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News From 91.3 KUWS
Experimental safety sign to go up on Highway 53
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Story posted Monday at 11:08 a.m. 5/17/2009 |
Wisconsin is installing traffic safety equipment in Minong to stop rural car crashes. Joe Cadotte reports from Superior.
498 out of 655 fatal car crashes happened in rural Wisconsin in 2007. Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Engineer Greg Helgeson says a lot of people are getting killed when they attempt to drive cross a highway. Helgeson says a first of its kind sign will let drivers know when to cross.
“When you pull up at Minong what will come up is basically a divided highway symbol. When there is approaching traffic on Highway 53 there will be some little warning symbols that come up on that divided highway sign. First there will be a yellow symbol that will come up indicating that there is a vehicle that is approaching. As that vehicle gets in a point when it’s in a critical location an actual red ‘Do not cross’ or ‘Do not make a left turn’ symbol will come up with a circle around it.”
Engineers and psychologists at the University of Minnesota developed the new traffic sign. University of Minnesota Intelligent Vehicles Lab Director Craig Shankwitz says the idea is make highways safer without having to use street lights that back up traffic.
“Minnesota Department of Transportation realized that they had crash problems at rural expressway intersections that existing technology wouldn’t solve. They turned to us to do the technology. The Intelligent Vehicles Lab basically figured out where the vehicles are at, how fast they’re traveling, and the gaps between them. We’ve taken a portable system throughout the country to look at driver behavior and how drivers reject unsafe gaps.”
Shankwitz and Helgeson say if the equipment in Minong reduces car crashes they expect to see similar equipment installed across the country. Helgeson expects the equipment at the intersection of Highway 53 and 77 to be turned on by December.
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