Town Gets Rid of Traffic Lights to Improve Traffic Safety

by Catherine Bodry on

I live in a tiny no-stoplight town on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The last time I was in Anchorage, Alaska (a town with hundreds of stoplights), I actually drove right through a red light, lost in my own oblivion. Now that I’m used to no stoplights, I find that driving in cities with them makes me crabby and impatient. I want to get where I’m going — and where I live now I don’t have to drive any more than 6 miles to do that.

The people in charge in Bohmte, Germany, think it might be a good idea to try the no-stoplight life as well. On September 12, all traffic controls disappeared from the center of the town, which sees about 13,500 cars a day. The idea was developed by Dutch traffic specialist Hans Monderman to try to reduce accidents and make life easier for pedestrians. Already, Monderman’s ideas have been implemented in the town of Drachten in the Netherlands, where all stop lights, traffic signs, pavements, and street markings have gone. Accidents in Drachten have been reduced significantly.

Half of the1.2 million euro cost of removing the lights in Bohmte will be covered by the European Union, which supports the endeavor.

[via Reuters]

Travel Help for Cheating Spouses

by Iva Skoch on

Leave it to the French to come up with a business idea that is both ingenious and risque: service which produces an alibi for those wanting to escape for the weekend with a mistress/lover and not get caught.

Need to manufacture a conference invitation? A business dinner/hotel receipt? Urgent business phone call prompting you to leave your children’s soccer game immediately? They got it.

The French company Abila, started by a 50-year-old ex-private detective and a mother of two, has no shortage of clients. About 60% of them are men, most in their mid-forties. It claims that this service actually saves families because adulterers spice up their lives without the bad consequences.

Las Vegas could probably use a branch.

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ViaMichelin.com: The Google Maps of Europe

by Neil Woodburn on

Renting a car in Europe and planning on using Google Maps to get around?

Think again.

Google Maps are rather worthless for driving directions in Europe. Although I’m sure this will change as Google slowly conquers the world, the current site to visit when trying to figure out how to get from Euro Point A to Euro Point B is ViaMichelin.com.

It’s a rather good marketing effort for a tire company to launch such a site, but it makes me wonder if they suggest slightly longer routes just to grind down those tires a little bit faster. Or perhaps they recommend minor detours along poorly maintained roads where blown tires are commonplace.

Nefarious marketing practices aside, ViaMichelin remains your best bet for driving directions in Europe.

Photo of the Day (09/17/07)

by Iva Skoch on

Since I just made it back from Crete, I figured I would stick with the theme and pick a photo of Crete for today. This one from Falasarna, by Roman Virdi, particularly struck me.

I loved the variety of these roadside shrines they have everywhere in Crete. They are small, a little bigger than a US-sized mailbox. Some of them look like they have been done professionally, others look built and hand-painted at home. It is their way to commemorate and mourn those who died in car accidents. Judging by how many of these shrines you see in Crete, it is certainly not the safest place to rent a car and explore…

London to Sydney: The Return of Overland Travel

by Brett Atkinson on

In this world of cheap(ish) airfares, the thrill and romance of overland travel has largely been replaced with the hassle of negotiating airport queues and potential immigration shakedowns straight from a lost episode of The Sopranos.

Of course not so long ago, the famous Hippie Trail from London to Asia was the trip du jour for any self-respecting traveller. Now a new company is promising to bring back the excitement of multiple border crossings on the long trek from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere.

Ozbus is a new overland travel company that covers the 10,000 miles from London to Sydney. The entire journey takes 12 weeks and covers 20 different and incredibly diverse countries including Finland, Iran, Laos and East Timor. I’m getting serious wanderlust just writing about it.

Trips run from London to Sydney and vice versa and cost around US$7500. You’ll be staying in a mix of tents and cheaper hostels and guesthouses. Twelve weeks with the same crew is a long time, so don’t blame us if you want a complete break from the human race once you land in England or Aussie.

Thanks to Ozbus for the pic.