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Devor posted:Realtalk, it's a platoongroups. Interesting. Any idea on the etymology of that? I know the interstates were mainly funded because of the defense argument, being able to move large amounts of military equipment and troops around in the event of war. I wonder if the context of the word originated from actual military platoons travelling on the highway.
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Jan 16, 2015 15:34
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According to dictionary.com, the word platoon comes from the French peloton, which means "platoon" or "group of people" (it is used in the Tour de France and other bicycle races to mean a group of cyclists drafting off each other), and which comes from the Old French peloton meaning "little ball."
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Jan 16, 2015 15:51
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nielsm posted:But even if it legally isn't one, would it cause drivers to behave as if it was a real roundabout? I actually encountered this during my driving lessons, pavement that looked like a roundabout and most people treated it like a roundabout but it lacked the roundabout signs. So my instructor made me treat it like a 4 way crossing because that is what it legally is  . A few weeks later the city put in the roundabout signs. So practically half would treat it as a roundabout half as a 4 way crossing, a accident would occur and the city would be liable (probably) and change it to the proper layout.
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Jan 16, 2015 17:37
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Due to a spate of wrong way Interstate collisions, we're testing some new tech in Florida to try to clue people in that they're going up an exit ramp. The first is a take on reflector studs that shine with red LEDs whenever the motion detector sees a vehicle coming the wrong way. The other is a glorified RRFB with red LEDs instead of amber. The actual concept is old... we're just looking for modernized solutions that might work better. These new signs send a message to the local traffic management center, so that LED guides can be immediately changed to warn traffic of an oncoming wrong-way driver. http://www.wtsp.com/videos/news/local/2015/01/14/21745489/  
Varance fucked around with this message at 22:36 on Jan 16, 2015 |
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Jan 16, 2015 22:26
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I've seen a few no U-turn signs around my area that are similar to RRFBs, as well. They certainly make the signs more visible at night.
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Jan 16, 2015 22:32
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Maybe there's some really bad ramp designs out there (or just amazingly stupid people) but with how the actual geometry of the roads are constructed, let alone signs, I find it unbelievable people could ever end up going the wrong way down a divided freeway. I mean youtube proves me wrong, but I don't get it. poo poo like that should be an automatic 1 year license suspension or something. Unless there's some really confusing badly designed ramps out there.
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Jan 16, 2015 22:36
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Baronjutter posted:Maybe there's some really bad ramp designs out there (or just amazingly stupid people) but with how the actual geometry of the roads are constructed, let alone signs, I find it unbelievable people could ever end up going the wrong way down a divided freeway. I mean youtube proves me wrong, but I don't get it. poo poo like that should be an automatic 1 year license suspension or something. Unless there's some really confusing badly designed ramps out there. 1) People drive while drunk. 2) People drive while texting. Both have the same effect of impairing driving to the point that people make wrong way turns. Blinkenlights are supposed to get the driver's attention to see the whole "Wrong Way" thing if they aren't actually looking at the road. Edit In Florida, wrong-way driving is the equivalent of a speeding ticket. Perhaps the laws should be changed to be more strict... Varance fucked around with this message at 22:43 on Jan 16, 2015 |
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Jan 16, 2015 22:37
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Varance posted:1) People drive while drunk. Driving laws really need to be a lot more draconian and involve actually suspending licenses for X days rather than just cash fines. This is life and death safety poo poo. It's so weird how a crane operator or industrial equipment operator can get fired on the spot and barred from ever doing it again for the slightest safety breach (because they take it seriously) but people entrusted with controlling huge heaps of metal meters away from other vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists can outright kill people through extreme negligence and get just a ticket or brief suspension. We need way stricter and more comprehensive driver's ed and testing. Driving isn't a right, if you don't have the awareness, discipline, and knowledge of the rules of the road you don't get to drive. We need way stricter punishments for extremely unsafe driving. This is life and death, this is the biggest killer of people under 30. Driving isn't a right, if you've repeatedly proven you don't have the skills or attitude to drive safely you are banned until you can prove otherwise. We also need to re-structure our land-use and infrastructure so that we don't have a society where everyone has to drive, driving should be reserved for those who can prove sufficient skill at it, not an assumed universal right.
