|
grover posted:I've been in some areas where the right lane is reserved for buses & HOV, and I wasn't sure how to make a right hand turn. I figured the only safe way was to get in the bus lane, but I was worried I'd get nailed for driving illegally in the bus lane. At least in Philadelphia, there is specific signage regarding right turns, though the lane restrictions in Center City are almost uniformly ignored. http://goo.gl/maps/2Qvrs
|
#
?
Aug 4, 2012 18:38
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 01:39 |
|
|
I don't have anything to say on New York's bike lanes other than showing you this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzE-IMaegzQ
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2012 19:47
|
|
|
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad posted:I don't have anything to say on New York's bike lanes other than showing you this At the beginning, I wondered what was wrong with his teeth, but my questions were quickly answered. Excellent video. Cichlidae fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Aug 5, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2012 19:51
|
|
|
Wolfy posted:Do you think people actually use this? I use the poo poo out of it.
|
|
#
?
Aug 5, 2012 22:38
|
|
|
Crackpipe posted:Can you use the standard sensor package in a slab in lieu of a loop detector, so slab #14983321-B also triggers a light cycle? You got it! That's entirely the intention, to draw the vehicle detection out beyond the intersection so that we can be much smarter about signal timing, among other things.
|
|
#
?
Aug 6, 2012 15:19
|
|
|
Imagine for a minute that you're a trucker. You're crossing Wyoming in a 60,000 pound GVW tractor-trailer. On the back side of a pass, you are overcome with terror as you realize your brakes don't work. Before you know it, the needle has maxed out somewhere over 80 mph, and you're hurtling down toward sudden disaster. We've got your back.  Though expensive, specially designed truck escape ramps can safely stop just about any vehicle, doing minimal damage even to small, light cars.  This particular system had 9 "gates;" the truck, despite going way over the speed limit, only needed 7 to come to a stop. The gates sap the truck's kinetic energy by deforming metal straps.  The tractor might be totaled, but the trailer's still in great shape. Not sure about the cargo; some kinds of cargo react better to sudden stops than others.  The truck entered the ramp at an angle, but the design of the gates and narrowness of the chute kept it from jackknifing. The gates can be easily replaced, and we're ready for the next Benz with broken brakes.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 23:34
|
|
|
Cichlidae posted:Imagine for a minute that you're a trucker.  That's really amazing! It kind of reminds me of those catch-cables on aircraft carriers. Similar principle?Is that the driver praying in the first pic? Dude's lucky to be alive, and lucky he didn't kill someone.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 23:50
|
|
|
Silver Falcon posted:
Similar, except the cables on carriers don't deform irreversibly like these. The guy in the first picture is the driver, and he's praying his rosary.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 23:52
|
|
|
Those look way better than the dirt ones I saw in WV some years ago.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2012 23:55
|
|
|
How much do they cost? Install cost first time, and re-arm cost once it gets hit?
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 00:01
|
|
|
Elendil004 posted:How much do they cost? Ours came from these guys: http://impactabsorption.com/ They don't have any prices on their website, and it was bid before 2009, so we don't have bid history for it anymore. I can't imagine they're cheap; probably somewhere around $100k. There are many different versions, including ones that can pop up from the ground (or drop down from above) at a drawbridge. Cichlidae fucked around with this message at 12:14 on Aug 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 00:07
|
|
|
Those are pretty cool, although I wonder if they'd probably work better in situations where their use would be fairly rare. I live in Colorado, and the runaway truck ramps here are used approximately "all the goddamn time", so they tend to go for cheap and effective. Here's one on the stretch of I-70 leading into Denver; it's on the far right side, basically just a long stretch of thick gravel with a whole bunch of water barrels at the end (not visible here, it's a long-rear end ramp since it's on a downgrade): In other areas on I-70 I've seen where they just stick the ramp on about a 20% up grade off to the side and let gravity do the work for them. On a related note, one can divine a certain sense of exasperation on the part of the Colorado DOT:   The beacons on that one all blink simultaneously. Truckers don't notice? Slap some more yellow lights on! (pictures are all from here) potato of destiny fucked around with this message at 04:02 on Aug 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 03:59
|
|
|
potato of destiny posted:On a related note, one can divine a certain sense of exasperation on the part of the Colorado DOT Hahaha, I was trying to come up with an adjective to fit those signs.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 04:36
|
|
|
t_violet posted:Check out the bike lanes. NYC has installed over 200 miles of bikes lanes over the last few years, including some separated facilities which is the newest trend. I'm skeptical that it's really worth the investment for a relatively miniscule percentage of the traveling public in many cases. But NY has done a lot of them. (PDF with some pics) I saw these on 9th Ave near Chelsea Market. Really pretty. But NYC drivers are loving insane--not sure I wouldn't trust a car to ignore the left red arrow when the straight is green.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 07:11
|
|
|
Here in California we use gravel for our runaway truck ramps, too. Seems a hell of a lot cheaper; I wonder if there's any advantage to the metal straps thing. Works better in snow?
