Why so many accidents on 75? (Dallas, Arlington: home, living in, safety)

[mSooner]

Also, the ramp to the George Bush from 75 south is such a cluster****. It is beyond me how that design passed muster on a interchange that is relatively new. Every day I worry about getting into an accident and it is always a bottleneck.

[Transplanted99]

Originally Posted by mSooner

Also, the ramp to the George Bush from 75 south is such a cluster****. It is beyond me how that design passed muster on a interchange that is relatively new. Every day I worry about getting into an accident and it is always a bottleneck.

Agree...not much better going north on 75 from PGB. The merge lanes are much too close to the off ramps in both cases. Most of the "mergers" onto 75 south do not seem to realize that they can stay in their lane...it is when they try to move left while many are trying to move right that the cluster begins. Very bad design overall, yet it seems like there is enough space available to have done it "right".

I also noticed that the frontage service roads along PGB don't extend under 75. Not sure why...very confusing when first encountered as it does not seem the standard that other intersections follow (e.g. LBJ and 75, IIRC).

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by Transplanted99

Thanks for the link. Very interesting to see how DFW compares to other cities worldwide! DFW fares rather well, even with many much smaller cities.

I would like to see stats on accidents per mile traveled to get a real sense of apples to apples proportion before I could say the answer to the OP's question is related to the number of miles of roadway.

I have my beefs about DFW driving (particularly the left lane bandits), but I've not found it particularly worse than in other US cities. Only one thing I notice more of in DFW is on the wide boulevards, people frequently like to make wide turns (illegal btw, it is supposed to be lane to lane - e.g. right lane to right most lane; left lane to left most lane). It gets particularly egregious when they cut across three lanes on their turn, preventing you from turning.

Yes, another pet peeve of mine. Also people who are taking a right either at an intersection or into a parking lot who make a wide turn by first swerving to the left into the other lane. People, if you aren't driving at 18 wheeler you can make that turn without that dangerous move.

[kidicarus89]

Freeway design is one thing. I was driving around in Phoenix the other week and everything is laid out in a beautiful grid, with leisurely lanes, clear lane markings and on-ramps. Dallas on the other hand, is built in a very haphazard and confusing manner, which is puzzling, since its flat as can be and has little in the way of natural barriers to influence development.

The other, of course, is people driving like its life or death down the freeway, barreling through lanes, tailgating at unsafe distances and cutting each other with feet to spare.

[Transplanted99]

Originally Posted by kidicarus89

Freeway design is one thing. I was driving around in Phoenix the other week and everything is laid out in a beautiful grid, with leisurely lanes, clear lane markings and on-ramps. Dallas on the other hand, is built in a very haphazard and confusing manner, which is puzzling, since its flat as can be and has little in the way of natural barriers to influence development.

The other, of course, is people driving like its life or death down the freeway, barreling through lanes, tailgating at unsafe distances and cutting each other with feet to spare.

If you find Dallas haphazard, you will be completely lost in most of the older cities in the NE.

Having worked in many of the largest US cities (but not Phoenix, unfortunately), I feel safe in saying that Dallas is relatively well laid out and easy to navigate (traffic notwithstanding), and major roadways are somewhat planned in grid (N-S and E-W) format. One nice feature is that many of the main roads keep their names across city boundaries - not something you can count on in other major cities. I also like the dedicated u-turn lanes under most highways along the service roads.

I look forward to seeing/driving Phoenix.

[malehere]

Originally Posted by TX75007

This.

I was behind a gasoline hauler on Marsh yesterday and a man in a small car was texting and driving erratically as he passed me. He drifted over into the gas hauler and bounced off the rear tires on the trailer and spun out.

I let the responding officer know what I saw.

Thank You

[bigdaddycool1111]

Today I had 2 people almost hit me during my 15 minute commute. It's getting out of control. People make right/left turns without even bothering to look at whether there is incoming traffic or not. Two people made a right turn right in front of me today and I could have hit both of them if I didn't maneuver in the last second. Dallas drivers are getting worse and worse each day. They should stop handing out drivers licenses as if they are an entitlement.

[yukon]

Originally Posted by kidicarus89

Freeway design is one thing. I was driving around in Phoenix the other week and everything is laid out in a beautiful grid, with leisurely lanes, clear lane markings and on-ramps. Dallas on the other hand, is built in a very haphazard and confusing manner, which is puzzling, since its flat as can be and has little in the way of natural barriers to influence development.

The other, of course, is people driving like its life or death down the freeway, barreling through lanes, tailgating at unsafe distances and cutting each other with feet to spare.

I love driving Phoenix. I-10 can get a little hairy going into downtown but otherwise it's a joy to drive there. Dallas isn't so bad, there are alternate routes. Houston, OTOH -

[bigdaddycool1111]

Originally Posted by aznkobee

The invention of cars is so recent in human history so unfortunately people with retarded driving gene haven't all died out yet... but someday they will...

Sadly Dallas happens to have a very large population of those. In fact, DFW might be one of the major safe havens for them. Driving in Dallas is like participating in "special olympics" when you shouldn't be participating.

[kidicarus89]

Originally Posted by Transplanted99

If you find Dallas haphazard, you will be completely lost in most of the older cities in the NE.

Having worked in many of the largest US cities (but not Phoenix, unfortunately), I feel safe in saying that Dallas is relatively well laid out and easy to navigate (traffic notwithstanding), and major roadways are somewhat planned in grid (N-S and E-W) format. One nice feature is that many of the main roads keep their names across city boundaries - not something you can count on in other major cities. I also like the dedicated u-turn lanes under most highways along the service roads.

I look forward to seeing/driving Phoenix.

Well the Northeast is a complete different animal due to the primary development of those cities in the pre-car era. I've never driven a car there, but the mass transit systems of DC and NYC were super-easy for me to navigate. I'm mainly comparing Dallas to other Southwestern cities I've driven in (San Antonio, El Paso, Ft. Worth, Austin, San Diego, Denver, etc.) that were all majorly developed in the postwar automobile era. In comparison to those cities I find Dallas isn't as navigable (the core area that is, not the suburban fringe which is better laid out) as I would expect.

And Phoenix? It's like one giant suburb - I'd personally never want to live there, but it sure is easy to get around when I'm visiting. The city is one giant grid originally planned by the Corps of Engineers. Probably a big reason why its so popular with snowbirds.