Ray LaHood, the United States secretary of transportation, said that the government was letting go of regulations forcing states to put up newer road signs that have brighter coloring and text, increasing visibility. LaHood commented in January 2012 that many towns and cities may have budget issues, and the traffic signs they already have are probably adequate.
This news was good news indeed for state governments and their officials all across the nation who have long contended that such rules make it very costly for them. However, safety professionals take the opposite view. They are concerned that the lack of regulations will make signs harder to see, especially in the dark, and this could lead to more accidents and deaths on the highways of America.
The road towards improving traffic signs was started back in the early 90s. A bill in 1993 required the department of transportation to have more stringent retroreflective standards everywhere. This refers to the capability of a sign to reflect light, letting it been seen when lights hit it. Most items diffuse light, instead of reflecting it. Signs with a high amount of this quality can be seen sooner, often preventing accidents.
The ability to see signs is a big issue, especially in darkness, when is which half of all accidents happen. People can no longer use reference points like buildings to judge distances. People driving at night are often more tired as well. When you combine these factors, the time frame between evening and dawn is responsible for proportionally far more accidents, considering only 25% of all driving happens during these hours.
Unfortunately, the issue is not expected to improve. More and more elderly drivers will be hitting the road soon. People over the age of 65 need four times the amount of light to view the same road sign someone in their 20s does. As a person gets older, their reaction times slow significantly as well. By the start of the next decade, one-fifth of all drivers will be over 65. In 2025, that number could be as high as 25%. These calculations demonstrate that there should more cautions in place, considering all the risks associated with driving at night.
Previous laws had rules ensuring road signs show the same color and shape at day and night. States would have also been forced to make sure all signs meet a retroreflective standard. All these regulations would have to have been done by 2018. Now that these rules are removed, 46 federally mandated controls are no longer in place.
LaHood defends his position by saying a deadline to replace street signs is going to cost most communities money in their budgets they simply do not have. LaHood spoke with dozens of local and government officials across the country to see their views. Victor Mendez, who works in the Federal Highway Administration, agrees with LaHood. He thinks local governments are the best suited to determine when they need to replace or update signs. It is good they did not reach such conclusions blindly, but they also did not think of the important safety issues that truly matter in the long run.
A few states have already begun to reconfigure and update their signs so that they are more retroreflective. In Pennsylvania, over 90% of their signs meet new retroreflective standards.
The majority of states are lacking in their efforts to improve their signs. It may sometimes seem better for the federal government to stay out of things, but without federal interference to ensure it gets done, a lack of sign quality could mean a more dangerous ride at night for all of us.
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