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Jan 16, 2015 22:48
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Varance posted:Edit In Florida, wrong-way driving is the equivalent of a speeding ticket. Perhaps the laws should be changed to be more strict... Inadvertently turning down the wrong way, if you realize what you've done immediately and stop without causing harm, should be roughly like a bad speeding ticket. It can happen as an honest mistake. I've never done it myself but I've been in a few cars where it almost happened from some combination of weather-obscured lines, bad signage, and driver inattention. Taking a left turn on to a divided road at night when there was no other traffic on the road (thus no cars sitting at the light in the oncoming lane making it more obvious) accounted for two of the times. In all cases someone in the car realized what was happening and the furthest we got was a car length in before turning around. The dumb/drunk fucks who either don't realize or realize and panic, either way keeping going until something bad happens, they need to be taken off the road. Basically getting to the highway end of the onramp (or having wrecked on the way) is where I'd draw the line. wolrah fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Jan 16, 2015 |
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Jan 16, 2015 23:02
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Baronjutter posted:Maybe there's some really bad ramp designs out there (or just amazingly stupid people) but with how the actual geometry of the roads are constructed, let alone signs, I find it unbelievable people could ever end up going the wrong way down a divided freeway. I mean youtube proves me wrong, but I don't get it. poo poo like that should be an automatic 1 year license suspension or something. Unless there's some really confusing badly designed ramps out there. Usually it's dark and people are a bit drunk, and they don't realize they went the wrong way until they see oncoming lights. And if it's after the bars close, there usually isn't much oncoming traffic. I don't think the geometry would be very noticeable. We have a lot of offramps that just tee to roads, and look exactly the same as an on-ramp excpect for the DO NOT ENTER signs.
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Jan 16, 2015 23:28
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Varance posted:1) People drive while drunk. Don't forget old people. I can always notice when they are about to do it; usually they'll hesitate right before the intersection, and then turn. For a while I watched it happen once or twice a month, but lately it's been several months since I've seen them do it. And the most I've seen one go is about halfway before they realize what happened and stop.
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Jan 16, 2015 23:57
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I was reading some interesting accident data. People love to blame old people as the worst drivers, but when it comes to accidents, injury, and death old people are about tied with young people. They just kill and injure people in different types of accidents. With old people it's confusing break and gas, not reacting fast enough, or just losing control for medical reasons. For young people it's speeding, not paying attention, and drunk driving. But apparently the numbers are pretty similar. The young people problem could be helped with better education/harder testing and stricter enforcement. In countries with slower more graduated licensing programs they have much lower rates of young people killing them selves and others on the roads. The old people problem could be solved by making people get re-tested every X years after they reach Y age and maybe just maybe having doctors actually recomend taking licenses away from people once they're blind or reaction times so slow they're a danger to others. Once again, in places that actually do this, actually have stricter health related criteria to maintain your license, they see far lower rates of injury and death by olds. Of course good traffic engineering helps a huge amount too. But in many cases I think we'd get a lot more safety bang for our buck by investing in better training and enforcement vs making the roads even more idiot-proof. But that comes back to the north american idea that every single person needs to be able to drive, the bar for getting and keeping your license is so ridiculously low and there's such a massive political resistance to any change.
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Jan 17, 2015 00:35
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I almost turned down the wrong way on a ramp on to route 128 when it was five in the morning and it was really dark. Fortunately I realized my mistake before I went down the ramp. The geometry of those ramps (where Route 128, Route 30, and the Mass Pike converge in Weston) are garbage, especially in the dark. Thankfully, over the last year they painted cat tracks there, so that mistake won't be made again... at least, until the winter time.
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Jan 17, 2015 02:02
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Baronjutter posted:I was reading some interesting accident data. People love to blame old people as the worst drivers, but when it comes to accidents, injury, and death old people are about tied with young people. They just kill and injure people in different types of accidents. With old people it's confusing break and gas, not reacting fast enough, or just losing control for medical reasons. For young people it's speeding, not paying attention, and drunk driving. But apparently the numbers are pretty similar. While old and young drivers both get in accidents more frequently, they're different kinds of accidents with different causes. For wrong-way freeway entries, though, the elderly are heavily overrepresented. Distraction and inexperience won't lead most people to drive ten miles down a freeway going the wrong direction; being 105 years old and still driving because there's no mandatory retesting does. We can spend millions on flashing signs and bright red strobes and extra WRONG WAY placards, but unless we solve the main causes of wrong-way crashes (elderly drivers and DUI/DWI), they're going to keep happening.
