SAFER HIGHWAYS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 57, Issue 254, 7 August 1937, Page 10

SAFER HIGHWAYS

AN AMERICAN FORECAST. V/- * DRIVER! THE BIG PROBLEM. The main highways of the futuro have been pictured by the chief officer of the United States Bureau of Public Roads, Mr T. 11. MacDonald, as broad, unobstructed surfaces over > which traffic can flow smoothly with 'safety and comfort, but the driver •would still remain the big problem in road safety. “The roads of the future trill havo traffic lanes wide enough for ample clearance. That means that at tho • speeds we now forsee we will want a 22-foot road for two-lane traffic. •Tt will have shoulders wide enough for stopping, with no deep side ditches. Its surface will be consistently smooth and non-skid. It will be so designed as to alignment, profile, and cross section that at no place will the traveller suddenly encounter the unexpected cr come into traffic so slow that if impatient he will be tempted to take a . chance. “Where the traffic is so heavy that two lanes will not carry it, there will be four-lane roads. But they will consist of two lanes on each side of a 'centre parkway; there will he no chance to meet opposing traffic ns there is in the present road with four contiguous lanes. Most engineers endorse the principle of separated-lane " roads wherever more than two lanes must be provided to carry the traffic. Footpaths and Lighting. “More highways will be lighted, no doubt, but the amount of lighting will depends on the funds made available for highways and on whether wo find that we can spend the money in any - other way that it is effective in preventing accidents. Greater dividends in lives saved per thousand dollars of expenditure would result from. construction of footpaths along heavily .. travelled routes and from separation of grades at intersections of main traffic arteries than from a general lighting programme. “However, lighting will have a place In the future programme. Old methods of lighting are inefficient and of doubtful value, but marked improvements are being made. We must experiment to produce a thoroughly efficient system of lighting. We must also .light experimental sections of highway and accumulate accident records as a guide in determining where the expense of lighting is justified. I think it .is clear that lighting for all roads is not possible now. Installation is not, expensive, but operation would cost more than all the-other items of highway maintenance put together. And, as it is, most highway departments do not have enough maintenance money ’to keep the highways in as good shape as they would like. . “The highway engineer’s part in 'promoting highway safety is to design highways that are safe for reasonably careful drivers; that is, highways as safe as they can he built with the funds available. They will be highways on which you can pass an overtaken vehicle Avith safety, highways that will not confront a driver with 'hazardous conditions . Avithout ample notice of warning. When this has been accomplished, tho liighAvay will occupy its proper place in supporting the safety triangle of the road, the vehicle, and the driver. But finally, safety will always rest with the .. driver.”