Gary Lauder's new traffic sign: Take Turns

Traducător: Anca Haraga Corector: Brandusa Gheorghe

I only have three minutes

Am doar trei minute

so I'm going to have to talk fast, and it will

deci voi vorbi repede, ceea ce va

use up your spare mental cycles, so multitasking may be hard.

folosi ciclurile voastre mentale - multitasking-ul ar putea fi dificil.

So, 27 years ago I got a traffic ticket

Deci, acum 27 de ani am primit o amenda de circulatie

that got me thinking.

care m-a pus pe ganduri.

I've had some time to think it over.

Am avut ceva timp sa analizez situatia.

And energy efficiency is more than just

Si eficienta energetica este mai mult decat doar

about the vehicle --

despre vehicule.

it's also about the road.

Este si despre sosea.

Road design makes a difference, particularly intersections,

Design-ul soselei face diferenta, in special intersectiile,

of which there are two types: signalized

care sunt de doua tipuri: dirijate

and unsignalized, which means stop signs.

sau nedirijate, ceea ce inseamna semne de oprire.

Fifty percent of crashes happen at intersections.

50% din accidente se intampla in intersectii.

Roundabouts are much better.

Sensurile giratorii sunt mult mai bune.

A study of 24 intersections

Un studiu asupra 24 de intersectii

has found crashes drop 40 percent

a dovedit ca accidentele scad cu 40%

from when you convert a traffic light into a roundabout.

cand transformi un semafor intr-un sens giratoriu.

Injury crashes have dropped 76 percent,

Accidentele soldate cu victime scad cu 76%.

fatal crashes down 90 percent.

Accidentele fatale, cu 90%.

But that's just safety.

Dar asta e doar siguranta.

What about time and gas?

Cum ramane cu timpul si combustibilul?

So, traffic keeps flowing, so that means less braking,

Deci, traficul e fluent, ceea ce inseamna mai putina franare,

which means less accelerating, less gas and less pollution,

inseamna mai putina accelerare, mai putin combustibil si mai putina poluare,

less time wasted,

mai putin timp pierdut,

and that partly accounts for Europe's better efficiency

si asta explica in parte eficienta mai ridicata din Europa

than we have in the United States.

decat cea din Statele Unite.

So, unsignalized intersections,

Deci, intersectiile nedirijate,

meaning stop signs, they save many lives,

cu semne de oprire, salveaza multe vieti,

but there's an excessive proliferation of them.

dar s-au inmultit excesiv.

Small roundabouts are starting to appear.

Sensuri giratorii mici incep sa apara.

This is one in my neighborhood. And they are

Acesta e unul din cartierul meu. Si sunt

much better -- better than traffic lights, better than four-way stop signs.

mai bune decat semafoarele, mai bune decat semne de stop.

They're expensive to install,

Sunt scumpe de instalat,

but they are more expensive not to. So, we should look at that.

dar e mai scump sa nu le instalezi. Deci, ar trebui sa ne gandim la asta.

But they are not applicable in all situations.

Dar nu sunt aplicabile in toate situatiile.

So, take, for example, the three-way intersection.

Deci, luati, de exemplu, intersectia cu 3 brate.

So, it's logical that you'd have one there,

Deci, e logic sa ai unul acolo,

on the minor road entering the major.

pe strada secundara care intra in cea principala.

But the other two are somewhat questionable.

Dar celelalte doua sunt discutabile.

So, here's one. There's another one which I studied.

Deci, aici e una. Asta e o alta pe care am studiat-o.

Cars rarely appear on that third road.

Masinile rareori apar pe aceasta a treia strada.

And so, the question is, what does that cost us?

Si, intrebarea e, cat ne costa asta?

That intersection I looked at had about 3,000

Aceasta intersectie la care m-am uitat, avea aproximativ 3.000

cars per day in each direction,

de masini in fiecare zi in fiecare directie,

and so that's two ounces of gas to accelerate out of.

deci asta inseamna 0,059 L de combustibili ca sa accelerezi sa treci de ea.

That's five cents each, and times 3,000 cars per day,

Ceea ce inseamna 5 centi fiecare si inmultit cu 3.000 de masini pe zi,

that's $51,000 per year.

e 51.000$ pe an.

That's just the gasoline cost. There is also pollution,

Si acesta e doar costul benzinei. Dar exista si poluare,

wear on the car, and time.

uzura masinii si timpul.

What's that time worth?

Care e valoarea acelui timp?

Well, at 10 seconds per 3,000 cars,

Ei bine, la 10 secunde/masina pentru 3.000 de masini,

that's 8.3 hours per day. The average wage in the U.S.

inseamna 8,3 ore pe zi. In medie, venitul pe ora in SUA

is $20 an hour. That is 60,000 per year.

e de 20$. Ceea ce inseamna 60.000$ pe an.

