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View Full Version : ’3 Way Street’: Artist video tracks scary traffic



River_Rat_459
06-11-2011, 18:45
One of many reasons I refuse to live in a big city.


Warning: The video below may cause you never to want to leave your house again. A School of Visual Arts thesis project by artist Ron Gabriel (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/search/yblog_upshot/od_yblog_upshot/storytext/3-way-street-artist-video-tracks-scary-traffic/41816601/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Ron+Gabriel&cs=bz&fr=buzz), named "3-Way Street (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/search/yblog_upshot/od_yblog_upshot/storytext/3-way-street-artist-video-tracks-scary-traffic/41816601/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Three+Way+Street&cs=bz&fr=buzz)," tracks a camera at the Manhattan intersection of 28th Street and Park Avenue. The New York mayhem known as street traffic ensues.

The video of traffic behaving badly (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/yblog_upshot/od_yblog_upshot/storytext/3-way-street-artist-video-tracks-scary-traffic/41816601/SIG=129bne0a2/*http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/08/three-way-street_n_873150.html) has gone viral on the Web. No surprise: What you see is pretty hair-raising.

As the artist puts it on his website (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/yblog_upshot/od_yblog_upshot/storytext/3-way-street-artist-video-tracks-scary-traffic/41816601/SIG=1243qp5tj/*http://blog.ronconcocacola.com/2011/06/02/nyc-goes-three-ways.aspx), the point of the study is to show the "interconnected role in improving the safety and usability of our streets." Mission very much accomplished.

With the master student's helpful graphics added to the clips, it's almost like watching the video game Frogger (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/search/yblog_upshot/od_yblog_upshot/storytext/3-way-street-artist-video-tracks-scary-traffic/41816601/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=frogger&ei=UTF-8&fr=moz35): Pedestrians dodge bikes, run into oncoming traffic, and barely escape with their lives. An 18-wheeler makes a tight U-turn. Cars jump lights. Pedestrians jaywalk. Bikes do everything but follow the rules of the road. Riding on the sidewalk? Check. Riding on the wrong side of the road? Check. Nearly colliding with people on foot? Check. Check. Check.

Aside from the arresting visuals, the stats (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/yblog_upshot/od_yblog_upshot/storytext/3-way-street-artist-video-tracks-scary-traffic/41816601/SIG=13j6csqnc/*http://cultureandlife.co.uk/2011/06/09/new-york-pedestrians-battle-to-stay-alive-each-day-in-nyc-goes-three-ways/) from the artist are scary: This is just one intersection of 12,370 in the city. And 74 percent of the city's accidents that kill or seriously injure three to four people a day usually happen at an intersection, which causes collisions of bikes, cars, and people.

You can watch the video below. And please be careful out there.

http://vimeo.com/24572222

MaximusR3
06-11-2011, 19:33
that is insane. It looks like, while no parties are anywhere near innocent, the bicyclists are the worst. Maybe because they get this impression that because they are not on a motor vehicle they are above the rules of the road?

River_Rat_459
06-11-2011, 20:28
I agree. The cyclists definitely seemed to be the most reckless out of everyone. I know they have those couriers that ride around NYC like that, but man....they're just crazy.

GriffinSentinel
06-11-2011, 21:19
What have we learned from this? That the safest mode of transportation in New York is on the subway. Despite the urine smell. :)

toby2533
06-12-2011, 06:30
this the big reason I use taxi's in NYC, I park my car at the company's office in Jersey City then take the train over to the Offices in the city. I just as bad from ground level.

tracker_usmc
06-13-2011, 12:20
That was insane!