December 5, 2004
Regina S. McElroy
Director, Office of Transportation Operations
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
400 Seventh St. S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590
Ms. McElroy:
This letter is in response to yours dated October 27, 2004 to Mr. Vaughn T. Munshower (and copied to me), president of Las Vegas Camera Works LLC in which you asked for a detailed evaluation plan from the Nye County Board of Commissioners. While the board itself has not drafted and approved this evaluation plan, the town of Beatty, host for Experimentation Request Number 2-496 is in my district and my comments follow. The board of county commissioners previously approved a resolution supporting this pilot project in the town of Beatty.
1. Simply stated, the nature of the problem as I understand it is the blockage of the primary stop sign at two and four-way residential intersections. Nationally, the incidence of accidents, injuries and deaths at intersections raises the question "What can be done to improve the drivers' navigation when the view of the primary sign is blocked?" Subjective reporting of blocked signs as a catalyst for accidents are shielded from data collection as they are circumstantial and included in dialogues, not as they are described by local police or sheriff's deputies (please refer to the MUTCD website for a lengthy discourse on obscured signs). Of special interest is the ASSHTO geometric design material regarding the new millennium, the past and again, especially, traffic calming considerations-all of which Drivers Alert has taken into consideration.
Drivers Alert is a system of intersection signs addressing two-way I four-way stop sign accidents in residential areas only. It has been designed to benefit drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. Since 1932 no changes or true additions have been made to intersection signage. Despite the innumerable changes made to vehicles (from sports cars to SUVs, school buses to delivery trucks) and the visual blocks caused by overgrown trees or foliage, the residential intersection is no longer the passive approach to one's own neighborhood. Those intersections have evolved into thriving centers of thousands of hurried passages.
Drivers Alert plans to test their signs in Beatty, Nevada. Beatty is an example of the Residential Rural town setting and as I understand was selected because of its simplicity and size (population 1200). This action was approved unanimously by the Beatty Town Advisory Board and the Nye County Board of Commissioners. Only in such a town can an entire community be studied with regard to uniformity both before and during testing. Every intersection element found in other American towns (i.e. church, school, business, state highway) can be found in Beatty. I understand that all 30 intersections will be tested concurrently.
2. Drivers Alert is not a replacement sign, but takes advantage of the unused back of the current "oncoming traffic stop sign space" to enhance the knowledge of the intersections' topographical nature by following MUTCD guidelines on sign design.
3. Drivers Alert is designed only for two and four-way intersections, The "T" and "Y" intersections are not applicable and will not be tested.
4. The Drivers Alert testing plan (subject to pre-installation data gathering) will begin within 90 days of US DOT / FHWA approval. It is expected that the entire population of the town of Beatty will be contacted directly either in person, by telephone, direct mail, town meeting, and/or storefront 800 number FAQ advertisements. Objective testing on street placement of the signs will begin immediately after the first quarterly report to Nye County and the DOT. Thirty specific site locations conform to number three above. Plans call for a minimum of two years of testing.
5. Again, Drivers Alert is not a replacement sign and in no way detracts from the recognition and identification of any other street sign. To measure its effectiveness, a series of subjective psychological interviews are planned to create a data base of driver response, acceptance, clarity, and effectiveness in addressing the identified problem. These interviews will be under the supervision of a social psychologist (PhD) in cooperation with civic and public engineers, as well as the cooperation of sheriffs and fire department personnel. Drivers Alert personnel are solely responsible for coordinating and conducting these interviews.
6. Based on my conversations with them, within 90 days of any occurrence that warrants ending the test Drivers Alert, in accordance with federal guidelines and local directives, will remove the Drivers Alert signs and restore the sites to their original MUTCD-compliant condition.
7. Again, based on my conversations with them, Drivers Alert is in full agreement that any time a determination is made that there are safety concerns that can be attributed directly or indirectly to the experiment, the experiment will be terminated immediately and the signs removed.
8. Drivers alert has agreed to provide quarterly progress reports to the Nye County Board of Commissioners for the duration of the experiment and will produce a final report covering their findings and recommendations. As is required, they will provide semi-annual progress reports to the USDOT / FHA and a final report to them covering their findings and recommendations. I hope the information I have provided will address your concerns. Please contact me at 775-482-9466 if you have additional questions. I appreciate the opportunity to advocate on behalf of this innovative idea.
Yours truly,
Joni Eastley
Nye County Commissioner District II