Extra turn or curve added to a road by design rather than geographical necessity
A
chicane
(
) is a
serpentine
curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in
motor racing
and on roads and streets to
slow traffic
for safety. For example, one form of chicane is a short, shallow S-shaped turn that requires the driver to turn slightly left and then slightly right to continue on the road, requiring the driver to reduce speed. The word
chicane
is derived from the
French
verb
chicaner
, which means "to create difficulties" or "to dispute pointlessly", "quibble", which is also the root of the
English
noun
chicanery
.
[1]
The Spanish verb
chicanear
also means "to use trickery".
[2]
Motor racing
[
edit
]
On modern racing circuits, chicanes are usually located after long straights, making them a prime location for overtaking. They can be placed tactically by circuit designers to prevent vehicles from reaching speeds deemed to be unsafe. A prime example of this is the three chicanes at the
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
, introduced in the early 1970s; the Chase at
Mount Panorama
, added in 1987; and the Tamburello chicane at
Imola
, which was placed in 1995 after
Ayrton Senna's death
at the original corner. At
Le Mans
in 1990, two chicanes were placed on the 6 kilometres (3.7 mi)
Mulsanne Straight
where
Group C
prototypes
had previously achieved speeds of 400 kilometres per hour (250 mph) in order to conform to new international regulations limiting the maximum length of a straight on a motor racing circuit to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi).
Some tracks, such as the
Yas Marina Circuit
in
Abu Dhabi
, feature optional chicanes. Faster cars will take the chicane, but slower cars (such as amateur club racers) may avoid the chicane because they are not capable of reaching equally high speeds on the straights.
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
has one at Europcar, which became the source of controversy when it was instituted for MotoGP after a fatal crash.
Chicanes can make
slipstreaming
less potent and break up
pelotons
during motor races.
[3]
The term is used in other types of racing, such as
bobsleigh
, to indicate a similar shift in the course or track.
A slower driver or vehicle that delays competitors is sometimes disparaged as a
mobile chicane
or
moving chicane
. In some cases they may not move out of the way quickly enough to allow competitors in higher positions (having completed more laps) past, despite repeated showings of
blue flags
. This can cost competitors valuable time and championship points. This same term, applied to traffic calming, can refer to the usage of portable devices to create a chicane configuration.
Traffic calming
[
edit
]
Chicanes are a type of "horizontal deflection" used in
traffic calming
schemes to reduce the speed of traffic. Drivers are expected to reduce speed to negotiate the lateral displacement in the vehicle path.
[4]
There are several variations of traffic-calming chicanes, but they generally fall into one of two broad categories:
- Single-lane working chicanes, which consist of staggered build-outs, narrowing the road so that traffic in one direction has to give way to opposing traffic
- Two-way working chicanes, which use build-outs to provide deflection, but with lanes separated by road markings or a central island.
Limited accident data for chicane schemes indicate changes in injury accidents (range from ?54% to +32%) and accident severity.
[
clarification needed
]
[5]
[6]
Chicanes can also be used to prevent access to certain vehicles. The
Vermont Agency of Transportation
has considered adding chicanes to
Route 108
in
Stowe
and
Cambridge
to prevent the passage of
tractor-trailers
, which often get stuck further up the road.
[7]
Pedestrian
[
edit
]
A
pedestrian chicane
is a kind of permanent
fence
used at a
railway crossing
to slow pedestrians down and to force them to observe both directions before crossing the
railway tracks
. While passing the chicane, one has to turn to the left and to the right, increasing the probability of seeing an approaching train. A similar arrangement is sometimes used at the entrances of
parks
to impede
bicycle
, car, mobility scooter, and wheelchair access.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Webster's New World College Dictionary
(4th ed.). Cleveland:
Wiley Publishing
. 2006. p. 253.
ISBN
0-02-863118-8
.
- ^
{
https://www.spanishdict.com/conjugate/chicanear}
- ^
Bradley, Charles (18 April 2021).
"Short racing circuits: In defence of commonly overlooked venues"
.
Autosport
. Retrieved
18 April
2021
.
- ^
A Road Safety Good Practice Guide for Highway Authorities, First Edition, Appendix A.6
, TRL Limited, Judith Barker and Chris Baguley, for the UK Department for Transport, March 2006 (Accessed 16 August 2011)
- ^
UK Department for Transport Traffic Advisory Leaflet 12/97
Archived
2011-10-05 at the
Wayback Machine
, December 1997 (Accessed 16 August 2011)
- ^
Urban Traffic Calming and Health, National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy, Canada
- ^
Reporter, Stowe (30 May 2019).
"Stuck trucks botch Notch despite VTrans bans, fines and signs"
.
VTDigger
. Retrieved
4 July
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]
- Media related to
Chicanes
at Wikimedia Commons
- The dictionary definition of
chicane
at Wiktionary