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How about DC Metro area which is comparable to LI when it comes to traffic. I95 in Virginia just south of the Beltway is 65 mph. It reminds me of the LIE but with a fancier reversible toll HOV lanes. I don't hear about carnage on the road along that stretch.
Driving 80 mph on a long stretched road, that for the most part is wide and straight, the chances of horrible accidents is much lower. Take into consideration that there probably aren't as many cars on that road as there are here on any given road on LI. You don't hear about "carnage" probably because it's UTAH and not NYC or LI. How often does the traffic news for another state get aired here? Would people in Utah care about the traffic conditions in NYC or LI? The only times I've seen traffic accidents on the news regarding another state is when weather conditions are so extreme that they cause 20+ car pile ups.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kayfouroh
When was the last time that you were on I95 south of DC? I was just down there a few months ago and the second there is a problem, traffic backs up for hours.
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Exactly. I was there last year and I felt like I was home on the L.I.E. And drivers there were just as bad on the highways and forget downtown DC. Cars were cutting each other off by the loop. You literally had to dodge in and hope for the best.
Florida is just as bad. Lots of cars on the roads and everyone wants to speed. I spent 10 days down there last summer, 5 of which were in Orlando and it wasn't that bad but the other days in Ft. Lauderdale was like driving on either the LIE, the Southern State or Sunrise Hwy.
Again there are more dangerous roads then the LIE that has 55 mph speed limits. Deer Park Avenue,RT 347 , RT 454 that have 55 mph speed limits The LIE could easily have the speed limit raised to 65 mph for most of its length. Most drivers in the area feel more comfortable around 65 mph. If you want to drive slower drive in the middle or right lanes that is what it is for. Left lane should be passing only and you should NOT cruise in the left lane at 55 mph.
What they should do is do a study raise the speed limit to 65 mph from Exit 40 to Exit 73 and have a study done to see if fatalities or accidents go up or not if they don't then the speed limit should be kept at 65 mph if not then they should lower it back to 55 mph.
Utah DOT (UDOT) Did just this. Utah DOT: No Downside to 80 MPH Speed Limit Increase | The Truth About Cars
They found NO INCREASE in accidents or fatalities along this stretch. Just because you like driving at 55 mph and some how it makes you feel magically safer doesn't mean it is actually safer. The 55 mph was enacted in 1974 to save gas during the oil crisis not safety
I feel though that no matter what I or anyone says in this thread you will never change your mind but if you want to drive like an old far then get into the right lane. People like that you that feel self righteous in policing everyone else actually cause more accidents then prevent them. I guess we just need to agree to disagree here because arguing with you is like talking to a brickwall
In 2008, the state legislature granted UDOT permission to test higher limits on rural sections of the road. Using crash histories, engineering studies, UDOT carefully selected the areas that it believed would best handle the increased limit. The department then conducted before and after surveys of speeds and traffic volume on the three sections where the limit was changed. Although the signs permitted another 5 MPH in speed, the results showed that drivers did not ‘take advantage’ of the new limit to drive significantly faster.
The study consisted of a speed increase of 5 mph in [b]rural[b] areas on Utah's I-15. We're talking LONG stretches of NOTHING. No interchanges, no overpasses, no shopping malls, no industrial parks. A barren landscape. However it did state that most drivers didn't drive faster when given the increase of 5 mph to the speed limit. Given the number of interchanges, left lane loueys and speeding yahoos we already have, a decent number of the hurried drivers would exceed a new, increased speed limit -- unlike their counterparts in UT.
Location: Prince Georges County, MD (formerly Long Island, NY)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gpsma
Increases in speed lead to more fatal accidents. We need to keep it at 55 and enforce that limit. I feel driving at 55 is my choice...I choose to obey the law and to drive safely. Its only your impatience that makes you want to drive any faster because as i have shown, time and again, you dont save any significant time. So drive slower and be safer, you will get where you are going in plenty of time.
You're not driving safely when you're driving in the left lane without passing!
Driving 80 mph on a long stretched road, that for the most part is wide and straight, the chances of horrible accidents is much lower. Take into consideration that there probably aren't as many cars on that road as there are here on any given road on LI. You don't hear about "carnage" probably because it's UTAH and not NYC or LI. How often does the traffic news for another state get aired here? Would people in Utah care about the traffic conditions in NYC or LI? The only times I've seen traffic accidents on the news regarding another state is when weather conditions are so extreme that they cause 20+ car pile ups.
Exactly. I was there last year and I felt like I was home on the L.I.E. And drivers there were just as bad on the highways and forget downtown DC. Cars were cutting each other off by the loop. You literally had to dodge in and hope for the best.
Florida is just as bad. Lots of cars on the roads and everyone wants to speed. I spent 10 days down there last summer, 5 of which were in Orlando and it wasn't that bad but the other days in Ft. Lauderdale was like driving on either the LIE, the Southern State or Sunrise Hwy.
As I said can you explain to me how I95 in Northern Virginia is much different then the LIE when it comes to traffic conditions? I was on the beltway in May and I was stuck in traffic like the LIE.
It usually comes down to ones driving abilities not speed. Accidents can happen at any time and place. Most accidents happen in parking lots at speeds under 5 mph. We're all humans and with that we all have different traits,abilities,limitations,reflexes,reaction times,perceptions. Bottom line...some people are better drivers than others
Driving 80 mph on a long stretched road, that for the most part is wide and straight, the chances of horrible accidents is much lower. Take into consideration that there probably aren't as many cars on that road as there are here on any given road on LI. You don't hear about "carnage" probably because it's UTAH and not NYC or LI. How often does the traffic news for another state get aired here? Would people in Utah care about the traffic conditions in NYC or LI? The only times I've seen traffic accidents on the news regarding another state is when weather conditions are so extreme that they cause 20+ car pile ups.
Exactly. I was there last year and I felt like I was home on the L.I.E. And drivers there were just as bad on the highways and forget downtown DC. Cars were cutting each other off by the loop. You literally had to dodge in and hope for the best.
Florida is just as bad. Lots of cars on the roads and everyone wants to speed. I spent 10 days down there last summer, 5 of which were in Orlando and it wasn't that bad but the other days in Ft. Lauderdale was like driving on either the LIE, the Southern State or Sunrise Hwy.
I never said raise the speed limit on the LIE/Sunrise to 80 mph raise it to 65 mph. Have them do a study like in Utah to see if there is actually an increase in accidents.
I think for some people, driving 55 and blocking people from passing is just their way of having control over others, because they have no control over their families or anything else of importance in their lives.
Do you mean 65 mph on Sunrise Highway, the crowded road that goes by the mall in Massapequa?
...or maybe the one that runs as a 6 lane highway from Copiague all the way out east. That's also Sunrise Hwy and average speed on it is easily 75mph.
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