fj12ryder wrote:
Personally I'd feel very unsafe passing, or being passed, by this particular setup. There is no way that conglomeration of vehicles could be controlled in any kind of panic situation or panic stop. That, to my mind, is what makes it unsafe. A guy pulling one trailer behind his 5th wheel may be illegal, but not necessarily unsafe. This combination of vehicles was unsafe and should have been pulled over. Control in anything other than straight and steady would be impossible.
OTOH people doing 10 mph over the limit in a controlled manner are not inherently unsafe. Contrary to popular postings, speed doesn't kill, unsafe drivers kill, whether they are speeding and driving erratically, or driving an obvious unsafe combination of vehicles.
Old, old study, repeated many times. If you "unpost" a road for several months and let people set their own speed and clock the traffic, then set the speed limit of 85% of the average speed clocked, you'll have better traffic flow with very few accidents or need to stop people. The stupidest thing going is in Kalifornicate (where else), where vehicles with trailers are relegated to 55 mph, while the rest of traffic whizzes by at 65-70+. The =difference= in speed is the real cause of accidents and the =worst= accidents. I drive a 25 mile stretch of freeway 2x per day, usually in bumper-to-bumper. There is an HOV lane on the inside. The worst accidents happen when the main traffic is at a near-standstill and the HOV traffic is moving at or above the 65 mph posted limit. Someone will invariably jump out of the slow traffic and into the HOV lane, then get rear-ended by someone there moving at 65-70 mph. Almost a daily occurrence. If AZ were truly serious about traffic safety, they'd install automated speed limit signs that would =change= the speed limit depending on traffic conditions, especially in the HOV lane.
Lyle
