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- IMSA Journal - Sept/Oct 2010
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Texas & Utah are the only US states with a night-time speed limit.
False - Texas is the only state with a broadly applicable night-time speed limit that reduces speed limits an average of 5-10 MPH 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise. While there are other states that impose night-time speed limits, they are regional or specific to the type of vehicles, for instance Wisconsin has a night-time speed limit snow mobiles. Night-time speed limit signs are generally the inverse of regular speed limit signs; the sign face is black and the speed limit is white, facilitating visibility at night. For more information on speed limits by state, visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
- IMSA Journal - July/August 2010
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Less than five percent of traffic signals in the country’s 108 largest metropolitan areas are controlled by adaptive signal control.
True - Despite the astounding benefits derived from adaptive signal control, few regions (only three percent of the largest metropolitan areas) have deployed adaptive technology largely due to cost. In addition to the price of adaptive control software, there are hardware costs including the addition of field detection units, communication infrastructure upgrades, and controller upgrades. Then of course there is personnel training and ongoing maintenance. McCain’s QuicTrac adaptive control system has been designed to combat the barrier of cost, providing a reasonably priced alternative that requires no special hardware and runs off a modest number of field detector units. Learn more about McCain’s QuicTrac adaptive solution.
- IMSA Journal - May/June 2010
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Words such as “STOP," were added to pavement markings at intersections as a result of World War I.
True - During blackout conditions resulting from WW1, traffic control standards were altered to conserve materials and address blackout traffic conditions. This included that advent of word messages (such as STOP) in pavement markings where blackouts would cease existing signs from illuminating. Requirements for pavement markings appeared in the 1942 edition of the Manual Uniform of Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which also provided parameters for use of reflectorized beads on pavement markings (such as street lines).
- IMSA Journal - March/April 2010
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One of the first traffic-actuated signals detected a car’s presence via sound.
True - Charles Adler, Jr. developed and installed a sound activated, traffic-actuated traffic signal. Drivers stopped their cars in front of microphones mounted to poles at intersections and honked. The microphone registered the sonic vibration of the honk and changed the light, permitting the driver to safely cross the intersection. The first horn-actuated light was installed in Baltimore, MD. The more common traffic-actuated detector that senses vehicular presence based on pressure was also developed around the same time and proved more successful.
- ITE Journal - Sept 2010
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Texas & Utah are the only US states with a night-time speed limit.
False - Texas is the only state with a broadly applicable night-time speed limit that reduces speed limits an average of 5-10 MPH 30 minutes after sunset to 30 minutes before sunrise. While there are other states that impose night-time speed limits, they are regional or specific to the type of vehicles, for instance Wisconsin has a night-time speed limit snow mobiles. Night-time speed limit signs are generally the inverse of regular speed limit signs; the sign face is black and the speed limit is white, facilitating visibility at night. For more information on speed limits by state, visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
- ITE Journal - August 2010
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Every year traffic congestion costs Americans 40 hours of their time and three weeks’ worth of gas, totaling approximately $750.
True - According to the Texas Transportation Institute’s (TTI’s) 2009 Urban Mobility Report, the overall cost of traffic congestion in the United States reached $87.2 billion in 2007 based on the following breakdown of wasted fuel and lost productivity:
- Wasted fuel exceeded 2.8 billion gallons (or three weeks’ worth of gas for every traveler)
- Wasted time totaled 4.2 billion hours – or nearly on full work week per driver
- ITE Journal - July 2010
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Less than five percent of traffic signals in the country’s 108 largest metropolitan areas are controlled by adaptive signal control.
True - Despite the astounding benefits derived from adaptive signal control, few regions (only three percent of the largest metropolitan areas) have deployed adaptive technology largely due to cost. In addition to the price of adaptive control software, there are hardware costs including the addition of field detection units, communication infrastructure upgrades, and controller upgrades. Then of course there is personnel training and ongoing maintenance. McCain’s QuicTrac adaptive control system has been designed to combat the barrier of cost, providing a reasonably priced alternative that requires no special hardware and runs off a modest number of field detector units. Learn more about McCain’s QuicTrac adaptive solution.
- ITE Journal - June 2010
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Traffic calming can reduce collisions by up to 70 percent.
True - Traffic calming is the technique of designing roadways and utilizing traffic control systems, such as speed bumps or roundabouts, to slow but not impede traffic flow. Due to the staggering number of preventable pedestrians deaths in the last decade – the equivalent of a jumbo jet going down roughly every month – additional safety features are being incorporated to protect pedestrians, such as signals that provide pedestrians with additional time when crossing intersections, and barriers or medians separating them from oncoming traffic. Based on the number and type of traffic calming measures implemented, collisions have been reduced by 20 to 70 percent.
- Parking Today - Sept 2010
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New York is the third most expensive city in the world to park.
False - According to a Global Comparison by Colliers International in the, “10th Annual North America Parking Rate Survey,” New York is the 10th most expensive city in the world, based on monthly unreserved parking rates. According to the study, London took the top two spots, making the city of London the most expensive city in the world to park and London's West End the second. Rounding out the rest of the top 10, Hong Kong is the third, followed by Tokyo, then Rome, Zurich, Sydney, Perth, then Brussels, and New York rounds out the list of the top 10.
- Parking Today - July 2010
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Toyota’s self-parking cars utilize the same ultrasonic technology as modern parking guidance systems like McCain’s.
True - In Japan, 2003, Toyota Motor Corporation deployed the very first self-parking technology that utilized ultrasonic sensing to detect the distance and placement of nearby objects to automatically parallel park its Prius. In 2006, Toyota introduced this technology to the United States market through its Lexus division. McCain utilizes similar ultrasonic technology to gather and employ data that accurately determines and communicates a structures available parking. Learn more about McCain’s Parking Guidance System.
- Parking Today - May 2010
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The average automobile is parked 95 percent of the time.
True - According to urban economist Donald Shoup, the average car spends 95 percent of its time parked.
- Parking Today - April 2010
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The Santa Monica Civic Center parking structure was the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified car park in the world.
False - Though the Santa Monica Civic Center parking structure, designed by Moore Ruble Yudell and IPD was the first LEED certified car park in the United States, it was not the first one to obtain this certification internationally.