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 10:03
|
|
|
Choadmaster posted:Here in California we use gravel for our runaway truck ramps, too. Seems a hell of a lot cheaper; I wonder if there's any advantage to the metal straps thing. Works better in snow? As the fish mentioned, it does a better job of preventing driver injuries compared to standard emergency ramps and helps protect the cargo in the trailer (which is usually worth way more than $100k). They can also be installed in situations where a full length ramp would not be feasible, like the ramp at US44 and Rt10 in Avon, CT. Can't demolish a historical landmark, now can we? Varance fucked around with this message at 11:07 on Aug 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 10:38
|
|
|
Varance posted:As the fish mentioned, it does a better job of preventing driver injuries compared to standard emergency ramps and helps protect the cargo in the trailer (which is usually worth way more than $100k). They can also be installed in situations where a full length ramp would not be feasible, like the ramp at US44 and Rt10 in Avon, CT. Can't demolish a historical landmark, now can we? I can basically confirm the speculation about the worth of the freight in the trailer, working in the freight business myself. I'm not a driver, I do clerical work, but I've still got a pretty good idea of some of the challenges. Surprisingly, depending on the loading system, the freight may not even be that damaged! The company I work for at least uses a trailer bound racking system. Of course this depends on everything being done properly. Which, naturally, if people are in a hurry, it may not be. Then again, if it's a long haul run (I work in LTL, which for us basically works rather like the pony express, the trailers being broken and reloaded many times until they hit the destination. Straight long haul is more something our Truckload division would do.) Anyway I can say this, while people would likely be really pissed off to possibly get their freight late, especially with how many companies do not want to keep Any Extra Stock On Hand EVER, thus schedule freight to come in juuuuust as they're running out, but even then they'd prefer a day late to damaged beyond delivery- the second would take at LEAST three days to replace. Honestly this method of stopping runaway trucks is one of the more impressive things I've seen. Granted the trucking company won't be happy to lose a trailer... That stuff is expensive! Especially with the rather common governed tractors, that don't go above 62 (Next time you're stuck being a trailer going 62 on a highway that allows 65, keep in mind that a: Their weight may be slowing them... 28' trailer only has a weight allowance of about 40k I believe but it's still 40k, and b: there is a really high chance their truck has a governer preventing them from going above 62, I believe for gas effiency sake. Also c: that dricing a tractor trailer is actually really, really hard.)
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 11:34
|
|
|
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3500330&pagenumber=1 GBS thread about bridge collapses. May be worth a look for people here.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 12:41
|
|
|
Why not use a retractable, braked band like for airplanes, that could be re-wound and handle multiple stops before needing replacement?
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 13:38
|
|
|
Chaos Motor posted:Why not use a retractable, braked band like for airplanes, that could be re-wound and handle multiple stops before needing replacement?
