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I'm glad the police are so concerned with our safety. And catching speeders on Capital is a start - as they caught my wife two days ago..... :-(
But if they are really interested in our safety, what about the 50% of Triangle drivers who never use their friggin' signal when they turn???? Or tailgate? Or pass on the right? Or drive in the inside lane at a relatively slow speed, forcing people to pass on the right?? Or the 99% of women driving SUV's that constantly talk on the phone behind the wheel???? When are they going to crack down on that?
I drove all over Germany with no speed limit. I was doing around 90 mph and people were passing me as if I were parked. And yet, I never felt like it was dangerous. But two minutes on Capital and I'm scared.....
And if they are really, really interested in catching speeders, why the archaic system of "policeman chasing in car"? That's so cowboy. So inefficient. Just place cameras every 10 miles and take a picture of any car that exceeds the limit. Mail the person the picture and the fine. That's what they do all over Europe, now.
Then the police - so concerned about our safety - can monitor our neighborhoods, instead of eating donuts and scarfing down coffee on Capital, waiting for my wife to drive by doing 78 in a 55......
I'm glad the police are so concerned with our safety. And catching speeders on Capital is a start - as they caught my wife two days ago..... :-(
But if they are really interested in our safety, what about the 50% of Triangle drivers who never use their friggin' signal when they turn???? Or tailgate? Or pass on the right? Or drive in the inside lane at a relatively slow speed, forcing people to pass on the right?? Or the 99% of women driving SUV's that constantly talk on the phone behind the wheel???? When are they going to crack down on that?
I drove all over Germany with no speed limit. I was doing around 90 mph and people were passing me as if I were parked. And yet, I never felt like it was dangerous. But two minutes on Capital and I'm scared.....
And if they are really, really interested in catching speeders, why the archaic system of "policeman chasing in car"? That's so cowboy. So inefficient. Just place cameras every 10 miles and take a picture of any car that exceeds the limit. Mail the person the picture and the fine. That's what they do all over Europe, now.
Then the police - so concerned about our safety - can monitor our neighborhoods, instead of eating donuts and scarfing down coffee on Capital, waiting for my wife to drive by doing 78 in a 55......
--JC
Joe I believe they are on the look out for all of those things. It's not necessarily speeding inclusive from what I read. Speeding in general (not way excessive) is probably safer then half of the things you mentioned. The problem with most speeders is that they not only speed on a wide open road with no traffic (not as much as an issue), but that when traffic gets slow they tend to become more reckless by weaving in and out of cars, etc because they desire to stay at the speed they were traveling with less traffic. IMO speeding in general is not as big of an issue and being reckless in general on the roads. If you want to speed a little with no traffic and good road conditions I don't think it's too big of a deal, but when you come upon traffic, don't weave in and out and don't tailgate.
Hrm...I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. I think the drivers around here are much better than what you encounter in places like Detroit, New York, or Boston. The drivers in DC aren't that bad either...I've never been afraid of death when I've driven through DC. I cannot say the same about Detroit, New York, or Boston.
You have a point and you probably right. I was born in NY and also drove there, but I can't speek for Detroit. I guess my point was that I am happy that Law Enforcement has decided to step up efforts to combat agressive and reckless driving...and that I believe this should be a 24/7 operation and not just a few times a year when holidays are here. From what I have seen in my short 1½ years here is that the numbers of LE personel on the roads seem less than anywhere else I've ever lived or even been to for an extended period of time.
I'm glad the police are so concerned with our safety. And catching speeders on Capital is a start - as they caught my wife two days ago..... :-(
...
Then the police - so concerned about our safety - can monitor our neighborhoods, instead of eating donuts and scarfing down coffee on Capital, waiting for my wife to drive by doing 78 in a 55......
--JC
They have to find a compromise between the amount of effort for dollars raised, and amount of hassle they create for the average person versus the amount of perceived benefit they provide if they want to keep public support. It's hard to catch people tailgating or failing to yield (and this is subjective so it would be easier to fight in court) while it's easier to point to the results from a radar gun of someone doing 61 on a nearly deserted 55 MPH road. Add in the great PR work that's been done relating speed to danger, and speed enforcement becomes an effective way to raise money and pretend to help safety at the same time. I'd imagine they're trying to up their public image before going for some more funding - I also saw the "we need more cops" short news segment on WRAL recently so I'm guessing it's just that time of year again. Slow down for a few weeks, they'll forget about it soon enough.
I'd much rather the cops enforce the traffic laws you mention which actually impact safety and drop the PR campaign to prove they're doing a good job. But you can't argue with what works for them, I guess.
But I've got to say, 78 in a 55 on Capitol might be pushing it a bit as far as harmless speeding goes.
And if they are really, really interested in catching speeders, why the archaic system of "policeman chasing in car"? That's so cowboy. So inefficient. Just place cameras every 10 miles and take a picture of any car that exceeds the limit. Mail the person the picture and the fine. That's what they do all over Europe, now.
--JC
That is an excellent idea! It's consistent and fair. You speed...you pay for it. You're not more likely to get a ticket if you drive a red car, and you're not going to be able to get out of a ticket by flirting. Cops aren't put at risk of being run over on the side of the highway. And it's cheaper than paying salaries to police officers to sit on the side of the road...they can concentrate on other problems.
But if they are really interested in our safety, what about the 50% of Triangle drivers who never use their friggin' signal when they turn???? Or tailgate? Or pass on the right? Or drive in the inside lane at a relatively slow speed, forcing people to pass on the right???
I work for an international company and often work with Europeans who have come to RTP for business. Without fail, the first thing that they ask about is why there is no lane discipline. They can't understand why Americans insist on getting in the left lanes and just stay there, forcing everyone to pass them on the right. As I understand it, in Europe you can get a ticket for passing on the right, so people stay to the right except to pass.
I work for an international company and often work with Europeans who have come to RTP for business. Without fail, the first thing that they ask about is why there is no lane discipline. They can't understand why Americans insist on getting in the left lanes and just stay there, forcing everyone to pass them on the right. As I understand it, in Europe you can get a ticket for passing on the right, so people stay to the right except to pass.
You can get a ticket for passing on the right here too. I betcha 95% of drivers out there have no clue about that law and I also betcha that 99% of cops do not enforce that law. It seems to me that some drivers can just not stand the fact that someone is in front of them, regardless of whether or not they intend to speed. I've had people tailgate me, pull around me and then proceed to go the same speed as me. I guess they just didn't want me in front of them?
Everywhere I've ever lived - there usually is a big crackdown starting a few weeks prior to Thanksgiving. They're trying to "soften up" all of the leadfoots, etc... in anticipation of next week (busiest travel week of the year I think?)
You can get a ticket for passing on the right here too.
20-150.1. When passing on the right is permitted.
The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass upon the right of another vehicle only under the following conditions:
(1) When the vehicle overtaken is in a lane designated for left turns;
(2) Upon a street or highway with unobstructed pavement of sufficient width which have been marked for two or more lanes of moving vehicles in each direction and are not occupied by parked vehicles;
(3) Upon a one-way street, or upon a highway on which traffic is restricted to one direction of movement when such street or highway is free from obstructions and is of sufficient width and is marked for two or more lanes of moving vehicles which are not occupied by parked vehicles;
(4) When driving in a lane designating a right turn on a red traffic signal light.
I'm not a lawyer, but it looks like the only thing left after all of these are accounted for is passing on the shoulder.
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