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From: TEDtalksDirector
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  • Comment removed

  • GREAT JOB!! You and those like you make youtube great.

  • i stumbled across this video and it made me laugh... interesting concept... and gary is a speedy talker... wow! still looking good and hasn't aged much from the ictv days. :)

  • congratulations, humans are quite used to taking turns and moving about and the expectation that they don't makes them bad at it :p

  • Smart, concise, convincing.

  • tell that to the police who gave me a ticket for doing a rolling stop at the STOP sign when there were no vehicles around.

  • Why not just put yield signs at the main road? This way they only need to stop on the rare occasion that a person is coming in from that 3rd road.

  • Does this really deserve to be a TED talk? Here, roundabouts (we call them "circles") have been around for generations and everyone knows they work well. I guess the point was to educate the rest of the country that they do work. Still...kind of elementary.

  • @thevintagelockett living on the west coast, i have yet to see one.

  • Interesting vid :). We are getting 3 roundabouts here in Yakima at a major intersection near an offramp, a first for Yakima.

  • If you hyper-mile this would be great. I practice the concept of hyper-mile driving. I try to time lights and use the least amount of braking and accelerating and I find the sweet spot of speed and engine RPMs for cruising. I drive a 1991 ford escort station wagon and I get about 40 mpg. and it's supposed to get 30 at best.

  • @dazedandsublime wtf. what a creep

  • I hate stop signs. They are the dumbest thing, but no one ever agrees with me. I'm originally from Switzerland, I would bet we have less than 1% the number of stop signs per intersection there than here in the US.

  • @marcbrands Most should be yield signs. We have a lot of low IQ people here, so they just restrict everyone's freedom.

  • Roundabouts have their problems too.

    Jerks tend to approach them at high speed - forcing everyone else to stop.

    Not everyone is altruistic. Those who arn't can & do take advantage of the situation to the detriment of everyone else.

  • Agreed!

  • As a traffic lawyer and driver, I have a unique perspective. Gary Lauder is spot on. It makes no sense to require vehicles to complete to complete stops (all 4 wheels not moving) at deserted or low traffic intersections. Motorists at such intersections should be able to slow down, make sure it is safe, and then roll on through. Motorists who run a stop sign in New York get 3 points and a hefty fine and surcharge. We should ease these restrictions.

  • good

  • good

  • good

  • this is stupid, easy solution would be to harness the technology from "back to the future" and have flying cars. what do u think of that mr scientist?

  • yes i agree we need a sign, for roads like that, which makes us stop only if there other vehicles at the intersection. maybe a yellow triangle with the base at the bottom.

  • So what if the average wage in that township is only around $10 and hour or less? Price of gas higher, but only 100 cars? Plus damage to the road caused in breaking?

    I do agree with the teaching people to share & take turns. We have somehow become a tribe of all about me without consideration to others.

    Plus how much money would be lost in city revenue for police handing out tickets for the ones who chose to run the stop sign? City's think money, not safety. Safe means lost money.

  • Now that's good thinking... shame the township and all the other ones that should... don't think like that... :)

  • i heard this dude raped his 3 year old granddaughter

  • Right before he got on stage...

  • @philkapune,

    What am i missing here? Is a police warning "worse" than the other conseque,..you listed? :)

  • The arguement over the control of robots instead of us driving hasnt happened in cars but has in airliners.

    Planes can takeoff fly to the destination and land themselves. Infact 60% of crashes are through human error... so in actual fact it wuold be safer not too have a pilot and just have an unmanned plane. Would you go on a plane knowing theres no pilot? No because in someway we are all control freaks we need to be in control...

  • it would feel weird a car driving around itself. I'm sure the technology is out there cars are a lot simpler system than a plane, the only reason companies have not done it is becuase its not commercialy acceptable. Who would buy a car that they cant drive?

  • "Take turn" already exists, no need to reinvent it! STOP ALL WAY/ 4 WAY

  • Doesn't taking turns makes crossings and bridges much slower when there's traffic?

    In europe, the small road gets the stop sign, and the drivers on it wait patiently for someone on the big road to leave them a space to insert. (You can always poke your nose out to scare the drivers on the big road in to stopping if you're in a hurry.)

    If you can't see the big road, then simply install a mirror.

    It's not necessarily FAIR that way, but it's a lot more efficient on average than what he's proposing.

  • @MysticCobra04 idiot

  • 30 years ago gas mileage was... lets say ~15mpg. That means for every fifteen miles we traveled we paid X amount of tax that hopefully went back to road infrastructure.

