Bollard(s)???? An idea that I hope never crosses the pond...

[BERIGAN]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZdLjKl0lHc...feature=related

[Christiern]

Well, if accompanied by a Bollard Awareness campaign....

Then, too, an enterprising entrepreneur might come up with a clip-on BollardGard™

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

What's wrong with it, Berigan?

BTW - first video looks like Regent Street, London. BIG traffic problems in London.

MG

[kinuta]

Great, I'm envious.

We could do with some in my neighbourhood to stop idiot drivers endangering us footies and bikeys

Edited February 20, 2008 by kinuta

[BERIGAN]

What's wrong with it, Berigan?

BTW - first video looks like Regent Street, London. BIG traffic problems in London.

MG

MG, granted, I am just seeing these short clips, and can't see what if anything the drivers see to tell them about these car killers. Do people from smaller towns know about these??? Someone lost could turn down the wrong street, someone that was talking to the passenger...who knows??? What I do know is if you look at the first clip again, that guy hit his head on the windshield! I mean, stupid to not have his seatbelt on, but still.

The other clip shows a car that got airborn. People clearly get hurt, was that the intention of these devices??? Or was it to increase business auto repair shops? And I imagine the traffic becomes a lot worse after a car gets impaled at a light. Hows a towtruck get there??? Just seems quite 1984 to me.

One time I am glad we have so many trial lawyers in the U.S. Cities would lose millions if they tried them here....

Edited February 20, 2008 by BERIGAN

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

What's wrong with it, Berigan?

BTW - first video looks like Regent Street, London. BIG traffic problems in London.

MG

MG, granted, I am just seeing these short clips, and can't see what if anything the drivers see to tell them about these car killers. Do people from smaller towns know about these??? Someone lost could turn down the wrong street, someone that was talking to the passenger...who knows??? What I do know is if you look at the first clip again, that guy hit his head on the windshield! I mean, stupid to not have his seatbelt on, but still.

The other clip shows a car that got airborn. People clearly get hurt, was that the intention of these devices??? Or was it to increase business auto repair shops? And I imagine the traffic becomes a lot worse after a car gets impaled at a light. Hows a towtruck get there??? Just seems quite 1984 to me.

One time I am glad we have so many trial lawyers in the U.S. Cities would lose millions if they tried them here....

Right, thanks Berigan. I suspect you're seeing these clips wrong. Two or three of those cars that got caught were trying to slide through tailing a bus tightly. They knew what they were doing. Would the US justice system have sympathy with people who got hurt trying to break the law? (And indeed, breaking the law, by not wearing seat belts?)

MG

[BERIGAN]

What's wrong with it, Berigan?

BTW - first video looks like Regent Street, London. BIG traffic problems in London.

MG

MG, granted, I am just seeing these short clips, and can't see what if anything the drivers see to tell them about these car killers. Do people from smaller towns know about these??? Someone lost could turn down the wrong street, someone that was talking to the passenger...who knows??? What I do know is if you look at the first clip again, that guy hit his head on the windshield! I mean, stupid to not have his seatbelt on, but still.

The other clip shows a car that got airborn. People clearly get hurt, was that the intention of these devices??? Or was it to increase business auto repair shops? And I imagine the traffic becomes a lot worse after a car gets impaled at a light. Hows a towtruck get there??? Just seems quite 1984 to me.

One time I am glad we have so many trial lawyers in the U.S. Cities would lose millions if they tried them here....

Right, thanks Berigan. I suspect you're seeing these clips wrong. Two or three of those cars that got caught were trying to slide through tailing a bus tightly. They knew what they were doing. Would the US justice system have sympathy with people who got hurt trying to break the law? (And indeed, breaking the law, by not wearing seat belts?)

MG

Well, perhaps, but that first lady looks awfully confused...perhaps that is the way she always looks. But, how commonplace are these things? Are they on 10% off all side streets in London??? 80%??? Are they only in London??? One delivery truck was caught on it as well....What happens if a bus had to stop midway out because the police were speeding across the intersecting street???

In L.A. I recall seeing buses on special roads that clearly no one else would get on, just one lane, one way.....they get on and off these roads at lights...more room there though...

[Guest Bill Barton]

I'm hoping that we stick with collards and skip the bollards on this side of the pond.

[ejp626]

But, how commonplace are these things? Are they on 10% off all side streets in London??? 80%??? Are they only in London??? One delivery truck was caught on it as well....What happens if a bus had to stop midway out because the police were speeding across the intersecting street???

