2. Road safety

Every year several thousand people are killed on the roads in Great Britain. These people are injured in road accidents; mainly they are knocker down at the junctions. Accidents are often caused by carelessness in respect to the road signs. Mind, that the road safety mainly depends on obeying the traffic rules.

3. If the driver is tired

The French engineer Jan Guebelen has invented a new device for drivers. The “signalizer” registers the physical state of the driver tiredness, nervousness and use of strong drinks. The device in the form of a bracelet worn on the hand is connected to the intensifier mounted on the control board of the cars; its signals put in action the servoengine which controls feeding of fuel to the carburetor, thus reducing the speed or bringing the car to a full stop.

If the driver is tired a bell is sounded to make him stop the car. In case he does not do it the car will stop by itself. It will not start until the driver has rested. If the driver is drunk, the bracelet will not “allow” him to start the car. A very useful device, especially, if we take into consideration the number of accidents on the roads caused by drivers being tired or drunk.

11. Расскажите о своей специальности (automobile engineering).

III. 2. Traffic regulation

1. Прочитайте и выучите.

vehiculartraffic– движение транспорта

pedestriantraffic– пешеходное движение

pavementmarkings– разметка на покрытии (дорог)

trafficmarkers– дорожные указатели

sign– знак

arterialroute– магистральная дорога

one-waystreet– улица с односторонним движением

assign– назначать, поручать

trafficvolume– интенсивность движения

hourlypattern– часовой расчет интенсивности движения

ordinance– постановление

right-of-way– полоса отвода дороги

off-centrelane– центральная разделительная полоса

Составьте 3 предложения с новыми словами.

2. Прочитайте и переведите текст. Traffic regulation

Traffic engineering deals with the direction and control of vehicular and pedestrian traffic on existing highways and streets. Thus it is concerned with the planning, design, and operation of all devices that aid the flow of traffic. Among these are pavement markings, traffic markers, signs, and traffic signals. Traffic engineering also deals with means for improving the efficiency of the existing system by the designation of arterial routes and one-way streets, and by controlling the use of these and other facilities. The integration of street and highway lighting into the over-all highway plan generally is considered a traffic engineering responsibility too. Interwoven into all the functions is accident reduction; and traffic engineers usually are assigned the responsibility for accident records and statistics. Parking likewise falls within the province of the traffic engineer because of the impact that parking problems have on street and highway operation.

The scope of aspects the traffic engineer deals with: traffic characteristics, traffic regulations, traffic-control devices, and environmental improvements. Traffic characteristics include such aspects as: physical factors, traffic volume, volume counting, speed characteristics, traffic stream flows, accidents, vehicular limitations and human characteristics.

As for traffic volume, the traffic engineer must be acquainted with some volume characteristics: hourly pattern, day-of-week variation, classification of vehicles, trends in volumes and the methods of volume counting. Traffic regulations cover traffic laws and ordinances, various types of traffic controls: speed control and curb-parking control. Traffic-control devices consist of traffic signs, markings, signals, islands and street and highway lighting.

Traffic regulations contribute to safety and decrease accidents. A most favourable effect on efficiency and the incidence of traffic accidents is dual highway. A dual highway separates opposite-direction traffic by a median divider. The separation of opposite-direction traffic by a median reduces the possibility of head-on collisions and sideswipe accidents. The width of the dual highway is varied for reasons of topography. Of necessity, the dual highway has not less than four traffic lanes. This number is efficient for traffic safety, because the driver has only one car alongside to watch.

Although the traffic engineer is concerned primarily with the traffic regulation and control, he must take into account the roadway elements, because sometimes, traffic-engineering functions are expanded to deal with problems in geometric design and highway planning.