Traffic in Tokyo Reveals Narrow, Safe Traffic Lanes. Photo by Raphael Desrosiers / Flickr

Bigger Isn’t Always Better: Narrow Traffic Lanes Make Cities Safer

In Beijing, Chennai and Fortaleza, the rate of fatalities from road is incredibly high. What do these cities have in common? They have traffic lanes wider than 3.6 meters (11.8 feet). A longstanding belief among transportation planners and engineers is that wider traffic lanes ensure safe and congestion-free traffic flow. Recent academic research, highlighted in Cities Safer by Design, a WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities publication, shows that wider lanes are more dangerous than narrower lanes.

BANERJEE, Subha Ranjan; WELLE, Ben. Bigger Isn’t Always Better: Narrow Traffic Lanes Make Cities Safer. Disponível em: https://thecityfix.com/blog/bigger-isnt-always-better-narrow-traffic-lanes-make-cities-safer-subha-ranjan-banerjee-ben-welle/. Acesso em: 12 jul. 2024. Adaptado.

De acordo com a pesquisa acadêmica apresentada no artigo,