Solar Powered Stop Signs Replace Ordinary Stop Signs; Save Lives, Taxpayers Money
Many smaller communities utilize stop signs instead of traffic signals because they are more cost-effective and the major reason is usually that the city does not have the budget to upgrade to electrical traffic signals; however even in small towns where people know where the stop signs are, there are still many accidents because people drive right by a stop sign without thinking. This happens mainly because a driver is distracted by either something within the car - like changing the radio station, eating or talking on the cell phone - or something outside the car - such as other people or something new and exciting they haven’t seen before.
One way a community could ease the burden of the city’s budget would be to install a solar powered stop sign at each of the regular stop sign locations. In addition to saving the community money, the solar powered stop signs save lives because they have four flashing LED red lights that attract attention to the stop sign and have been proven to save lives by making people stop their vehicles when they see the flashing red lights on the stop sign.
Other solar signs a community could utilize include solar power traffic signs, warning signs, pedestrian crossing signs, and deer crossing signs, children at play signs and construction zone or work zone danger signs.
Solar powered signs use the energy from the sun to generate a battery within the sign in order to make three or four red or yellow LED lights flash on and off to warn oncoming traffic of upcoming events. For example, a red and white solar sign placed at a railroad crossing with flashing red LED lights would serve as a warning to people that a railroad crossing is about to appear in their path. This type of sign would be very helpful before a curve in the road or at the bottom of the hill where drivers often do not see regular tin signs and do not know what is in the road up ahead.
Many works zones along the highway use solar powered warning signs to help save the lives of the highway workers in addition to those driving cars. Many accidents can be avoided simply by paying better attention to the road ahead. When one gets distracted, as people will do, then the solar powered safety signs with their flashing LED lights will help return a driver to ‘the here and now’ and what is going on in the road ahead.
