How has traffic changed in 10 years? Does Electronic Stability Control make a big difference in preventing loss-of-control collisions. How about lane departure technologies, are they effective? These are some of the questions that are being answered as Gorski Consulting compares the results of videotaping from 10 years ago to the new videotaping conducted this fall. The site of these documentations is a complex S-curve on Clarke Road at the north-eastern edge of London, Ontario.

A view from several video cameras set-up on Clarke Road in London, Ontario, this fall to document changes in vehicle actions compared to 10 years ago.

Ten years ago we began official documentations at the Clarke Road site. Videotaping was conducted but also still photos began to be taken every three or four days to document evidence of vehicular loss-of-control. Now after tens years of such documentation the results are becoming revealing.

Preliminary work has involved comparing the traffic volume between 2009 and 2019. The results generally indicate that traffic volume has increased about 50% through the curve. We have also been documenting the number of trucks and buses which range as low as 3 to 4 % to as his as 30% depending on the time of day.

In the near future we will be examining the number of vehicles either “falling” off the outside asphalt edge or steering fully into the opposing lane as a way of using a short cut around the sharp curve. Comparing 2009 to 2019 may help to explain how drivers chose to behave but also whether modern technology is also affecting the vehicle motions in the curve.

Stay tuned for these upcoming results.