link, it really captures it.
>
> Don't you agree that it just flows? Everyone gets through so much
> quicker than if there were traffic signals, and you get no tailbacks.
> Of course, it gives the screaming heebie-jeebies to people who must
> always have their cutlery properly arranged, creases in their
> newspapers, and everything just 'so', but to the people who are in
> the thick of it, they're just getting on with it.
>
> As it happens, I shot a similar video last summer in Urumqi, except
> there's also a pedestrian crossing going through it which is freely
> used by the cars doing u-turns. I started to video it to show people
> how bad the traffic and driving was. After 10 minutes of filming I
> realised that it all worked rather well, and felt suitably humbled
> about my prejudices.
>
> With best wishes,
>
>
> Brendan.
>
____________________________________________________________________________
_________
>> From Brendan Finn, ETTS Ltd.   e-mail : etts at indigo.ie   tel :
>> +353.87.2530286
>  ----- Original Message -----
>  From: Paul Barter
>  To: Asia and the Pacific sustainable transport
>  Sent: Monday, April 24, 2006 8:14 AM
>  Subject: [sustran] FW: Traffic in India
>
>
>  A wonderful video clip of an Indian intersection working in ways most
>  traffic engineers would never imagine in their wildest dreams. If you
>  have never seen traffic in South Asia then this might come as something
>  of a shock.
>
>  >
>  > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjrEQaG5jPM
>  >
>
>  Paul
>
>
>  ================================================================
>  SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing
> countries (the 'Global South'). Because of the history of the list,
> the main focus is on urban transport policy in Asia.
>
>




================================================================
SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
(the 'Global South'). Because of the history of the list, the main focus is
on urban transport policy in Asia.