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I have lots of questions (I studied economics in school) but I'll try to restrain myself.  I apologize if I accidentally ask something that's already been asked. (This thread is awesome, by the way.)Given what you've said, do you agree with The Economist's assertion that the de facto speed limit in the US is 10 over? I've often heard cops say that if they stopped everyone going 10 over there'd be riots or something to that effect. Do you think the fact that most people speed most of the time reduces respect for road laws and/or police officers? Why do some huge interchanges meet in big cities? Wouldn't it make far more sense to do those fairly distant from the city and just save the inside for local traffic? What do you think of Beijing and its 6 ring roads? Is this an efficient design? Was it worth the massive amount of bulldozing and other nonsense to make them, especially the last two? Do you ever work with economics graduates or professors? I've heard some of them take this kind of thing as contract work. Why can't protected left turns be on a timer so that, during low traffic periods, they aren't in effect? I've read a lot about what you've said on the topic so far, but I'm still curious. Why are automatic signal changers for ambulances/fire engines designed so poorly? Not only do they seem to skip a whole traffic signal cycle, sometimes it seems like it's more than one, or that it makes the red light cycle excessively long. Is driving guided by inertia, conscious thought, or something else? I can never tell if people drive slow in the fast lane because they just happen to be in that lane/need to get over at some distant point or to consciously slow other traffic down. I've heard people say both. And here is my $10,000 question. When stopped, why do some drivers leave gigantic spaces between themselves and the next car, even in tight left turn lanes and other very congested spaces? This has to be one of the worst and most avoidable forms of congestion. Yet I can never find any consistent reason why people do it. I've asked a lot of people and no one really seems to know why. Because of that, I think it must be some unconscious force, like an excessive desire for control or safety or something. Any thoughts?
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Jul 29, 2009 02:31
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| # ¿ May 5, 2024 18:16 |
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Thanks for answering my (many) questions. Drivers not being able to judge space is the best explanation I've heard yet for people leaving huge gaps in traffic while parked, but I'm not fully convinced. Are that many people so bad at judging distance that they leave 2-4 car lengths of space (or more) between them and the next car? Even if you just want an emergency out or are worried about being rear-ended you can get by with much less. I'm talking about spaces so wide that other cars could easily pull into them (and do, rarely). Also, does construction projects take so long on purpose? I knew a guy that ran a local construction company and he would often put up barriers months before he did work, so that it was obvious that he took the job. He'd take much more work than he could handle to have a steady stream of income. It'd be fine by me if he'd just wait to block off the road until he was ready to work on it. Anyway, I see projects that take forever even when they are working on it. My dad used to joke that engineers put up runways overnight but it takes construction companies years to complete road construction. Any thoughts?
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Aug 5, 2009 01:52
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