COLOURFUL ROAD ART MIGHT DECREASE TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS BY 50%
Have you ever wondered what colour and art really could do for humankind. Well, turns out colourful art such as murals are not only beautiful to look at, but can also make our cities and towns safer.
Bloomberg Philanthropies and Sam Schwartz Consulting studied the affect of murals, which are painted on the asphalt of streets and crosswalks, on the safety of the roads. According to the study, is was found that colourful illustrations and additions to the asphalt decreased traffic accidents involving pedestrians or cyclists by 50%.
The team conducted the study with 17 asphalt art sites nationwide. These art sites have been adorned for more than two years. The team analysed the accident rates since the art works were installed. And the results were amazing. According the data, crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists decreased with 50%, and crashes leading to injuries were reduced by 37%.
Video footage analysis at five sites confirmed why the artwork may have a safety effect. Drivers yielded to pedestrians in crosswalks at a 27% higher rate and dangerous pedestrian interactions with cars dropped by 25%.
Calling it “activating the streets”, Bloomberg's Asphalt Art Initiative is dedicated to promoting the safety benefits of decorative asphalt. Thus far the initiative has funded 42 public artworks, which focuses on roadways, pedestrian spaces, and vertical infrastructure, in the U.S and Europe.
According to Bloomberg's findings, bright colours and patterns is a way of making drivers more alert and clearly decreases the chance for accidents. This world can definitely use a bit of joy and colour, especially to lighten up someone day on bad day to and from work or home.