Traffic Experts Rank Driver Feedback Signs as the Fastest and Longest-Lasting Way to Slow Speeding Traffic

2 min. read
February 20, 2006

National Survey Of Traffic Engineers, Police Officers, and Safety Professionals Finds “Your Speed” Signs To Be Particularly Effective On Residential Streets And Around School Yards

PORTLAND, Oregon – Survey results released today by Information Display Company found that traffic engineers rank driver feedback signs as the fastest way to reduce speeding on residential streets and around schoolyards and playgrounds. The survey, sent out to over one hundred traffic engineers, police officers and safety professionals from around the country also found that driver feedback signs are perceived to have a more immediate and long-lasting effect on slowing traffic compared to other traffic calming methods, including police with radar guns, speed bumps, rumble strips, and static speed signs.

Of the traffic experts that responded to the survey, more than 96.7 percent said that they strongly agree (66.7%) or agree (30%) that driver feedback signs are effective in reducing traffic speeds on residential streets. This is compared to 3.3 percent that strongly agrees and 33.3 percent that agree speed bumps are effective.

Driver feedback signs were also ranked number one in terms of their immediate and long-lasting impact on calming traffic followed in ranking order by police with radar guns, speed bumps, static speed limit signs and rumble strips. 90 percent of respondents said driver feedback signs had an immediate impact on slowing traffic.

“This survey confirmed many of our suspicions but also presented some surprises,” said Gary Odell, president of Information Display Company. “The majority of experts surveyed said that they thought driver feedback signs are particularly effective in neighborhoods and around playgrounds and schoolyards – and studies verify this as well. Surprisingly, however, we found that many of the respondents perceive driver feedback signs to be more expensive than they actually are in comparison to other traffic calming solutions.”

The majority of respondents ranked driver feedback signs as more expensive than rumble strips and speed bumps when in actuality they are all about equal in cost. At the same time, most respondents believe “ease of installation” and “portability” to be a major advantage of driver feedback signs over speed bumps. A significant number of respondents also ranked “don’t impede emergency vehicles” as another advantage of driver feedback signs.

“As the survey suggests, emergency vehicle operators often oppose the use of speed bumps on residential streets,” said Odell. “We are finding that a growing number of traffic professionals are choosing driver feedback signs over speed bumps in order to alleviate these objections.”

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