Add that together with the gas, and it's $112,000 per year,

Adaugand asta la combusibili, da 112.000$ pe an

just for that sign in each direction.

doar pentru acel semn in fiecare sens.

Discount that back to the present, at five percent:

Aducand asta in prezent, la 5%:

over two million dollars

peste doua milioane de dolari

for a stop sign, in each direction.

pentru un semn de stop, in fiecare directie.

Now, if you look at what that adjacent property is worth,

Acum, daca te uiti la cat valoreaza proprietatea adiacenta,

you could actually buy the property,

ai putea, de fapt, sa o cumperi,

cut down the shrubbery to improve the sight line,

sa tai boschetii pentru a imbunatati vizibilitatea,

and then sell it off again.

si sa o vinzi din nou.

And you'd still come out ahead.

Si tot ai avea beneficii.

So, it makes one wonder, "Why is it there?"

Deci, te face sa te intrebi, "De ce e acolo?"

I mean, why is there that stop sign in each direction?

Adica, de ce e acel semn de stop acolo pentru fiecare directie?

Because it is saving lives. So, is there a better way to accomplish that goal?

Pentru ca salveaza vieti. Exista cumva un mod mai bun de a atinge acest obiectiv?

The answer is to enable cars

Raspunsul e sa le ofere masinilor posiblitatea

to come in from that side road safely.

sa vina de pe acea strada laterala in siguranta.

Because there are a lot of people who might live up there

Deoarece exista o multime de oameni care ar putea trai acolo

and if they're waiting forever a long queue could form

si daca asteapta mult, s-ar putea forma o coada lunga

because the cars aren't slowing down on the main road.

pentru ca masinile nu incetinesc pe strada principala.

Can that be accomplished with existing signs?

Poate fi asta obtinuta cu semnele actuale?

So, there is a long history of stop signs and yield signs.

Deci, exista o istorie lunga a semnelor de stop si cedeaza trecerea.

Stop signs were invented in 1915,

Semnele de stop au fost inventate in 1915.

yield signs in 1950. But that's all we got.

Semnele de cedeaza trecerea in 1950. Dar asta-i tot ce avem.

So, why not use a yield sign?

Deci, de ce sa nu folosim un semn de cedeaza trecerea?

Well the meaning of yield is: You must yield the right-of-way.

Ei bine, cedeaza trecerea inseamna: trebuie sa cedezi dreptul la trecere.

That means that if there are five cars waiting, you have to wait

Ceea ce inseamna ca daca exista cinci masini care asteapta, trebuie sa astepti

till they all go, then you go. It lacks the notion

pana pleaca toate, ca sa treci si tu. Ii lipseste notiunea

of alternating, or taking turns,

de alternare, sau trecere pe rand.

and it's always on the minor road,

Si mereu strada secundara

allowing the major one to have primacy.

da prioritate de trecere strazii principale.

So, it's hard to create a new meaning for the existing sign.

Deci, e greu sa creezi un nou sens pentru semnele existente.

You couldn't suddenly tell everyone, "OK, remember

Ai putea brusc sa le spui tuturor "Okay, va amintiti

what you used to do at yield signs? Now do something different."

ce faceati la semnele de cedeaza trecerea? Acum faceti altceva."

That would not work.

Asta nu ar functiona.

So, what the world needs now

Deci, de ceea ce lumea are nevoie acum

is a new type of sign.

e un nou tip de semn.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)

So, you'd have a little instruction below it,

Deci, ai avea o mica instructiune dedesubt,

you know, for those who didn't see the public service announcements.

stii, pentru cei care nu vad anunturile serviciilor publice.

And it merges the stop sign and yield signs.

Si combina semnele de stop si cedeaza trecerea.

It's kind of shaped like a T, as in taking turns.

Are, cumva, forma literei T, care vine de la a trece pe rand.

And uncertainty results in caution.

Si nesiguranta va duce la precautie.

When people come to an unfamiliar situation they don't know how to deal with

Cand oamenii ajung intr-o situatie nefamiliara, cu care nu stiu cum sa se descurce,

they slow down.

incetinesc.

So, now that you are all "Road Scholars" ...

Deci, acum ca sunteti toti "Savanti de Sosea"

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

don't wait for that sign to be adopted, these things don't change quickly.

nu asteptati ca acel semn sa fie adoptat, aceste lucruri nu se schimba repede.

But you all are members of communities,

Dar sunteti membri ai comunitatilor,

and you can exercise your community influence

si va puteti exercita influenta in comunitate

to create more sensible traffic flows.

sa creati un trafic mai fluent.

And you can have more impact on the environment

Si puteti avea mai mult impact asupra mediului

just getting your neighborhood to change these things

doar prin determinarea cartierul vostru sa schimbe aceste lucruri,

than by changing your vehicle. Thank you very much.

decat prin schimbarea autovehiculului personal. Va multumesc foarte mult.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)