In L.A. I recall seeing buses on special roads that clearly no one else would get on, just one lane, one way.....they get on and off these roads at lights...more room there though...

Generally, these are around the edges of central city neighbourhoods where they have restricted car movement, so that is why buses, police vehicles and most taxis have transponders to allow them to go through the bollards. Typically, they are placed midblock, not at an intersection, so it would be very unlikely to get stuck on one, and I believe they wouldn't rise so long as a valid transponder was in the area, though I could be wrong about that.

Cambridge had them in three or four spots, I recall. I suspect Oxford has them, but am not sure. Every few weeks I would see someone pull up too close to the bollards and then it would be a bit of a mess, getting the bus behind them backed up so that they could turn around. But yes, in these clips it is clear the people are trying to slide through behind the bus, thus the English have no sympathy for these cheaters.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

What's wrong with it, Berigan?

BTW - first video looks like Regent Street, London. BIG traffic problems in London.

MG

MG, granted, I am just seeing these short clips, and can't see what if anything the drivers see to tell them about these car killers. Do people from smaller towns know about these??? Someone lost could turn down the wrong street, someone that was talking to the passenger...who knows??? What I do know is if you look at the first clip again, that guy hit his head on the windshield! I mean, stupid to not have his seatbelt on, but still.

The other clip shows a car that got airborn. People clearly get hurt, was that the intention of these devices??? Or was it to increase business auto repair shops? And I imagine the traffic becomes a lot worse after a car gets impaled at a light. Hows a towtruck get there??? Just seems quite 1984 to me.

One time I am glad we have so many trial lawyers in the U.S. Cities would lose millions if they tried them here....

Right, thanks Berigan. I suspect you're seeing these clips wrong. Two or three of those cars that got caught were trying to slide through tailing a bus tightly. They knew what they were doing. Would the US justice system have sympathy with people who got hurt trying to break the law? (And indeed, breaking the law, by not wearing seat belts?)

MG

Well, perhaps, but that first lady looks awfully confused...perhaps that is the way she always looks. But, how commonplace are these things? Are they on 10% off all side streets in London??? 80%??? Are they only in London??? One delivery truck was caught on it as well....What happens if a bus had to stop midway out because the police were speeding across the intersecting street???

In L.A. I recall seeing buses on special roads that clearly no one else would get on, just one lane, one way.....they get on and off these roads at lights...more room there though...

Yes, we have bus lanes, but they're not separate from the rest of the road, so anyone can use them, since there's no barrier to prevent it. These bollards are an attempt to keep other traffic out of the bus lanes, which are supposed to be used only by buses and taxis or other forms of public transport. We don't have bollards in my area and it is virtually impossible to keep the lanes for the exclusive use of public transport vehicles. So the value of those lanes is generally not very much in terms of helping to make public transport a more attractive option.

MG

[JohnS]

Loved the clips, thanks for posting

There's one just a few yards from my home to keep cars out of a buses only road. It's either stuck down which isn't too bad but when it's stuck in the up position it's a bus traveller's nightmare. I can report that it's working well today.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

See? There are HUGE cultural differences between the English and Americans.

MG

[ejp626]

See? There are HUGE cultural differences between the English and Americans.

MG

I will tell you that I absolutely hate roundabouts, which are common in the UK and Europe. They have some advantages over signalized intersections but only where traffic is relatively light and balanced. I lived in a place where the flows were imbalanced and you could get stuck forever waiting to get in and across. I think in general they don't work well when there is very aggressive driving, another reason they would not work well here (though I do think aggressive driving is increasing in the UK, based on experience). Finally, as a pedestrian and cycling advocate, I think they are inferior and more dangerous than signalized intersections.

[JSngry]

Never mind the bollards, where's the sex videos?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Never mind the bollards, where's the sex videos?

MG

[A Lark Ascending]

Do you have 'Sleeping Policemen' in the US?

Used here to calm traffic in built up areas, especially where an estate lies between two major roads and its side-rods become short-cuts.

[Christiern]

Yes, we have sleeping policemen here (both kinds), and we also have nature's own--they call them potholes.

[A Lark Ascending]

Yes, we have sleeping policemen here (both kinds), and we also have nature's own--they call them potholes.

We export all our potholes to the Republic of Ireland.

I once lost three hubcaps on a two week holiday there!

[Randy Twizzle]

Bollards are already here. In one NJ town it's a major issue. This appeared today in the Bergen Record of Hackensack