Traffic Signals, Dilemma Zones, and Red-Light Cameras
By Henry Petroski
After almost a century of study, engineers are still debating the best ways to help drivers move as safely and efficiently as possible.
This Article From Issue
May-June 2016
Volume 104, Number 3
Page 150
DOI: 10.1511/2016.120.150
Traffic congestion did not begin with the automobile. Just before the turn of the 20th century, when horses and wagons alone filled the streets of cities, gridlock was already common in large urban centers. Policemen assigned to traffic duty at an intersection were ill prepared to singlehandedly deal with the growing volume of horse-drawn vehicles wishing to pass through it. And untangling a logjam of carriages when the opera let out was a Herculean task.
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