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Jan 18, 2015 01:40
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Thwomp posted:Everytime this thread comes around to why Americans can't handle roundabouts, I think of this intersection nearby: The interchange of Golf Road and 294 also does strange things. No taking 294 south for you! Baronjutter posted:But that comes back to the north american idea that every single person needs to be able to drive, the bar for getting and keeping your license is so ridiculously low and there's such a massive political resistance to any change.
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Jan 18, 2015 05:15
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294 has limited access by design. You can't get on going north up at 176. Granted, it still sucks and can be confusing, but then again this is the metro area that brings us PALATINE ROAD
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Jan 18, 2015 05:52
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Real talk: what percentage of wrong-way crashes are suicide attempts? Most people involved in such accidents around here seem to be under 50.
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Jan 18, 2015 08:14
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lavaca posted:Real talk: what percentage of wrong-way crashes are suicide attempts? Most people involved in such accidents around here seem to be under 50. Unfortunately, my state doesn't keep track of crashes due to mental illness. I can understand that it wouldn't be practical to do so if you're a cop filling out an accident report and would cause tremendous legal headaches if you happened to be wrong. I don't know of any source that compiles a retrospective analysis of suicide attempts, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
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Jan 18, 2015 16:23
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It seems like a particularly terrible way to commit suicide, considering driving into a tree would accomplish the same thing without hurting an innocent bystander.
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Jan 18, 2015 16:51
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Haifisch posted:I had the pleasure of driving through there today. Not mentioned by thwomp: This intersection is on the most direct route to take from I-294 to Ikea, Woodfield Mall(biggest mall in Illinois), and a bunch of other stuff, so traffic's heavy. Oh, hey, my commute! Why would you take that route to Woodfield instead of driving a bit further south to I-90?
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Jan 18, 2015 17:36
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whitey delenda est posted:294 has limited access by design. You can't get on going north up at 176. Granted, it still sucks and can be confusing, but then again this is the metro area that brings us PALATINE ROAD Goddamn you you reminded me of that street
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Jan 18, 2015 18:46
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smackfu posted:It seems like a particularly terrible way to commit suicide, considering driving into a tree would accomplish the same thing without hurting an innocent bystander. Better even because there is no crumple zone on a tree/concrete wall to absorb some of the energy.
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Jan 18, 2015 18:54
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Well thats one way to solve road funding.  South Dakota Governor Proposes Perpetual Gas Tax Increase quote:PIERRE – The Legislature should raise several major taxes and fees on motor fuels and vehicles, because highway funding is falling short in South Dakota, Gov. Dennis Daugaard told state lawmakers Tuesday. Also Republicans have a super majority in both houses of the state legislature.
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Jan 18, 2015 21:14
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Makes sense, seeing as they get a ton of cross state traffic that won't otherwise stop except for gas.
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Jan 19, 2015 00:33
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Has anyone else started seeing an increase in the flashing yellow arrow to yield in a protected left turn lane, instead of just the solid green signal? It seems like C-DOT is putting those up now whenever an older signal is getting replaced.
will_colorado fucked around with this message at 08:39 on Jan 19, 2015 |
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Jan 19, 2015 08:01
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will_colorado posted:Has anyone else started seeing an increase in the flashing yellow arrow to yield in a protected left turn lane, instead of just the solid green signal? It seems like C-DOT is putting those up now whenever an older signal is getting replaced. Yes, they're appearing in this part of VA. A full set of signalhead replacements on a main road are getting the blue lights over reds, as well.
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Jan 19, 2015 10:51
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Communist Zombie posted:Well thats one way to solve road funding. The worst thing is the local papers are barely touching on this, because the papers are all about the R candidates. Doogie threw some doozies in that state of the state. Luckily, most of town is a well-planned wonder to drive. Traffic sucks, just cause we're on a grid system and the grid was designed for a town of 50k. Right now we're sitting around 250k. The highway/bypass works really well too, 29/229 wind up being the main N/S thoroughfares to everywhere but downtown, and like, most of the exits are either already SPUIs, or quickly being retrofitted.
