Rentals: Bikes, Scooters, and New People Sharing the Road
Back in 2018, there was something of an electric scooter craze hitting cities across the U.S. Following companies like Uber and Lyft, as well as bike-sharing installations, several small start-ups poured a ton of money into an attempt at getting electric scooters and rental bikes to be a viable alternative to other transportation. You mostly saw this in major cities, places like San Francisco, New York, and Seattle, where there’s a huge combination of foot traffic and vehicular traffic. Of course…
continue readingInner City Public Transport Safety
Most major cities around the world have some kind of public transportation system in place. Including trains, subways, light rails, and busses, these modes of transport also come with a variety of different safety considerations. Those considerations are frequently associated with distinct road signals, separate lanes, and a variety of other alerts. While many of these signals are fairly explicit, not everything is obvious, even for people that have been driving in cities that feature inner city…
continue readingTaking Human Error Out of Traffic with Technology
When you think of a technology-filled future and what that would mean for the world of traffic, you may think of near instant traffic speeds, robots taking you to your determined destination, and of course, the science fiction favorite of flying cars. But, would you think about the impact of these traffic technologies on safety? All of these technologies are fantastic, but our priority in designing a future should be increasing safety on the roads. Traffic safety technologies can do an incredible…
continue readingHow a Pandemic Relates to Traffic Conditions
The recent coronavirus outbreak, declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization, has had dramatic impacts on every aspect of daily life. In the time of a pandemic, we can all see the changes around us. In this most recent situation, it is visible in everything from the empty business buildings to the complete lack of traffic on the streets. Pandemics create new worlds with drastically different circumstances, and that does not exclude the state of traffic conditions. Without living…
continue readingHow Traffic Congestion Impacts Road Safety
Sitting in traffic isn’t anyone’s favorite way to spend time. Most of us just think of the irritation and the hit to our schedule when we think of traffic congestion. However, there are some hard costs associated with traffic problems, as well. Economic impact: It is estimated that sitting in traffic cost Americans $87 billion in 2019. That’s about $1,348 per driver per year. In the areas with the worst traffic congestion, it can also amount to up to 164 hours of time per driver per year spent…
continue readingThe Dangers of Unmarked Crosswalks
In the United States, traffic laws vary widely between states and even between municipalities within the same state. While everyone is familiar with the striped lines of a marked crosswalk, many people, drivers and pedestrians alike, aren’t aware that some places are considered unmarked crosswalks. For the most part, unmarked crosswalks are located at intersections where there aren’t painted lines, but where a crossing would be a logical extension of a sidewalk. In these unmarked crosswalks, drivers…
continue readingEmergency Backups for Traffic Signals
Since the first traffic signal was introduced in 1868, drivers and pedestrians have been relying on signals to effectively manage traffic flow. With millions of cars on the road, traffic signals have become an essential part of traffic management. But what happens during a mechanical problem or power failure? Non-functioning traffic lights can result in myriad of problems, such as vehicle and pedestrian accidents, traffic gridlock, and blocked roadways that can impede emergency vehicles. Many…
continue readingHow Smart Technology Can Make Traffic Interactions Safer
Smart technology is all around us. Every day, more smart products are making their way into homes and businesses. Smartphones with voice-activated commands and assistants powered by artificial intelligence are now the norm. Many homes are adding doorbell systems that include cameras and the ability to see who’s at the door via your smartphone. There are self-driving cars and thermostats that automatically adjust the temperature and hundreds of other products that seek to make our lives easier by…
continue readingSolar Panel Rack Styles
Below are photos of different designs of solar panel mounting racks. Most of the time the style used is customer preference or project specifications. Aesthetics, performance, wind rating requirements, or local conditions (tree height, building shading, etc) dictates a particular rack style. When quoting a project, please let us know if you have a specific type you’d prefer. Specification sheets are available upon request. TOP-OF-POLE: two styles This mounting rack is like a roof…
continue readingRoad Safety Statistics for the New Year
Every day, more than 143 million American drivers hit the roads, with millions more cyclists and pedestrians sharing the same space. Perhaps inevitably, given the sheer number of road users, not everyone makes it home safely. Every year in the US, road traffic accidents claim more than 30,000 lives, while millions more suffer debilitating injuries, and unfortunately, that number is rising. In 2014, there were 32,675 fatal car accidents in the United States. By 2018, that number had risen…
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