Roundabouts versus traffic lights

I've been thinking about road safety since arriving in North America - driving on the other side of the street and looking the other way when crossing the road sharpens up the senses.
I've read in the press that one of the major causes of road deaths is drivers jumping red lights. This started me thinking - where are the roundabouts? Are roundabouts safer than traffic lights?
1. Scoot over to Drivers.com and check out this article and links to others.
2. They sharply reduce crashes, study finds.
Extract from an Insurance Institute of Highway Safety report:
"Roundabouts may be an unfamiliar type of intersection in the United States, but they’re becoming more familiar as evidence of their benefits grows. Improved traffic flow, aesthetics, and cost savings make roundabouts a good idea, and the safety gains are compelling. An Institute study shows far fewer crashes occur at intersections with roundabouts than at intersections with signals or stop signs. This is especially true of crashes resulting in occupant injuries. Researchers at Ryerson Polytechnic University [in Toronto], the Institute, and the University of Maine studied crashes and injuries at 24 intersections before and after construction of roundabouts.
The study found a 39 percent overall decrease in crashes and a 76 percent decrease in injury-producing crashes. Collisions involving fatal or incapacitating injuries fell as much as 90 percent."
In many instances it would appear that the roundabouts have it - lower approach speeds, always turning right, reduced accidents when drivers turn right on red, greatly reduced accidents overall. Why isn't this approach catching on? - well it is to an extent but couldn't it make a far more significant contribution to saving lives across North America and all the costs both human and financial that go with it.

Spyker

Another exotic car, which made it's racing debut at the recent Sebring 12 Hours and is destined for Le Mans in June, comes from the Netherlands.

The Downeaster

Passenger trains are now operating on the 115-mile line between Portland, Maine and Boston, Mass for the first time in 30 years. The website is here.
The success of SNCF in France on short-haul routes such as Paris-Brussels and to London via the channel tunnel has been augmented by the new high-speed train route to Marseilles. They are showing how to substitute short-haul flying as they now claim 60% of the Paris-Marseilles market.

The car is the star

I watched the Grand Am sportscars from the Fontana track in California on Sunday on the Speed Channel. With only two top class sportscars in a thin field the commentators were struggling for interest - but they told us nothing about the cars - the very thing that got me interested in racing in the first place. You can get better information from the organiser's website.
You would not have learned that for example the Crawford sportscar is built in North Carolina by a Kiwi; the Mosler comes from Florida and the Ultima from the UK. Lastly the Picchio which I'd never heard of comes from Italy.

Flying whales and fish

If you are into funky aircraft check out the Beluga and the older Guppy - reminds me of those old kids annuals where we'd marvel at giant earthmovers and supertankers.

Life in the old dog yet

For those of you think that the conventional car has come to the end of it's development life check out the Mayflower e3 engine here. And if you are looking for a new automatic transmission Andropov are still developing their intriguing autobox here.

Clean Snowmobile

evWorld brings news of Colorado State University Students designing a Snowmobile that cuts emissions 99%, also cuts fuel consumption 35 percent. These highly polluting two-stroke leisure vehicles can be tamed it seems without spoiling the fun.

Modern dinosaur

Whilst in Québec I read a newspaper article about car designer Paul Deutschman and the T-Rex three-wheeler made locally. Check out his website here.
Apparently he has worked with Reeves Callaway on the famed Callaway Corvettes - it reminded me that I met Callaway once in Zhuhai, China of all places where they were racing the Corvette on the old street circuit, before big money built the permanent track near Macau.

Québec City is oh so pretty

The Chateau Frontenac, the Edifice Price, Old Québec and the basse-ville down by the river. All these give Québec a distinctly European flavour. Couple this with great views of the St Lawrence river, good restaurants at reasonable prices and you have a pleasant place to pass a few days.
We visited the Musee de l'Amerique Francaise and also the tableau depicting the battles for the control of Quebec, highlighting the showdown on the Plains of Abraham between Wolfe and Montcalm.
For tall buildings in Quebec City check this out. We stayed at the Radisson and were able to use Web-TV to check our email - it was fun sending a message from the TV to a friend with a BlackBerry - how times change. I also noted that this blog was correctly formatted for Web-TV.