    Now cars are getting 30+mpg and the roads are going to hell, no one likes more taxes but Europe's higher efficiency roads could a contributing factor for their gas prices being double that of the United States.

  • Or its because you get your "gas" or petrol from iraq, that's the only reson you went out there... New zealand dont pay tax or insurance on there car at all. There road and "gas" pricess aren't double ours.

  • Gangster automobile/oil/asphalt/constru­ction industries ruined this planet. Seriously. This is more about what makes sense. It is about investigating and dismantling bad design. General Motors destroyed the cable car system in Los Angeles. See the movie Taken for a Ride.

  • My BS senses tingle at 2:20 - the inclusion of the *20 multiplier seems arbitrary.

  • I heard this guy raped his 3 year old granddaughter.

  • @ravexxxgirl I HEARD THAT TOO!

  • in the situation given, it would have been the simplest to have a single stop-sign instead of 3

    a roundabout is only good if there is the same traffic from every road.

  • No because then there would be a long line of idling cars waiting to turn in the more seldom-used road and it would be more dangerous as those cars try to turn quickly at a gap in traffic.

  • I really like the way this guy thinks. The breakdown of what a stop sign costs was particularly interesting.

  • I love this guy. He makes his point effectively and quickly unlike so many other Ted Talks where they feel the need to fill up 20 minutes when they only have 5 minutes of material.

  • We have loads of roundabouts here in our little city, within Netherlands. Most drivers find them annoying. I can't say anything much about them, but they seem to be better then streetlights. I'm no driver myself so I couldn't comment further.

    I'm guessing the mayor of this city got those statistics and changed some intersections/crossroads.

  • like.

  • A similar type of sign is in use on Hanalei on my home island. Many single lane spots have signs which say "Local Courtesy is 5-7 Cars". These are relatively new - within the last seven years or so. However, prior to those signs people did it anyway. That previous system was much, much better.

  • Roundabouts are only good in areas with very low traffic. In areas with heavy traffic theyre are annoying and no better than yield signs.

    And really ? a sign that lets human will decide? isn't that what happens on intersections where there are no signs at all? There's a reason we don't have many of those. Specially not on ares where flow of traffic is fast.

    Im sorry but this video is very dissapointing.

  • Roundabouts are especially usefull for areas with heavy traffic; they are relatively large, but they permit cars from every direction to pretty much keep on going, even when there's other traffic entering and crossing as well.

  • Road Filter, take turns. We've had that for decades already.

  • After thinking about this overnight... I'm not convinced that any system based on the good will of humans will work. It seems like people are already cut-throat assholes in most driving situations (passing in carpool lanes, cutting people off in 50mph traffic just to make the next right, etc.), so giving people the chance to either yield or go, I suspect the huge number of assholes in the world will just keep rolling through, forcing others to push their way in, causing more accidents.

  • that is not based on the good will, if more than one driver are at the intersection or approaching it at the same time they have to stop and follow the rules of "stop signs in all directions".

  • traffic lights > roundabouts > fly0overs intersections

    that's how the expansion grows and taking turns will all go down to local traffic culture like the one in my capitol, drivers tends to take turns like for example in a 3 way intersection. one by one everybody's waving and everybody's happy. those who doesn't gives turns are assholes

  • Roundabouts ftw!! :P

  • disappointing that this one was so short, I'm not quite convinced

  • I often wish there was an innate ability for humans to break down factors quickly in ways like this in order to shed light onto hidden costs and consequences.

  • The best idea would be create a system where all cars are controlled by computers connected in one network. This will optimize all road traffic and crossing of the intersections.

  • @heksus

    Idiot

  • keep fucking goats dumbass

  • @heksus

  • It's coming. Stanford U, MIT, Harvard... are already building and testing them. Full sized automobiles no less.

  • I know about this. There is a series on Discovery channel about that DARPA competition. It looks very interesting.

  • The problem is that some people will prefer to be 'in control'. It's a obvious psychological flaw, but a natural one at best. There are those who prefer reading a real newspaper instead of reading it off a digital slab of some sort. Same goes for e-books.

    I'd love to see a system like that as well, for efficiency and cost reduction. But we're humans.. not robots. We tend to like the authentic feel of things. What's better, the digital or the analog watch?

  • I disagree with you. People prefer to be 'in control' but people anyway use buses, planes and other transportation.

    Of course people will still like driving, but I think it will be a compromise between unmanned computer driveing and ability to take a vontrol during unmanned driving

  • I have lived in Egypt 4 years now. Here people drive with cars, 10 year old drive trucks, whole families on one motor bike (including the wife siting side-saddle usually clutching a babe in arms), there are donkey and camel carts, on either side of the carriageway in both directions and they drive at night with no lights. It may look a bit hairy scarey at times, but I have yet to personally see a crash! Do all the traffic control measures stop people thinking for themselves?

