I only have three minutes so I'm going to have to talk fast, and it will use up your spare mental cycles, so multitasking may be hard. So, 27 years ago I got a traffic ticket that got me thinking. I've had some time to think it over. And energy efficiency is more than just about the vehicle -- it's also about the road.
Am doar trei minute deci voi vorbi repede, ceea ce va folosi ciclurile voastre mentale - multitasking-ul ar putea fi dificil. Deci, acum 27 de ani am primit o amenda de circulatie care m-a pus pe ganduri. Am avut ceva timp sa analizez situatia. Si eficienta energetica este mai mult decat doar despre vehicule. Este si despre sosea.
Road design makes a difference, particularly intersections, of which there are two types: signalized and unsignalized, which means stop signs. Fifty percent of crashes happen at intersections. Roundabouts are much better. A study of 24 intersections has found crashes drop 40 percent from when you convert a traffic light into a roundabout. Injury crashes have dropped 76 percent, fatal crashes down 90 percent. But that's just safety. What about time and gas? So, traffic keeps flowing, so that means less braking, which means less accelerating, less gas and less pollution, less time wasted, and that partly accounts for Europe's better efficiency than we have in the United States.
Design-ul soselei face diferenta, in special intersectiile, care sunt de doua tipuri: dirijate sau nedirijate, ceea ce inseamna semne de oprire. 50% din accidente se intampla in intersectii. Sensurile giratorii sunt mult mai bune. Un studiu asupra 24 de intersectii a dovedit ca accidentele scad cu 40% cand transformi un semafor intr-un sens giratoriu. Accidentele soldate cu victime scad cu 76%. Accidentele fatale, cu 90%. Dar asta e doar siguranta. Cum ramane cu timpul si combustibilul? Deci, traficul e fluent, ceea ce inseamna mai putina franare, inseamna mai putina accelerare, mai putin combustibil si mai putina poluare, mai putin timp pierdut, si asta explica in parte eficienta mai ridicata din Europa decat cea din Statele Unite.
So, unsignalized intersections, meaning stop signs, they save many lives, but there's an excessive proliferation of them. Small roundabouts are starting to appear. This is one in my neighborhood. And they are much better -- better than traffic lights, better than four-way stop signs. They're expensive to install, but they are more expensive not to. So, we should look at that.
Deci, intersectiile nedirijate, cu semne de oprire, salveaza multe vieti, dar s-au inmultit excesiv. Sensuri giratorii mici incep sa apara. Acesta e unul din cartierul meu. Si sunt mai bune decat semafoarele, mai bune decat semne de stop. Sunt scumpe de instalat, dar e mai scump sa nu le instalezi. Deci, ar trebui sa ne gandim la asta.
But they are not applicable in all situations. So, take, for example, the three-way intersection. So, it's logical that you'd have one there, on the minor road entering the major. But the other two are somewhat questionable. So, here's one. There's another one which I studied. Cars rarely appear on that third road.
Dar nu sunt aplicabile in toate situatiile. Deci, luati, de exemplu, intersectia cu 3 brate. Deci, e logic sa ai unul acolo, pe strada secundara care intra in cea principala. Dar celelalte doua sunt discutabile. Deci, aici e una. Asta e o alta pe care am studiat-o. Masinile rareori apar pe aceasta a treia strada.
And so, the question is, what does that cost us? That intersection I looked at had about 3,000 cars per day in each direction, and so that's two ounces of gas to accelerate out of. That's five cents each, and times 3,000 cars per day, that's $51,000 per year. That's just the gasoline cost. There is also pollution, wear on the car, and time. What's that time worth? Well, at 10 seconds per 3,000 cars, that's 8.3 hours per day. The average wage in the U.S. is $20 an hour. That is 60,000 per year. Add that together with the gas, and it's $112,000 per year, just for that sign in each direction.
Si, intrebarea e, cat ne costa asta? Aceasta intersectie la care m-am uitat, avea aproximativ 3.000 de masini in fiecare zi in fiecare directie, deci asta inseamna 0,059 L de combustibili ca sa accelerezi sa treci de ea. Ceea ce inseamna 5 centi fiecare si inmultit cu 3.000 de masini pe zi, e 51.000$ pe an. Si acesta e doar costul benzinei. Dar exista si poluare, uzura masinii si timpul. Care e valoarea acelui timp? Ei bine, la 10 secunde/masina pentru 3.000 de masini, inseamna 8,3 ore pe zi. In medie, venitul pe ora in SUA e de 20$. Ceea ce inseamna 60.000$ pe an. Adaugand asta la combusibili, da 112.000$ pe an doar pentru acel semn in fiecare sens.