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 15:18
|
|
|
I don't believe we use those types in Massachusetts. The only two runaway truck ramps I know of (Route 57 in New Boston, Masspike before Exit 3) are all of the elevated gravel variety.
kefkafloyd fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Aug 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 19:54
|
|
|
I love walking to work but goddamn today was the closest call yet with a fuckhead inattentive driver almost running me over. Usually it's people waiting to make a right turn, waiting, waiting, waiting, and then when the light changes they finally go and almost kill me. Lately it's been assholes wanting to make a left but they zoom forward as soon as the light changes thinking they'll cut off all the oncoming traffic, but that also means tearing through the crosswalk, with ME in it. Someone did this to me two weeks ago, and when I shouted "watch it!" he stopped his truck in the intersection and screamed obscenities at me. He would move forward a foot or two and stop, like he was thinking about getting out to fight, and then he followed me for a quarter mile. The one this morning just threw her hands in the air as if it was all somehow out of her control. If you think you have good drivers in your city try walking to work. You will quickly learn the truth.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 20:21
|
|
|
Why are you still in the crosswalk while they have the right of way? I'm confused.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 20:32
|
|
|
Mandalay posted:Why are you still in the crosswalk while they have the right of way? I'm confused. In most jurisdictions, being in a crosswalk means you have right of way, if there are no traffic lights.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 21:16
|
|
|
John Dough posted:In most jurisdictions, being in a crosswalk means you have right of way, if there are no traffic lights.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 21:50
|
|
|
I am crossing in a crosswalk at a standard light controlled intersection. I have a walk signal and the right of way in ALL cases. I would never complain about a driver if I was doing something dumb. These are drivers that for whatever reason are illegally seizing the right of way and almost running me down in the process. So if the light turns green and I get my walk signal and am crossing west to east, and a westbound driver wants to turn left (south) he has to pass through the crosswalk. If I'm in the goddamn thing he has to wait even though he has a green light, because pedestrians crossing legally always have the right of way in Los Angeles. EDIT: There's also the basic idea that in any case if there is a pedestrian you maybe should not run them over, or pass so close you can hit them with your side view mirror. That leaves no margin for error and is just plain dumb. Dick Trauma fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Aug 8, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 22:03
|
|
|
Oh hey, crosswalk chat. I've been meaning to post this for a while but whenever I've been up there I haven't had my camera on me. So it's nice that in this case the cars stopped far back enough to allow me to cross in the line of the crosswalk (which is entirely behind the stop line). This is usually not the case. To top it off, cars coming the other way (during the only phase where I can get a walk signal, since cars heading the direction I'm facing have a straight-left phase) tend to swerve in the direction of the stop bar, due to the alignment of lanes on my side of the road. The crosswalk signals on this side of the intersection are new with the recent construction/paving, so there wasn't a painted crosswalk before (there is one parallel on the other side of the intersection, which is almost as bad). So I think what probably happened was they repainted the lines as they were before, completely neglecting the crosswalk.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 22:15
|
|
|
Dick Trauma posted:I am crossing in a crosswalk at a standard light controlled intersection. I have a walk signal and the right of way in ALL cases. I would never complain about a driver if I was doing something dumb. These are drivers that for whatever reason are illegally seizing the right of way and almost running me down in the process. Oh yeah, this is dumb. I see this from time to time near Wilshire and Vermont. The day before yesterday, I rented a car, drove around Manhattan, and saw it all the time everywhere.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 22:19
|
|
|
Varance posted:They can also be installed in situations where a full length ramp would not be feasible, like the ramp at US44 and Rt10 in Avon, CT. Can't demolish a historical landmark, now can we? This particular location is the one I'm most familiar with. It was installed by direct order of the Governor after a really horrific crash in 2005, and another near-fatal two years later. They were bad enough crashes to get a prominent section in the town's Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avon,_Connecticut#Avon_Mountain_traffic_accidents Chaos Motor posted:Why not use a retractable, braked band like for airplanes, that could be re-wound and handle multiple stops before needing replacement? Imagine, if you will, a giant cheese-cutter. Seriously though, the metal straps are cheap. Most of the cost is setting up the concrete chutes, grading, etc. It's the deformation of the straps itself that absorbs the energy of the impact, so if you went with just a cable, you'd need something behind the scenes to absorb that same energy.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 22:28
|
|
|
Compare the photo of the truck Cichlidae posted with the truck in the video here: http://www.barrier1.us/ These are basically the carrier plane arresters.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 22:43
|
|
|
Dick Trauma posted:Los Angeles. I think I found the root cause of your problem. My understanding is that LA drivers consider pedestrians to be mythical beasts, or possibly figments of their imagination.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 23:08
|
|
|
Finally, I get to be a unicorn!
