Transportation

New York Wants Google Maps to Discourage Left Turns

The safety precaution would fit in with the city’s larger Vision Zero push.
Jen Gallardo / Flickr

In the ongoing Vision Zero attempt to make New York City streets safer, policymakers have embraced what are known as the three E’s: education, enforcement, and engineering. That last category is usually interpreted to encompass street design, including elements such as signal timing, bike lanes, pedestrian refuges, and the like.

But a new idea from a couple of members of the New York City Council extends the concept of safer engineering to include software. What if you could program safety into tools that assist driver navigation?