Town in Iceland Paints 3D Zebra Crosswalk To Slow Down Speeding Cars
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Since 2008 the deaths of pedestrians in traffic have increased 41 percent, with more than 6.000 fatalities per year. Though there are many causes for that, unlit and unsafe road crossings and reckless drivers might make the bigger part of it, and many countries have different ways of dealing that, but Iceland probably has the most creative solution for road safety.
In the small fishing town of Ísafjörður, Iceland, an exciting development in pedestrian crossing safety has just popped up – almost literally. A new kind of speed bumps has been painted that appears to be 3D by way of a cleverly-detailed optical illusion.
Not only does the innovative design give foot-travelers the feeling of walking on air, but the 3D painting also gets the attention of drivers, who will be sure to slow down their speed once they spot the seemingly floating ‘zebra stripes.’ Icelandic environmental commissioner Ralf Trylla called for its placement in Ísafjörður after seeing a similar project being carried out in New Delhi, India. With the help of street painting company Vegmálun GÍH, his vision of pedestrian crossing signs became a reality.
Scroll down to see photos of the fascinating installment taken by Ágúst G. Atlason of Gústi Productions, and let us know if you’d like to see one of these crosswalks in your own city.
More info: Gústi Productions, Vegmálun GÍH (Icelandic)
Image credits: Gústi Productions
Image credits: Gústi Productions
Image credits: Gústi Productions
Image credits: Vegamálun GÍH
Image credits: Linda Björk Pétursdóttir
Image credits: Vegamálun GÍH
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I'm always a bit sceptic about this kind of thing.. saw a lot of examples of e.g. a child painted on the streets. I always fear that it could cause a driver to very quickly hit the brakes and cause an accident.. Also the effect kind of wears off for people who drive in those streets often.. I wonder if speed bumps aren't more effective.
They aren't. People that are new in my town never see the speed bump zebra. Which is fortunate, because they pass right in front of misfortunate pedestrians and then... Ooops, their cars jump slightly into the air, almost giving them a heart attack. What I'm trying to say is that they always get what they deserve for being careless while driving in a completely unfamiliar, I repeat, completely unfamiliar area.
Absolutely... I would probably totally freak out if I came across this thing with my car!!
It seems to work just fine in real life.
Yes Iris, you are absolutely right. To me these 3D lines looks dangerous as well. Anyone can freak out easily, also once they cross it once or twice they will get used to it and pay no attention. I would instead suggest more strict traffic rules and big fines.
Los Angeles did stop cars blocking intersections on red lights years ago. The first violation was $150.00, the second violation was $300.00, and the 3rd and each succeeding violation was $450.00. It took about a month and we hardly saw a blocked intersection. doubling fines in construction sites has also slowed down traffic. The problem is that you have to increase police presence and create a "big brother is watching" state of mind.
I know in this example the kids aren't painted, but I've seen other versions of this where they did paint children on the street with the same intention as the zebra stripes here
Speed bumps definitely don't work. I've seen people fly over those, even the really huge one, even when it causes them to bottom out and break something under their car. it's crazy. But this makes me nervous. It would work maybe, but anyone who drives there often would stop slowing down anyway. And if someone makes a sudden stop, causing someone behind them to crash into them., well that just seems unfair for the person who crashes.. that can cause permanent damage to the person.
people like you are why front loaders exist
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The kids aren't painted on the street- just the zebra stripes.
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So, like in "Death Race 2000": don't brake and get more points!
That SUV that came through at the end of the video, it didnt seem to phase him.
The video speeds up when the SUV goes through, you can tell because the people walking and riding bicycles also speed up.
Maybe because he was a DC current driver?
Faze.
If that kid had been a couple of feet to his left, he wouldn't have had a chance.
um this looks like a good excuse to cause an accident
It should, because it can also save someone's life which is much more valuable than a bumper. If several dozen cars get rear ended by inattentive drivers, and someone's life is saved who would've otherwise been run over by one of those inattentive drivers, than that's a good thing. A driver slowing down before a crosswalk can never cause an "accident" because an "accident" means nobody was at fault. Inattentive driving is dangerous, and deadly. It's far safer for cars to crash into other cars then it is for them to crash into people.
