http://geocities.com/midimagic@sbcglobal.net/lagtrpqz.htm

The flashing yellow arrow provides a needed display which is unavailable without it. This is a display that allows the left turn to continue to be permissively made through gaps in incoming traffic while the straight-ahead light for the same approach is red.

With the flashing yellow arrow, a cure for lag trap is possible. This cure does not rely on changing the order the signal displays its green lights in to an order that prevents progression of green lights along the length of a street.

What they advocate is reducing the sense of ownership that traditional road design tends to extend to cars. By removing the traditional components of how a road is built a driver feels less “at home” on the road.

This really means people drive with more caution and awareness, which tends to mean they drive slower.

It’s an interesting idea but it has limited applications. Perhaps in dense downtowns this could work. But you still need highways and critical arterials.

I might be concerned about the lifespan of this approach. It relies too much on being different than what exists, as opposed to standing on it’s own merits.

Once a driver gets used to the new road, over time, will they begin to speed up and use less caution? Will comfort return the sense of driver ownership that this new approach attempts to quell? Only time will tell.

(I do like “Abusability” as well…classic)