It's like having a safety net, it induces drivers to take greater risks since the consequences aren't at their expense.
I remember when they tried this i guess it worked but they bottled it and painted the lines anyway.
The government is starting to remove
white lines from the middle of roads in parts of the UK. It is doing so to reduce accidents and save lives. The idea is apparently revolutionary.
Research has shown that removing white lines induces uncertainty and thus cuts vehicle speeds by 13%. This has been the case on London’s A22, A23 and A100. Pilot schemes are also in place in Wiltshire, Derby, and round the Queen’s house at Sandringham (don’t ask).
Behind this demarking lies the concept of “shared space” and “naked streets”, developed in the 1990s by the late Dutch engineer,
Hans Monderman. He held that traffic was safest when road users were “self-policing” and streets were cleared of controlling clutter. His innovations, now adopted in some 400 towns across Europe, have led to dramatic falls in accidents. Yet for some reason Monderman’s ideas remain starkly uninfluential in the world of “big” health and safety, especially in Britain.
Monderman’s principle is that freedom to assess risk for ourselves is what makes us safer. Rules, controls, signs, traffic lights all reduce our awareness of our surroundings and thus our sense of danger.
On roads, he said: “When you don’t exactly know who has right of way, you tend to seek eye contact with other road users. You automatically reduce your speed … and take greater care.”
Full article -
The removal of road markings is to be celebrated. We are safer without them | Simon Jenkins
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