Let Anarchy Rule the Roads
Monday, 17th September, 2007
- Richard Farmer
In the Dutch town of Drachten, population 45,000, they have scrapped more than half their traffic signs and only two out of an original 18 traffic light crossings are left with the rest converted to roundabouts. Cars travel over red natural stone and drivers communicate by hand signs, nods and waving.
Cyclists dutifully raise their arm when they want to make a turn. According to traffic planner Koop Kerkstra, traffic is regulated by only two rules in Drachten: "Yield to the right" and "Get in someone's way and you'll be towed."
You will find details of this intriguing experiment in traffic control on the Der Spiegel website with the surprising news that the system of controlled chaos has seen the number of accidents decline dramatically.
The success of the experiment has encouraged the German town of Bohmte to take things a stage further. The town is abolishing all its road signs and traffic regulations.
The work to remove the road signs began on Wednesday in the town of 13,500 inhabitants. Sidewalks will disappear, as will the asphalt, replaced by cobblestones. Cycle lanes and sidewalks will be distinguished from the road only by color. The town is putting up half of the project's €2.35-million costs itself, with the EU and other sources of funding supplying the other half.
The idea is based on the European Union-supported "Shared Space" concept of traffic management developed by the Dutch traffic expert Hans Monderman. According to the concept, road users have to negotiate their behavior with each other, rather than have it prescribed by rules -- the idea being that people will pay more attention to what other road users are doing and hence cause fewer accidents.
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