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Distracting Miss Daisy - Stop signs and speed limits endanger Americans
A Traffic Free-for-All?
The Atlantic.com ^
| --
| John Staddon
Posted on 06/11/2008 11:04:40 AM PDT by OnRightOnLeftCoast
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A better solution for many drivers might be to get their head out of a very dark place while driving and get rid of all the distractons 'inside' the vehicle.
To: OnRightOnLeftCoast
I grew up in Great Britain, and over the past five years Ive split my time between England and the United States. Ive long found driving in the U.S. to be both annoying and boring. Annoying because of lots of unnecessary waits at stop signs and stoplights, and because of the need to obsess over speed when not waiting. Boring, scenery apart, because to avoid speeding tickets, I feel compelled to set the cruise control on long trips, driving at the same mind-numbing rate, regardless of road conditions. This guy must be bored and annoyed the most with the cheap gas prices here compared to what he pays in his beloved homeland.
2
posted on
06/11/2008 11:14:37 AM PDT
by
Dixie Yooper
(Ephesians 6:11)
To: OnRightOnLeftCoast
I do not really see a problem with traffic enforcement on truly dangerous roads. I think any sort of enforcement should be done without any sort of police traps. Cops should be out in the open so that people see them and slow down. Anyone who gets a ticket in such a scenario only has themselves to blame.
3
posted on
06/11/2008 11:15:18 AM PDT
by
pnh102
(Save America - Ban Ethanol Now!)
To: Dixie Yooper
What I like most about driving in Britain are the round-abouts. We have very few here in Southern Cal.
4
posted on
06/11/2008 11:18:06 AM PDT
by
edcoil
To: pnh102
That’s not what he’s describing. They build a road that’s saft to drive at 30 and then set the speed limit to 15. It’s an invitation to “speed”. And what’s worse it makes the road more dangerous.
5
posted on
06/11/2008 11:18:35 AM PDT
by
DManA
To: OnRightOnLeftCoast
This guy is right on. We don’t always enforce traffic for safety, but also for revenue. We have stop signs that exist for no reason other than to regulate traffic flow which is BS. We have speed traps that nail people to to raise money rather than to preserve safety.
Look at all the stop signs in a parking lot next time you are in wal-mart or what not. And you *don’t* even have to stop at those.
6
posted on
06/11/2008 11:19:21 AM PDT
by
VeniVidiVici
(Save the Earth! Kill a tree!)
To: OnRightOnLeftCoast
Typically, I see yellow warning signs "35 MPH" and 100 yards before the turn: "State Speed Limit 70."
7
posted on
06/11/2008 11:21:15 AM PDT
by
Cobra64
(www.BulletBras.net)
To: VeniVidiVici
8
posted on
06/11/2008 11:21:44 AM PDT
by
QBFimi
(When gunpowder speaks, beasts listen.)
To: DManA
Its an invitation to speed. Even in such a situation, it is almost always the driver's fault if he or she speeds. I routinely drive fast on roads where the posted speed limit is 30mph but could easily allow for faster speeds. I haven't been ticketed, but if I am, it doesn't matter what the design speed of the road is.
The times when a cop does tail me, I just set the cruise control to 30mph and watch as the "parade" backs down behind me.
9
posted on
06/11/2008 11:28:25 AM PDT
by
pnh102
(Save America - Ban Ethanol Now!)
To: edcoil
It's called a "rotatory" here in the US.
You guys in SoCal have those stop lights *on* the entrance ramps to highways, er, the freeways...
To: DManA
I have driven that same stretch of road many times. The writer failed to mention how many blind driveways there are as you twist and turn your way down the hill. 30 mph would make it almost impossible for these people to pull out onto the North Glebe without causing an accident or getting killed. If he wants to drive fast down big hills, he should drive out to the Blue Ridge Mountains or go even further to West Virginia.
11
posted on
06/11/2008 11:33:17 AM PDT
by
Dixie Yooper
(Ephesians 6:11)
To: pnh102
We are not discussing points of law. We are critiquing public policy - ie. the lack of wisdom in setting speed limits too low.
12
posted on
06/11/2008 11:34:19 AM PDT
by
DManA
To: DManA
From the article: "It turns out that the speed signs do perform an important safety function: in wet weather, many drivers had taken the curve too fast; traffic authorities have substantially reduced accidents on the curve by adding the 15-mph warning sign..."
To: Dixie Yooper
Maybe he picked a bad example but I could point out 50 good ones within 20 miles of here.
14
posted on
06/11/2008 11:35:55 AM PDT
by
DManA
To: DManA
In MN,(where you’re from), too fast for conditions is defined as any speed that caused you to leave the road. In the winter, that could be less than 5 mph.
15
posted on
06/11/2008 11:40:21 AM PDT
by
Dixie Yooper
(Ephesians 6:11)
To: OnRightOnLeftCoast
You are correct that the number one cause of accidents is people driving while “HUA” (Head Up *$$) but the author's psycho-babbly premise is silly.
To say that we would be safer without stop signs is like saying we would be safer without seat-belts. It is demonstrably false.
To: Dixie Yooper
17
posted on
06/11/2008 11:40:52 AM PDT
by
DManA
To: pnh102
I'd argue in favor traps.
If police make a point of always being in the open, then no visible police = no police. Choose your speed accordingly.
While the possibility of a trap creates uncertainty. There may or may not be police. Choose your speed accordingly.
I'd argue that the uncertainty of a police presence encourages greater compliance without needing a larger presence.
18
posted on
06/11/2008 11:41:26 AM PDT
by
El Sordo
To: edcoil
What I like most about driving in Britain are the round-abouts. We have very few here in Southern Cal. My town, Sedona AZ, is experimenting with roundabouts in a major way. Nine of them are being built to replace major intersections that once had signals. One of the first to be completed, several months ago, is right outside my complex. The big advantage: the roundabout is much quieter than the old signalized intersection at night, when most traffic just glides right through. The big disadvantage: the roundabout is noisier by day, when there is a constant chorus of honking as local drivers tangle with tourists who are clueless on how roundabouts work.
To: DManA
I know this because I’m a Yooper.
20
posted on
06/11/2008 11:42:53 AM PDT
by
Dixie Yooper
(Ephesians 6:11)
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