Velvet wrote:

By removing all signage and lines, I'm sure there would be a lot of
drivers who would feel too confused and intimidated to drive ever
again. This could be good, but consider that those who stick it out
and succeed in driving successfully in that sort of environment will
be those who already have a tendancy to intimidate other drivers
into giving way to them, letting them pass, and taking any other
sort of action to avoid an accident that would otherwise result.

I wonder why, then, when this has been tried, the result has been a
reduction in speeds and a substantial reduction in crashes?

I'd hazard a guess that it's because of unfamiliarity. How long was
it left in place for, and to what extent were signs and markings
removed?

Unfamiliarity and the fact that greater concentration is necessary. Nor is
that a new thing - JS Dean commented on in in 1946! The signs and markings
were expunged pretty much completely, as I recall; certainly centrelines and
give way markings, and in some cases they've tried removing traffic lights
as well.

Years ago a set of lights was demolishedby a truck in St Albans (King Harry
if anyone knows it). The lead time on a new controller was months, so the
council sent a man with a pot of paint and they made it a double mini
roundabout. Traffic flow improved immediately, and the lights were never
reinstated.

--
Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk