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Subject: 
Re: Can't Drive 65 (was 'Re: Tolerance of vice')
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Mon, 29 Oct 2001 18:19:14 GMT
Viewed: 
448 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Larry Pieniazek writes:
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Christopher L. Weeks writes:

<snip>

The theory of how to set speeds isn't just some neato thing I dreamed up,
it's commonly accepted practice, as outlined in Transportation Engineering
texts... you can look it up or take my word for it (I remember reading it in
mine, and again in some Michigan DOT documentation I happened to be
reviewing when I was on an MDOT project). Whichever you choose.


Hmm Civil engineering. This does work for some roads, but, for most, the
85th percentile speed just keeps rising (if my memory serves my right). For
most roads, all the 85th percentile rule shows is that 15 percent of drivers
are willing to break the speed limit.



Larry is claiming that residents of an area shouldn't 'artificially' lower the
speed limit so that they can post officers and ticket travellers-through.  I
think that whoever owns the road should set the speed limits and the fines for
violating them.  And I think generally that small roads should be owned by
those who own land on the road cooperatively.  And I would have guessed that
Larry agreed with that.

I DO!

*If* we're talking about private roads, that is. With private roads, the
owners of course can set whatever rules they like, and people will vote with
their feet (or in this case, their steering wheels :-) ). But we're talking
about PUBLIC roads here. Hence, the drivers of the road are as good an
approximation of the owners as you're likely to get, certainly far better
than any random bureaucrat would be.


In the UK, speed limits are not set by "bureaucrats" but by traffic
engineers in consultation with road users and the more general public – I
suggest you lobby for the same system in the USA. We have national speed
limits (70mph on a motorway) these reflect the design criteria of the roads.
Most road accidents here are caused by inexperienced adolescents, I doubt
de-restricting speed limits would improve that? The biggest cause of road
related deaths (in the UK) are drivers driving too fast for the road
conditions, I doubt de-restricting speed limits would improve that either?

Is you proposal for all roads, or only trunk routes?

Scott A

So how do we mix political issues and engineering
issues and come out with a good solution.

Privatize the roads? :-) Said tongue in cheek of course. I don't advocate
privatizing the roads till all the easier stuff is done first. Which may
never come to pass, I'm realistic enough to realise that.

++Lar (the one and only, accept no substitutes)



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: Can't Drive 65 (was 'Re: Tolerance of vice')
 
(...) What would be cool is signage that responds to the weather. Based on the temperature and state of precipitation (or even reflective characteristics of the road and atmospheric light-transmission characteristics), the signs could display a (...) (23 years ago, 29-Oct-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Can't Drive 65 (was 'Re: Tolerance of vice')
 
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Christopher L. Weeks writes: <snip> The theory of how to set speeds isn't just some neato thing I dreamed up, it's commonly accepted practice, as outlined in Transportation Engineering texts... you can look it up or take (...) (23 years ago, 29-Oct-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

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