You obviously do not understand the laws of momentum nor have ever experienced whip lash caused by a rear end collision. PC 'thinking' without the thought element!
That's not very fair for the people behind who bump into them, is it.
is it safer for a car to swerve to avoid the blocks and fly into a building? probably not.
This comment has been deleted.
When a driver freaks out by the illusion and swerves into pedestrians on the side walk...? Yeah, not so smart.
Apparently, it doesn't.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I resigned my office-job and now I am getting paid £64 hourly. How? I work over internet! My old work was making me miserable, so I was forced to try something different, two years after...I can say my life is changed-completely for the better! Check it out what i do.... http://cutt.us/ZIG2M
I'm always a bit sceptic about this kind of thing.. saw a lot of examples of e.g. a child painted on the streets. I always fear that it could cause a driver to very quickly hit the brakes and cause an accident.. Also the effect kind of wears off for people who drive in those streets often.. I wonder if speed bumps aren't more effective.
They aren't. People that are new in my town never see the speed bump zebra. Which is fortunate, because they pass right in front of misfortunate pedestrians and then... Ooops, their cars jump slightly into the air, almost giving them a heart attack. What I'm trying to say is that they always get what they deserve for being careless while driving in a completely unfamiliar, I repeat, completely unfamiliar area.
Absolutely... I would probably totally freak out if I came across this thing with my car!!
It seems to work just fine in real life.
Yes Iris, you are absolutely right. To me these 3D lines looks dangerous as well. Anyone can freak out easily, also once they cross it once or twice they will get used to it and pay no attention. I would instead suggest more strict traffic rules and big fines.
Los Angeles did stop cars blocking intersections on red lights years ago. The first violation was $150.00, the second violation was $300.00, and the 3rd and each succeeding violation was $450.00. It took about a month and we hardly saw a blocked intersection. doubling fines in construction sites has also slowed down traffic. The problem is that you have to increase police presence and create a "big brother is watching" state of mind.
I know in this example the kids aren't painted, but I've seen other versions of this where they did paint children on the street with the same intention as the zebra stripes here
Speed bumps definitely don't work. I've seen people fly over those, even the really huge one, even when it causes them to bottom out and break something under their car. it's crazy. But this makes me nervous. It would work maybe, but anyone who drives there often would stop slowing down anyway. And if someone makes a sudden stop, causing someone behind them to crash into them., well that just seems unfair for the person who crashes.. that can cause permanent damage to the person.
people like you are why front loaders exist
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
The kids aren't painted on the street- just the zebra stripes.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
So, like in "Death Race 2000": don't brake and get more points!
That SUV that came through at the end of the video, it didnt seem to phase him.
The video speeds up when the SUV goes through, you can tell because the people walking and riding bicycles also speed up.
Maybe because he was a DC current driver?
Faze.
If that kid had been a couple of feet to his left, he wouldn't have had a chance.
um this looks like a good excuse to cause an accident
It should, because it can also save someone's life which is much more valuable than a bumper. If several dozen cars get rear ended by inattentive drivers, and someone's life is saved who would've otherwise been run over by one of those inattentive drivers, than that's a good thing. A driver slowing down before a crosswalk can never cause an "accident" because an "accident" means nobody was at fault. Inattentive driving is dangerous, and deadly. It's far safer for cars to crash into other cars then it is for them to crash into people.
You obviously do not understand the laws of momentum nor have ever experienced whip lash caused by a rear end collision. PC 'thinking' without the thought element!
That's not very fair for the people behind who bump into them, is it.
is it safer for a car to swerve to avoid the blocks and fly into a building? probably not.
This comment has been deleted.
When a driver freaks out by the illusion and swerves into pedestrians on the side walk...? Yeah, not so smart.
Apparently, it doesn't.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I resigned my office-job and now I am getting paid £64 hourly. How? I work over internet! My old work was making me miserable, so I was forced to try something different, two years after...I can say my life is changed-completely for the better! Check it out what i do.... http://cutt.us/ZIG2M