  • That appears to be the case, yes. I've heard several studies that indicate this.

    Behavioral economics will probably deal with this extensively in the future. Interesting stuff.

  • @anotherblonde VERY good point. The more risk the people know they are taking on the road, the more attention they have. SAME WITH GOVERNMENT. The more free we are, the more we think for ourselves.

  • Yes, in my country we are required to drink alcohol and drive while blindfolded in order to improve safety.

  • Yeah have you seen the road conditions there? and the average speed they travel? Americans drive FAST. Faster than they should considering all the other stuff they do while driving.

    You will not have camel carts going 55mph (give or take 100kmh) for very long there.

  • "I have lived in Egypt 4 years now....but I have yet to personally see a crash! "

    it's prolly because the women are not allowed to drive there. i'm just saying.

  • You are confusing Egypt with countries in UAE! Plenty of female drivers here, from aged 10 upwards. AND practically no road rage, or car or personal injury insurance. Egypt gets major funding from USA so there are long stretches of straight nearly empty new roads outside the cities to enjoy.

  • It was a joke based on stereotyping.

  • lol I saw this guy like last year on speeders fight back and he made a sign like that lmao!!!

  • You are in a pretty bad shape if you can't read what it says on a sign like that. In fact if you can't read the text you shouldn't be driving.

  • reading the sign he proposes is not the point. The text on the sign does not say 'take caution to thru traffic'. Therefore everyone has to learn what it means. It's stupid. It's not going to catch on, I guarantee you.

  • I thought it was perfectly simple what it means. You take turns if there is a queue of cars. I must say its far clearer than many signs that are in use today.

    In any case its TED where you are supposed to think a little outside the box or as Eddie Izzard puts it: "at least be a lid thinker." No harm in having new ideas. The good ones will stick the bad ones (hopefully) will slowly disappear.

  • i wanted it to be longer, it was 2 short to really understand fully...

  • dido. The bloke was not a moron and much more time to him would have enabled the idea to digest. This is a classic case of TED wasting time with musicians and the like.

  • O.O Roundabouts are moving whirlwinds of death!!! Anyone tried to drive near the Arcs de Triomphe in Paris? You wouldn't be alive to tell the tale!!!

  • Most of energy spent stopping and starting is simply due to inefficient design of the vehicle. Roundabouts are toxic to pedestrians and cycles, and take up space. A "take turns" sign is the worst idea ever. The only times it wouldn't make this less efficient and more dangerous is on intersections that can just as well be left uncontrolled, rather than putting up a distracting sign with vague instructions. 1 star.

  • Stop (or Yield) signs in all directions, accomplish precisely what he is suggesting, taking turns. So I guess he hasn't really thought this one through.

    Cute, but stupid.

  • But his whole point was that stop signs in all directions waste time and gas and hence money. So I guess you didn't really pay attention.

  • @ BenIGreen

    Sure I got that. My point is that his suggestion isn't any different than the multiple stop or yield signs. With the existing system you essentially take turns anyway.

    When taking turns you still have to stop and start!

    So please tell me what the difference is.

    Where's the innovation?

    How are time, gas and money saved?

    The man presents a problem and then offers a supposed solution, that doesn't solve anything.

    I repeat:

    Cute but stupid.

  • my response to him is along the lines of "cool story bro"

  • 3 minutes is too short for this. I did not understand it.... Ugh!

  • I think this is a great idea, just don't forget that SUV cell phone talking soccer moms always have the right of way.

  • win!

  • I am a big fan of the round-a-bout. They are not applicable in all cases. Still, this was a particularly good presentation.

  • That 3 way stop sign on the T intersection is just plain weird. Never seen that before.

  • @bersaba Around here, a stop sign with "three way" or "four way" written on the same sign post, means exactly what he was suggesting. It means, and it's taught in driver's ed: Everybody take turns. There's a standard order you go in, and everyone (pretty much) tries to follow it.

  • Figured that was the case, just never seen it before.

  • I toured around Australlia & New Zealand via car for six weeks a few years ago. At first, the roundabouts (on top of driving on the wrong side of the road) really freaked me out. After about 10 days, I loved 'em. Very practical. However, taking turns is implicit & forced in a roundabout. I don't think a "Take Turns" sign would be nearly as successful. Kudos to this guy for figuring out how much a stop sign costs though.

  • Just read the comments, which are saying this guy is a pedophile. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean he's wrong about the inefficiency of stop signs. Claiming he is is an ad-hominem argument.