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Jan 19, 2015 16:29
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will_colorado posted:Has anyone else started seeing an increase in the flashing yellow arrow to yield in a protected left turn lane, instead of just the solid green signal? It seems like C-DOT is putting those up now whenever an older signal is getting replaced. I have not seen any of those in CO for protected lefts, only for unprotected lefts. But I also don't drive in an a lot of areas that have unprotected lefts, they are almost always protected only.
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Jan 19, 2015 20:55
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AA is for Quitters posted:The worst thing is the local papers are barely touching on this, because the papers are all about the R candidates. Worst thing? A perpetually-increasing gas tax is a traffic engineer's dream come true! ♥ EDIT: Anyone who is interested in the I-84 Project is welcome to come join us at the Hartford Public Library this Wednesday for the official Scoping Meeting! Cichlidae fucked around with this message at 04:15 on Jan 20, 2015 |
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Jan 20, 2015 00:46
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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/19/southbound-i-75-closed-after-major-bridge-collapse/22031819/ Welp.  Is this one of those "told you so" overpasses that needed replacing anyway?
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Jan 20, 2015 06:20
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A construction worker for the city doing work on the bridge, or just some random dude who happened to be a construction worker for an occupation?
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Jan 20, 2015 06:28
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Baronjutter posted:A construction worker for the city doing work on the bridge, or just some random dude who happened to be a construction worker for an occupation? It looks like it feel on that excavator there, so I bet they were doing some work on that. I wouldn't be surprised if that was a factor.
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Jan 20, 2015 06:44
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Javid posted:http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/19/southbound-i-75-closed-after-major-bridge-collapse/22031819/ It already was replaced. They were doing demo work on the old section, apparently. I've worked with Kokosing on 75 and know some of their excavators. This is crazy. Happy Noodle Boy fucked around with this message at 13:56 on Jan 20, 2015 |
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Jan 20, 2015 13:52
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This photo was posted in the OSHA thread. Maybe I'm not seeing it right, but where is the part of the bridge that runs from the support on the right side of the road to the remaining ramp? Did they demolish that while having the excavator on the remaining part of the bridge? 
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Jan 20, 2015 15:23
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Gonna laugh if they had the excavator with hammer attachment on the bridge while hammering away. 
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Jan 20, 2015 20:32
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Cichlidae posted:While old and young drivers both get in accidents more frequently, they're different kinds of accidents with different causes. Where I am they stopped the mandatory testing for over 75 drivers because 'older drivers are experienced and don't need to subjected to the presumption of guilt.' . It was a blatant cost saving exercise to try to cut the budget shortfall and grey vote grab.
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Jan 21, 2015 13:50
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Yeah, I heard some olds going on about how mandatory testing after a certain age just because old people start to cause more and more accidents is like racial profiling at airports or businesses refusing to let black people into their store because "they're statistically more likely to be criminals". God drat old white people love to imagine they're oppressed some how. AGEISM!!!!!!! 65+ apartments and condos are ok though because all young people are noisy and irresponsible.
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Jan 21, 2015 16:25
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I apologize that there's no English translation, but I came across this interesting article about a planned experiment by the Danish Transport Authority. As a background, some of the highways around Copenhagen have been upgraded with electronic speed signs. These are used to regulate the traffic during rush hour, warn about delays, and warn about emergency traffic coming from behind. Now the transport authority wants to disable the signs for 5 months and put up old-fashioned, static signs in order to compare traffic patterns.
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Jan 21, 2015 19:03
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NFX posted:I apologize that there's no English translation, but I came across this interesting article about a planned experiment by the Danish Transport Authority. As a background, some of the highways around Copenhagen have been upgraded with electronic speed signs. These are used to regulate the traffic during rush hour, warn about delays, and warn about emergency traffic coming from behind. Ideally they'd have collected that data before they put the new signs up, but you can't always get what you want.
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Jan 21, 2015 19:22
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I believe they rebuilt the road (and added a lane in each direction) when they put up the electronic signs, so that's why they don't have any data from before.
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Jan 21, 2015 20:13
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