Can anyone explain in detail what does term "TRAFFIC BLACKSPOT" mean?

Question

I know it's probably refers to somewhere where many accidents happen. But is that a place that is to be avoided or just be careful? This may sound funny but is that where anyone can expect to die? What do you do if you see in your route planner somewhere "TRAFFIC BLACKSPOT" ?

Answer 1

Based on local knowledge of sites where accidents occur most frequently. It is preferable, however, to identify blackspots in an objective way using accident records.

Answer 2

There are two answers.

1)... a place where there have been 3 accidents or more within a year - might be just chance, or it might be a dangerous bit of road, so watch out.

2)... a place where they will never, ever, put a speed camera. I have a gadget in the car which warns of both cameras and black spots. I can think of only one place where the two coincide. Funny, isn't it, how the cameras seem to be in places where it's safe to speed, never at the danger points?

Answer 3

I believe some us here are confusing 'Accident black spot' with 'Traffic black spot'.

Traffic black spot is where you can expect a lot of congestion. Maybe at certain times during the day. For example, the junction of the M5 and M6.  Or sometimes the whole of the M25. Or is just where i happen to be on it????? Anyone who has travelled into London along the M40/A40 at rush hour in the morning will know what i mean.

An accident black spot is a place where there have been a lot of accidents in the past. It could be an open stretch of road where cars tend to 'put their foot down', just before they suddenly encounter a curve in the road. It may be a junction which suddenly appears if you weren't paying attention. In my town of Bromsgrove, planners put in a little roundabout at the junction of a side road with no warning in the local newspaper and no 'New Road Layout' sign to warn drivers. There have been numerous accidents ever since. It surprises drivers who seem to panic, skid, and then hit something. A local councillor went to have a look after many complaints and witnessed a car crash while they were there.

Answer 4

An accident blackspot is a term used in road safety management to denote a place where accidents are concentrated. It may occur for a variety of reasons, such as a sharp drop or corner in a straight road, so oncoming traffic is concealed, a hidden junction on a fast road, poor or concealed warning signs at a cross-roads, and so on.

For some decades treatment of accident blackspots (e.g. by signage, speed restrictions, improving sightlines or straightening bends) was a mainstay of road safety policy, but current thinking has it that these interventions do no long-term good. Effects such as regression to the mean, risk compensation and accident migration combine to reduce the overall benefit. In some cases it has been claimed that the end result is an increase in overall casualties.

In one notable experiment, a number of accident blackspots were "treated" with a null treatment - placement of a garden gnome, according to some reports. Accident rates at these points were found to have decreased significantly in the following period, a finding which is taken as clear evidence supporting the theory of regression to the mean.

Answer 5

are you serious?

expect to die.........?????