  • lol, what kind of person, after listening to this presentation, finds nothing else to comment on except the guy's alleged pedophilia?

    lol, people amuse me.

  • oh yeah- also, does anybody have a source for this accusation?

  • I don't think this would work very well. Other drivers' intentions would be too uncertain. What's wrong with the already existing magnetic field triggered traffic lights?

  • Well the problem is they are relatively expensive. It would cost way too much to replace stop signs with magnetically triggered traffic lights. A simple roundabout would solve many problems in rural areas where more expensive traffic systems are not available.

  • Roundabouts are definitely a great solution, still somewhat expensive to install I'm pretty sure...there's a lot of landscaping involved

  • In the long run, robotic driven vehicles will reduce accidents not round abouts. Accidents in Europe are NOT lower due to roundabouts but instead are lower due to stricter driving laws as is the case with Germany. Germany uses street and highway cameras. The fines are NOT served as much by speed limit but instead by risky driving behavior. Follow too close and a camera gets your license plate number and you get fined HEAVILY or you get JAIL. In the US we whine about the fictional big brother.

  • @generationalist Germany huh.

  • huh? I live in Germany and I can't confirm this... never herad of such a thing my entire life...

    I mean sure there are cameras for when you drive too fast but that other thing?

    Also I never heard of anyone going to jail for risky driving behavior over here. At the worst they take your driver's license.

    Only if you intended to hurt someone and then caused an accident or something, can you go to jail...

  • Liar liar pants on fire. Making up stories to lend legitimacy to an argument...what a tool.

  • Mrmock7 - Try searching google for - "germany driving laws ticket". Quoted from the first site I found. "Failure to pay traffic violations...can lead to imprisonment." Rather than doing a little work on your own you chose an ad hominem attack. Stupidity is the act of knowing your ignorance and choosing to remain ignorant. Please do your homework before you make your accusations.

  • First,

    That wasn't an ad-hominem. You obviously have no clue what an ad-hominem really entails, so you liberally throw it around on everyone who calls you out on your imbecility.

    Secondly, the article you referenced does not make the claim that tailgating in Germany gets you a parking ticket. The only reference to it was in the glossary list on the right. Perhaps you should've read it more carefully before letting your imaginations run wild....

  • Robotic driven vehicles, oh like new toyotas?

  • TKDWolf - Reports on Toyota's mechanical NOT robotic automotive defect have resulted in an estimate 275 crashes and at least 18 fatalities since 1999.

    Due to drunk driving?

    2006 over 13,400

    2007 over 13,000

    2008 over 11,700

    TDKWolf Robotic vehicles are on the way and when fatalities drop to triple or double digits for a 10 year period will you be the one in your robotic vehicle crying in your beer on your cell phone for those good old days when you had the legal right to CHOOSE to kill someone?

  • I don't drink, and I don't currently have the right to choose to kill anyone, nor would I cry over loosing such a right if it existed. However, it will suck very badly for me when the day comes that I won't be able to drive AE86 on long trips through the mountains, and instead will merely sleep in a pod as I am whisked down the road which is flanked by high walls to cut down on noise. Everything is dangerous. Living is dangerous. That doesn't mean you should give up everything enjoyable.

  • TKDWolf "Living is dangerous" so should we allow drunk driving simply because it is dangerous and our freedom to impose danger on others will be impinged? I fully understand the love of driving the highway but the facts remain, we -will- one day build a vehicle capable of greater safety than human control can compete with. Then it becomes the argument of unsafe drivers with poor reflexes vs. very accurate robots. Poor reflexes will be outlawed as being as dangerous like drinking while driving.

  • "so should we allow drunk driving simply because it is dangerous and our freedom to impose danger on others will be [infringed]?"

    No, you're missing my point entirely.. and making into something it is not. Some things are reckless, like drunk driving. Then there are other things which are tragedies of a different kind. I'm not saying that I'm opposed to robotic vehicles, really, I'm just saying that it's a tragedy that we need them in the first place.

  • I understand that the ideal world, where everyone is a good driver, does not exist. And even then, there are accidents that would happen. I understand that it's horrible when those accidents happen, but I also think that it will be horrible when one day, all things are sterile and gray and dull, and all human life is regulated by machines for some imagined 'safety'.. life is short.. go live it.

  • TKDWolf - "when one day, all things are sterile and gray and dull". Fear of technology? Why were things not better before roundabouts and cars? why was that time -not- more alive? We used to plod around in mud and 50 percent of the population had to toil to feed the other 50 percent. Now it's something like 2 percent feed the world. Times do change. There was a time when someone was sure to say. What good is that car? I have legs or a horse? Did the car make life sterile, grey and dull?