Were you ever in Québec

By VIA Rail to Québec City - we have been wondering how average resale house prices in Montréal contrive to be half those in Toronto ($251,508 vs $128,851 in 2001). Here they are even cheaper, with a small ads TV channel selling property at mouth watering prices.
The entry into Québec City is breathtaking, crossing the St Lawrence river at high level, turning sharp left along the gorge and looping round into the city and across the St Charles river before arriving at the Gare du Palais.
The station is a gem. Two plaques tell the story:
"The Gare du Palais was built by the Canadian Pacific Railway to the designs of architect Edward Prindle. Inaugurated in 1915, it was restored in 1985 by VIA Rail, with the greatest of respect for the historical building's "Chateau-style" architecture and decorative elements.
On the exterior of the building, above the arches are the arms of seven great names in the history of Québec: Montmagny, Tracy, Beauharnois, Montcalm, Wolfe, Frontenac and Talon. At the base of the turrets are cartouches bearing the French fleur-de-lys, the Tudor rose, the Scottish thistle and the Irish shamrock. Inside the ticket counter, staircases, lighting fixtures, clocks, benches and other elements have retained their original appearance. The Gare du Palais is owned by the City of Québec under a seventy year lease. In January 1993 it was declared a heritage railway station by the Department of Environment of Canada."
"Le 8 Novembre 1985 Québec a salué le retour des trains de voyageurs, absents de son center-ville depuis 1976 et la récouverture de la Gare du Palais."
Amusingly a stained-glass map of North America in the ceiling has been wrongly installed, appearing back to front to travellers but no doubt correct to those flying past in a helicopter.

Quel surprise

I was travelling on the 18:15 train from Montréal to Toronto on Saturday night at the end of my honeymoon in Montréal/Québec City when I and my wife were paged for an upgrade to first class.
A big thankyou to Elsie Lepp, Melanie, Robyn, Tanya, Ghislaine and the crew for making our day and a great end to our Québec tour.
Well done VIA Rail Canada for truly excellent customer service.

Night train to Montréal

From Toronto to Montréal on the overnight sleeper car leaving late Friday 8 March - up early next morning at seven o'clock riding in the observation car past Dorval airport and into the city in the restored 1950's carriage. Having read about this as a kid in National Geographic the real thing lived up to it's billing - what a way to travel.
Visit to the Ile Sainte-Hélène and the biosphere, the Buckminster Fuller spherical structure left over from Expo '67 - the former US pavilion is over two hundred feet high making it the largest round structure in the world. It now houses an environmental exhibition, with plenty of agitprop from Environment Canada. The irony of such a display on a largely man-made island is plainly lost on them.
For all that it is worth a visit - they do walk the talk as they provide discounted entry for those arriving on public transport - you can take the underground to the exhibition grounds (subway stop is Jean Drapeau, named for the Olympic mayor). The message I took away was why worry so much about greenhouse gas emissions when you are pumping so much crap into the St Lawrence river?
The highlight of the tour for us was that you get to play TV weatherman using the autocue to make your very own weather bulletin. We also learned of the wine tanker Odet which transports wine in bulk from France to North America 30,000 hectolitres at a time for the Societe des alcools du Quebec - SAQ for short - you see their liquor stores in Montréal and elsewhere.
Cross the bridge and you are on the Ile Notre Dame, a wholly man-made island. Here you find the parc Jean Drapeau, the Olympic rowing stadium and the Circuit Gilles villeneuve opened in 1978 - it was blowing an arctic gale when we were there but a visit to the Canadian Grand Prix seemed enticing in this exotic setting.
We also visited the biodome at the Stade Olympic - this has been converted from the velodrome, which was little used over the years according to a spokesman. Coming from Britain as I do we need lessons in what to do with old domes. I also thought of the recently opened Manchester velodrome - as one drome closes another opens?
Anyway they shut the zoo in Montréal and went for the environmentally friendly biodome which shows animals and birds in four semi-realistic settings. The tropical garden was welcome as it was freezing outdoors.
We took a commuter train to Montréal Deux Montagnes - the modern Bombardier overhead-electric trains making a pleasant contrast to the broken down conditions commuters are used to in the UK. Masses of free parking is provided at the stations encouraging the locals to use public transport to get downtown.