Motorists vs traffic cameras

Hey Ron, if you believe that then I have this bridge in New York you might be interested in buying. It will pay for itself in tolls in just a few short years. Asking price is less than $5,000,000.00. Email me for details.

The goal should be to increase safety. The measures should be the number and severity of crashes as well as the free flow of traffic.

One thing that I think should be illegal is using cell phones while driving. And I mean cell phones at all, not just hands-free.

Actually, that law does make sense. It makes a lot of sense to know when people are going to turn so that you can take appropriate action not to hit the car, like get in the other lane.

Jeff

Yep, and I always follow it. What I can't stand are the idiots that slam on their brakes and THEN signal they are going to turn.

I've noticed that consistantly the people who drive the most above the speed limit also signal the least. That doesn't make me think much of their driving skills.

Well, Nate, here in Texas it is not against the law to enter a light on the yellow, but I avoid doing it if I can.

If the speed is posted at 35 or 25 mph, then that is the law. We may not like it but that is just tough.

I got a ticket last year for excessive speed in a construction zone. It turns out that I had already left the construction zone, but that meant nothing to the Highway Patrol. I could have fought it and probably lost. I dont like it, but it served the purpose of making me a heck of a lot more observant.

yeah, and they're also cops, so they don't have to. I'm talking about the people actually at risk of being ticketed.

nate

right, it is not illegal here either. What I'm talking about is if a driver is tooling along at the speed limit and the light turns yellow there may be a "dilemma zone" where he may be unable to stop before the line but also unable to make it into the intersection before the light turns red. This is VERY common with RLC installations.

Stealing money from you (and putting you more at risk of losing your license, and depending on what you do, possibly your job) for something you didn't do is a good thing? I fail to see how that follows.

nate

It is always a good thing to be more observant... I hadnt had a ticket in more than 40 years when this shitteaux pulled me over. I keep an eye out for speed limits AND for cops now.

I'll agree up to that point.

And that's what's wrong with law enforcement today. I don't know a single person who doesn't get more nervous when a cop is around instead of more relaxed, and I don't hang out with criminals either.

nate

64

In NJ and PA, the law is that if you can safely stop when there is a yellow light, you are supposed to stop. Obviously, that is a judgment call.

In PA, for speed limits less than 60 mph, the judge may not find you guilty unless you are going 10 mph over the speed limit or 5 mph for speed limits over 55 mph.

In PA, if you're exceeding the speed limit in a construction zone, even only going 1 mph over the limit, the judge may find you guilty (i.e., the above limitations don't apply).

Unfortunately, there are too many deaths of road construction workers.

A lot of people seem to think of road safety rules as inconveniences, but lives *do* depend on them just like those pesky safety rules for construction workers building skyscrapers are important (e.g., wearing helmets, wearing safety harnesses so that workers don't fall to their deaths, no smoking around chemicals like gasoline). Personally, I like have a pulse, so I wear my seat belt when I drive, I rarely use a cell phone and stick to the speed limit (more or less).

Jeff

Some of them are, some of them have a purpose.

No, only some of them.

I'm betting on "more" if you're anything like the vast majority of road users.

*MOST* rules of the road are there for a reason - stopping for a red light or stop sign, yielding to those with the right of way, signaling, keeping right except to pass, etc. all serve a purpose and should be obeyed at all times.

Unfortunately, "gotcha" tactics like RLCs at intersections with short yellows, "construction zone" speed limits in areas where no work is being performed, speed limits 15 MPH or more below the 85th percentile speed of a road, etc. etc. etc. erode respect of motorists for the law - INCLUDING those that are actually there for safety.

nate

I've been handling two-way radios and cell phones while driving for 25 years now, so I naturally disagree with your argument and think that 'no cell phones while driving' is just another step for the nanny-state.

I'm the only person here that does it. I have an ex-girlfriend that made fun of the way I signaled my turns.

Sir Charles THE Curmudgeon

Too bad for your theory. Science has shown the too many people are unable to converse safely on a cell phone while driving.

He did say handling, not talking with. :)

Am I the only one that sees the idiocy in this? I'm going to do something wrong to avoid the guy behind me who MAY be doing something wrong....

We have rules in society... because we need them. There is a rule about the intersection that could keep you from plowing into another car... There is a rule for following cars that could keep the guy behind you from driving into you... But, by and large, there are many people that refuse to follow these rules (and they will use about any limp-dick reason they can conjure up to justify it).

Just think - if we all followed the rules and paid attention to what we are doing... we wouldn't even need traffic cameras...

Every summer, they have about one week in our town where they put on a traffic "blitz". Zero tolerance is the keyword and they bring RCMP in from other areas just to avoid any personality things. They would rather have people obey the rules so that they might go home safe and alive rather than have to spend a week writing tickets only to have emergency services scrape cadavers off the road for the rest of the year.

Hell, most people in most states can't drive safely while driving.

95%, as a matter of fact. My son says it's 98%.

In our area they're teaching new drivers something called "the point of no return". You pick a spot about 40 feet from the stop line and once you go through that spot, even if the light turns yellow then you go on through, cautiously. That prevents someone jaming on the brakes at the last second and getting rear ended. Makes the decision of whether to stop or go through an intersection less stressful.

I'd agree with that except for Texas.

Sorry. We're perfect.

People still die in Texas, though, and dead people make up a significant portion of drivers, along with the legally blind.