The signage keeping roads safe
Last year, Gautur Ivar Halldórsson, founder of GI Halldórsson, completed a quirky project involving road signage to improve the safety of Iceland’s roads.
Friday, 22 Feb 2019 15:17 GMT
Signage plays an important role in the safety of our roads
The firm was called in by Icelandic environmental commissioner, Ralf Trylla, who headed the project in the Icelandic fishing town of, Ísafjörður.
Having worked in the road sign industry for five years, Halldórsson invested in a paint maker to expand his trade in 2012. Following this, the firm was successful in a tender application for a campsite in Tungudal and now operates its road sign services across the country.
Using the art of optical illusion, the firm painted a large 3D zebra crossing in the town. The 3D element was designed to catch the attention of drivers who will in turn reduce speed, improving the safety of the wide roads.
The optical illusion, which took a few weeks to complete, appears to pedestrians viewing from above as long white columns, but from side-on to approaching drivers, the crossing appears to be floating in the air.
The role signage plays in keeping our roads safe is not limited to crossings such as these”
This is not the first time an installation such as this has been completed, with India pioneering the movement. Amid concerns of the crossing causing more of a distraction than a help, Saumya Pandya Thakkar, the co-designer of the first project of its kind in India defends the idea.
In a Facebook post reported by the BBC, Thakkar says: “It does not lead to sudden braking risks, as on the actual spot it is just mild slanting strips with micro 3D effects, mainly considering safety of the drivers.”
The role signage plays in keeping our roads safe is not limited to crossings such as these, as over in the UK, Highways England is trialling new technology that will hopefully change the way drivers and their cars communicate with the road; in a bid to make roads safer and allow for more reliable journeys.
While a team of staff currently work around the clock to update drivers with traffic updates and warn of potential delays via digital signage along the motorways, the new development could see notifications pop up on the screens within passing cars, to ensure no important information is missed.
What direction will signage on the roads head in next? Email carys@linkpublishing.co.uk, or head over to Twitter to have your say.