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2012 23:33
|
|
|
Guy Axlerod posted:Compare the photo of the truck Cichlidae posted with the truck in the video here: http://www.barrier1.us/ Oh man, that is the Evil Doppelgänger of the truck arrestors! Looks like they're used for security, where the survival of the occupant is an undesired outcome. Edit: Arrigoni photos from today. Here is something that would make a great desktop. I'm putting it on my credit card.  To foster some much-needed goodwill, we sandblasted and re-painted the "MOST BEAUTIFUL STEEL BRIDGE" plaque. The subcontractor did it for free, in fact.  becomes... 
Cichlidae fucked around with this message at 01:17 on Aug 9, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2012 00:54
|
|
|
I'm going to politely suggest that example system is specifically designed to brutally pulverize the driver and cab contents, and is intended for actively hostile locations. Of course I am referring to something with a less dramatic braking. Cichlidae, how do you replace the deformable steel bands?
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2012 01:17
|
|
|
Chaos Motor posted:I'm going to politely suggest that example system is specifically designed to brutally pulverize the driver and cab contents, and is intended for actively hostile locations. Of course I am referring to something with a less dramatic braking. They come in a little cartridge (which seems almost impossible to find pictures of). The cartridge can be replaced very simply; they're held in place by a padlocked bolt through the top of the barrier. Unbolt, remove, put in a new one, bolt it back in. They look like this in cross-section:  Pulling the metal strap (blue) around the fixed pins (black) dumps a whole bunch of energy into plastic deformation. Normally, flexing steel plastically so much means it becomes very brittle (which is why these can't be re-used), but the ribbon is being pulled out constantly, so each individual section of steel doesn't see too much plastic deformation. I think the different strength units have different pin arrangements to change the amount of energy they absorb, and thus the force they provide.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2012 01:29
|
|
|
I was unaware that we were still using the Latin U (V) back in 1938. e: I did some driving in Jersey this week and this sign is an abomination:  Why can't we just use this?.   Mandalay fucked around with this message at 01:38 on Aug 9, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2012 01:35
|
|
|
Mandalay posted:I was unaware that we were still using the Latin U (V) back in 1938. It's a feature of some art deco scripts. [e]This one would be a modern example inspired by those: 
Munin fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Aug 9, 2012 |
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2012 01:39
|
|
|
Mandalay posted:e: I did some driving in Jersey this week and this sign is an abomination: Clearly that is US routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9! A 9-way concurrency! Definitely not in the MUTCD. Sometimes Jersey gets it right (jughandles, Jersey barriers), and sometimes it gets it wrong (suburbs, the aforementioned sign). Munin posted:It's a feature of some art deco scripts. It was authentic back then, too!
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2012 01:50
|
|
|
Cichlidae posted:They come in a little cartridge (which seems almost impossible to find pictures of). The cartridge can be replaced very simply; they're held in place by a padlocked bolt through the top of the barrier. Unbolt, remove, put in a new one, bolt it back in. Looks like a good design, but I wonder how much of the energy is dissipated as the straps rub against each other as they wrap tighter.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2012 02:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 17, 2024 01:39 |
|
|
Chaos Motor posted:Looks like a good design, but I wonder how much of the energy is dissipated as the straps rub against each other as they wrap tighter. I don't think the end of the strap is connected to anything, so it simply unrolls and doesn't tighten. Connecting the end of the strap to the canister would just crush the canister once it ran out of slack, and I'm pretty sure the canister is meant to be re-used. It's just the strap itself that needs to be replaced.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2012 02:23
|
|