Discount that back to the present, at five percent: over two million dollars for a stop sign, in each direction. Now, if you look at what that adjacent property is worth, you could actually buy the property, cut down the shrubbery to improve the sight line, and then sell it off again. And you'd still come out ahead. So, it makes one wonder, "Why is it there?" I mean, why is there that stop sign in each direction? Because it is saving lives. So, is there a better way to accomplish that goal?
Aducand asta in prezent, la 5%: peste doua milioane de dolari pentru un semn de stop, in fiecare directie. Acum, daca te uiti la cat valoreaza proprietatea adiacenta, ai putea, de fapt, sa o cumperi, sa tai boschetii pentru a imbunatati vizibilitatea, si sa o vinzi din nou. Si tot ai avea beneficii. Deci, te face sa te intrebi, "De ce e acolo?" Adica, de ce e acel semn de stop acolo pentru fiecare directie? Pentru ca salveaza vieti. Exista cumva un mod mai bun de a atinge acest obiectiv?
The answer is to enable cars to come in from that side road safely. Because there are a lot of people who might live up there and if they're waiting forever a long queue could form because the cars aren't slowing down on the main road. Can that be accomplished with existing signs? So, there is a long history of stop signs and yield signs. Stop signs were invented in 1915, yield signs in 1950. But that's all we got.
Raspunsul e sa le ofere masinilor posiblitatea sa vina de pe acea strada laterala in siguranta. Deoarece exista o multime de oameni care ar putea trai acolo si daca asteapta mult, s-ar putea forma o coada lunga pentru ca masinile nu incetinesc pe strada principala. Poate fi asta obtinuta cu semnele actuale? Deci, exista o istorie lunga a semnelor de stop si cedeaza trecerea. Semnele de stop au fost inventate in 1915. Semnele de cedeaza trecerea in 1950. Dar asta-i tot ce avem.
So, why not use a yield sign? Well the meaning of yield is: You must yield the right-of-way. That means that if there are five cars waiting, you have to wait till they all go, then you go. It lacks the notion of alternating, or taking turns, and it's always on the minor road, allowing the major one to have primacy. So, it's hard to create a new meaning for the existing sign. You couldn't suddenly tell everyone, "OK, remember what you used to do at yield signs? Now do something different." That would not work.
Deci, de ce sa nu folosim un semn de cedeaza trecerea? Ei bine, cedeaza trecerea inseamna: trebuie sa cedezi dreptul la trecere. Ceea ce inseamna ca daca exista cinci masini care asteapta, trebuie sa astepti pana pleaca toate, ca sa treci si tu. Ii lipseste notiunea de alternare, sau trecere pe rand. Si mereu strada secundara da prioritate de trecere strazii principale. Deci, e greu sa creezi un nou sens pentru semnele existente. Ai putea brusc sa le spui tuturor "Okay, va amintiti ce faceati la semnele de cedeaza trecerea? Acum faceti altceva." Asta nu ar functiona.
So, what the world needs now is a new type of sign. (Applause) So, you'd have a little instruction below it, you know, for those who didn't see the public service announcements. And it merges the stop sign and yield signs. It's kind of shaped like a T, as in taking turns. And uncertainty results in caution. When people come to an unfamiliar situation they don't know how to deal with they slow down.
Deci, de ceea ce lumea are nevoie acum e un nou tip de semn. (Aplauze) Deci, ai avea o mica instructiune dedesubt, stii, pentru cei care nu vad anunturile serviciilor publice. Si combina semnele de stop si cedeaza trecerea. Are, cumva, forma literei T, care vine de la a trece pe rand. Si nesiguranta va duce la precautie. Cand oamenii ajung intr-o situatie nefamiliara, cu care nu stiu cum sa se descurce, incetinesc.
So, now that you are all "Road Scholars" ... (Laughter) don't wait for that sign to be adopted, these things don't change quickly. But you all are members of communities, and you can exercise your community influence to create more sensible traffic flows. And you can have more impact on the environment just getting your neighborhood to change these things than by changing your vehicle. Thank you very much. (Applause)
Deci, acum ca sunteti toti "Savanti de Sosea" (Rasete) nu asteptati ca acel semn sa fie adoptat, aceste lucruri nu se schimba repede. Dar sunteti membri ai comunitatilor, si va puteti exercita influenta in comunitate sa creati un trafic mai fluent. Si puteti avea mai mult impact asupra mediului doar prin determinarea cartierul vostru sa schimbe aceste lucruri, decat prin schimbarea autovehiculului personal. Va multumesc foarte mult. (Aplauze)