Pittsburgh mystery (vehicle, winter, driving)

[pic-chic]

Mugatu, you've hit it right on the head in both of your recent posts. And I've come here from MA, so have a similar driving culture shock. It's not the end of the world if you go over the speed limit by 5mph while you're going down a hill. Per population unit, MA has fewer accidents, too - go figure.

[Pitt Chick]

Originally Posted by juliempdx

My all time favorite is how nobody in this town will go around you if you are waiting to turn and there is room for them to go around on the side of you.

Do you mean passing on the shoulder?

If so, that's illegal.

[Copanut]

Maybe the "merge" thing is due to a lack of driver's ed offered in the schools. I remember taking the class and the was one of the first things we did in the car. The idea is to being going as fast or faster than the traffic you're merging with, makes it easier to find a "slot". I don't see people stopping at the end of the ramp, but I do see a lot of people not even looking when they merge. They expect the traffic to "move over" for them. Drives me nuts.

[fleetiebelle]

I'm still trying to grasp the concept of the suicide on-ramp at Squirrel Hill. Nothing like sitting at a stop sign at the end of an on ramp and then having to slam on the gas to merge across two lanes of traffic that is basically coming around a blind corner at 60 +

It's like people at PENNDOT got drunk at the Christmas party and designed it as a joke, but it actually exists. I don't understand how there aren't accidents there every day.

[dugdogmaster]

^^^ I thought I heard a while back they were supposed to redesign that on ramp. Yes, no? There is a similar on ramp near where I live in Hermitage, PA, it was a perfectly fine merging on ramp with a yield sign and acceleration lane. About 2 1/2 years ago PennDot decided to redesign it into a suicide ramp with a stop sign and eliminating the acceleration lane. Since that redesign there have been 3 fatal accidents there. What do they do about? Put in a couple rumble strips Hey PennDot, put it back the way it was!

[Copanut]

I believe the SH ramp was an afterthought and was added years after the Parkway was completed. The topography of this area makes it tough to do things right.

[saturdayskids]

That onramp iN SH is the worst thing in the history of everything ever. It took me a few minutes to realize what you were talking about because I thought I was the only one afraid to go off of it. Glad to see more people than just me are concerned about that design

[trotter_rej]

I prefer to think of the SH stop sign merge as a test of the power of prayer . I've been told it used to be even worse (before my driving years), in that the stop-sign ramp didn't exist, but you used to be able to merge directly back and forth between 376 and Beechwood Blvd. right before the tunnel.

On the plus side of Pittsburgh driving, I find that drivers here, for the most part, use the left freeway lane for passing/driving faster and stay in the right lane for normal driving. There are exceptions of course, which you are most likely to encounter when you are 10 minutes late for an appointment. Having lived in South FL and Houston, the drivers there are much more oblivious to this rule of thumb.

[fleetiebelle]

I thought I was the only one afraid to go off of it.

If I'm in Squirrel Hill and need to go east, I'll drive through Regent Square and get on the Parkway there. No way will I ever use that ramp again.

[sketchbooks]

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

If I'm in Squirrel Hill and need to go east, I'll drive through Regent Square and get on the Parkway there. No way will I ever use that ramp again.

Yeah... If I'm going east I hop down to 2nd Avenue and get on at Oakland. The westbound ramp is fine.