  • Youtube doesn't give me enough room to really respond to that but the short version is no, I'm not afraid of technology, I just don't think it needs to be taken to extremes when it comes to convenience. Safety, sure, if it's significantly better and doesn't affect the quality of life in some major way. Say for example, locking yourself in an underground bunker with 1,000 years worth of rations. That's safe, but not exactly the way I'd want to live.

  • dont bealive in that Hollywood crap.....

  • chan proving decadence

  • Is this a new meme?

  • There is no proof on Google news....

  • Gary Lauder is a pedophile who raped his three year old Granddaughter. I can't believe TED is supporting this guy!

  • I dont believe he has any grandchildren. I know his family.

  • wow, I guess this video was made before that incident, lol

  • wow seriously? why the fuck is this guy speaking publicly when he raped his 3 year old daughter? he should be arrested!

  • **GRANDdaughter

  • I see the comments section on this video has descended into the gutter...

  • I see your comments have made you a faggot.

  • @handgunhistorectomy no, that happened by birth. Not that I'm complaining.

  • i heard he raped his 3 year old granddaughter

  • yea me too!

  • Oh right, because google is the most reliable research tool. Check the newspaper databases and you will see.

  • Wow, this guy gets attention? After the thing he did?

  • the gary louder who raped a 3 year old?

    thas jus wong faggot

  • Hey dont /b/ag , its not his fault his penis can only fit the vag of a 3 year old.

  • stfu faggot.

  • Comment removed

  • Is this guy a stupid piece of shit or what? Compare his cost of gas from the unnecessary stop sign to the total gas spent and you will find its a very, very, very small fraction of cost. This guy is concerned about saving piss in the ocean. Why not come up with REAL solutions you dumb fuck.

  • Holy crap, I just read the other comments and found out hes a baby raper..... I knew he was a piece of shit... This man should do the noble thing and kill himself before he ruins another life.... Why is he allowed to see the light of day?

  • Wow this guy is a pedophile why is he allowed to have an opportunity like this.

  • HOLY CRAP this is that dude who raped his GRAND-DAUGHTER! She was only 3 years old

  • Oh shit! HE IS!

  • since when does TED allow child rapist to be at their talks? did he have a brilliant idea in prison, like hitler?

    wtf TED, i had a much higher opinion of you.

  • What the fuck this guy? He raped his 3 year old grand daughter...

  • Pointless presentation. Just out of curiosity where he pulled the average wage to be 20 USD/hr when national median income is around $38,000 which is below $20/hr.

  • I hate this man. I can't believe he raped a 3 year old.

  • Isn't this guy a pedophile?

  • What the hell? Why is this guy still around, most registered sex offenders don't get opportunities like this.

  • Wow, i thought he wasn't aloud to do this because he raped his 3 year old grandaughter hmm.

  • hes a sick fuck man.

  • Seriously, check out his hometown, there's a listing for Gary Lauder as a registered sex offender. WTF!

  • Comment removed

  • I thought this guy wasent allowed to do this anymore because he raped his daughters??

  • did he rape

  • is this the Gary Lauder who raped his 3 year old granddaughter?

  • Wait a sec this is the sick fuck Gary who raped his 3 year old grandaughter. You should be in prison you criminial.

  • @2012EndOfWorlds i checked and no reference could be found. are u trying to create an urban myth.

  • This fucker raped his 3 year old grandaughter

  • I heard on Ebaum's World that Gary Lauder raped his 3 year old grand daughter.

  • Hey! It's the child rapist guy!

  • This the Same Guy who raped his 3 year old grandaughter?

  • Gary is a rapist.

  • idn't that the guy who raped his 3 year old granddaughter?

  • yeah i think i know him from TV.

    this is disgusting.

  • It is!!

  • Wouldn't it be better to TEACH the people that they should or have to take turns in driving classes?

  • Can someone please explain to me how this solves anything?

    I can see how roundabouts would be a good idea, but the take turns sign? Doesn't that result in more people stopping and traffic congestion then just Stop or Yield or am I missing something?

  • @Heartwood256 No the idea is that if there is nobody on the side road you don't stop. If there is you take turns. Thus solving the problem when it is a problem and not wasting the gas when it isn't.

  • @Heartwood256 then or than

  • @Heartwood256 That was my question also.

  • Is this solution with stop signs in both directions common in the US? It sounds like a weird thing to do. Why not just force cars from the smaller road to wait, or add an automatic light signal with a detector that can detect if a car is waiting on the smaller road.