Probably not a single city in the world, not a single street, can be imagined without road signs that help to maintain order and tranquility. Without road signs, the streets would turn into complete chaos: rushing cars, endless accidents and a host of other not very pleasant consequences. However, the authorities of one of the small European towns unexpectedly decided to conduct an experiment - they removed all the signs from the roads!
A risky experiment
The authorities of European cities deliberately remove traffic signs from the roads, the authorities of European cities forced a traffic collapse and an uncontrollable increase in accidents on highways. Not many decided to take a desperate step, they explained their step by the fact that they sought to increase attention to safety problems on the roads.
It is curious that towns with very moderate traffic were the first to sound the accident alarm. Those where 10 accidents a year are already a disaster!
The city of Drachten from the Netherlands, the German town of Bomte and others are participating in such a program for the absence of road signs. The experiment was not met with approval by everyone, moreover, according to the harsh German laws, the head of the city was threatened with real imprisonment for “leaving the townspeople in danger”.
It is worth noting that such measures have an amazing effect on drivers, they become much more collected and more attentive while driving, the level of accidents has decreased significantly. A successful experiment even became the basis for a whole theory of emergency response.
Common space theory
The theory of common space, developed by Hans Monderman, is to remove all traffic lights and signs from the city, so that the driver can concentrate on the world around him. The developer Hans believes that the constant pressure on the driver in the form of metal signs surrounding him irritates and presses, as if to say: "Look where you are going." At the same time, the presence of regulatory signs does not allow a person to think, because all decisions are already written on the signs.
The first road signs were the notches of travelers on the bark of trees, later they were replaced by wooden statues, and only by the 13th century there were plates with indicating inscriptions.
The success of the experiment was noted by many cities, for example, in Drachten earlier there were about 8 accidents in a year, and after the innovations their number was zero. The same positive characteristic is recorded by the police in the city of Bomte: about 13,000 cars pass through the streets of this city every day, and in the past there was a serious accident at least once a week. But after the introduction of this experiment, the accident rate dropped to zero.
It is worth noting that up to 50 car accidents happened in Bomte in a year, but after the road signs were removed, all problems were resolved by themselves. There is only one street sign in the city, which informs about pedestrians and cyclists who must share the carriageway with motorists.
Thus, the successful experimental program of the European Union went off with a bang, the level of accidents decreased, and drivers feel somewhat comfortable and confident behind the wheel.
