Work zone driving in Missouri

[Mac in Mo]

The post about Ted's wife prompted me to say, we have the worst drivers here in Mo in the work zones. I see more accidents and near misses in these things. People absolutely ignore the massive amounts of lights and signage. I notice when I am going through them, myself and just a handful of cars are doing the posted limits. Most people fly through these things, with the narrowed lanes and all the obstacles not seeming to matter to them. There are some very self centered people on the roads, caring not a bit about the carnage they they can and do cause. It pixxes me off to no end.


Kevin

[jnyork]

It's everywhere. In Arizona, there is a highway patrol car at each end of a work zone, just waiting.

[Mac in Mo]

Over in Illinois, they have signs stating that there are speed cameras in the work zones, with huge fines. I don't know if they really have the cameras, but there are a lot less speeders.


Kevin

[J Miller]

Kevin,

I agree about the huge fines, the drivers are just as bad. They drive around like they have their heads up their exhaust pipes. There have been many road construction site accidents here and most of them are hard to explain other than the driver wasn't paying attention or something.

Joe

[Eye-Bite!]

As long as I can ever remember, there has never been a time where I have traveled through Pennsylvania and not driven through a work zone. Perpetual job creation.

[jeepnik]

I have no problem with having scores of police to write tickets for speeding in work zones. But, I do not think cameras should be allowed. First, and having been a victim of them, they are very inaccurate. And second, they are also used for other "spying" on the public at large.

I know of one area where a private company put up cameras on the intersections adjacent to their facility, with the local governments well wishes. The feeds are live 24/7/365, and it is all stored digitally. Because the facility is large enough that it has buildings across several busy streets, the company had become concerned about it's employees jaywalking. When the company tried to take action against the jaywalkers, they were politely informed that it was a public street, and had no authority to take action against the offenders.

The company being run by an egomaniac didn't like being told what he couldn't do so he turned the video over to the local police. Between employees handing in their notice (and the threatened law suits) and the various lawyers who were lining up to sue the city, both the city and the egomaniac were put in there place.

Sounds like a good out come except for one thing. During this uproar the company decided to allow the feeds from the cameras to go directly to the police. Now the police will likely never write a jaywalking ticket on the video. But the city passed a no smoking law, it applies to everywhere except inside your home (and they are trying to make it apply to apartments and condos). Well they have written a number of "smoking" tickets based on these cameras. And no one has beat them yet, as the local judges are some of the most vocal advocates of not smoking.

[Mac in Mo]

I'm not advocating camera usage, simply my observation. I probably should have stated that.

If gun owners were as irresponsible as many vehicle operators are and caused as much death and destruction as they do, imagine the uproar. Blood does "run in the gutters" on the highways, yet not a sound from anyone.

Kevin

[Griff]

I am somewhat ambivalent on the issue of speed/speeders/speeding. The posted speed limits are a good indicator of a top safe speed. However, even in construction zones, the general rule of the "Basic Speed Law".

No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.

You can consider construction in that list.

CA also has a "Minimum Speed Law", which state under sect. 22400.:

(a) No person shall drive upon a highway at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, unless the reduced speed is necessary for safe operation, because of a grade, or in compliance with law.

No person shall bring a vehicle to a complete stop upon a highway so as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic unless the stop is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.

(b) Whenever the Department of Transportation determines on the basis of an engineering and traffic survey that slow speeds on any part of a state highway consistently impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, the department may determine and declare a minimum speed limit below which no person shall drive a vehicle, except when necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law, when appropriate signs giving notice thereof are erected along the part of the highway for which a minimum speed limit is established.

Subdivision (b) of this section shall apply only to vehicles subject to registration.

Folks have used the former to have speeding tickets dismissed, even when in excess of the posted limit. And have been cited as being in violation of this section when below said posted limit. And folks get cited under the latter section also.

Strict reliance on the signs can get you in trouble on either side of the posted number. Driving is an activity that requires attention, discerning intelligence and diligence. Traits & skills all too lacking in many drivers, as Sergeant Phil Esterhaus would say, "Hey, let's be careful out there."

[jeepnik]

Funny thing about mine was I was stopped at a red light, and the vehicle next to me ran it. Yet whoever looked at the photo obviously somehow mixed up our license plates. Oh, and the fact that I was driving a white pickup and the other person a small dark (photos are black and white) subcompact. Yea, I know they look a lot alike.

One thing I did learn is that, here at least, it's actually a video, and you can request the video. Now, I still had to pay the bail (amount of the ticket) and request a hearing. Then I had to take a day off work to go to court. And guess what, you get the bail back, but you can't recover the time and money you lost. Seems even if governmental idiot screw up you still end up paying for it.

If fair were fair, the fool who screwed up should be paying for my time and reimbursing me for the lost income. At about $450. an hour it would take the drone many a day to pay it off. Then again, they would pay a lot more attention to detail next time.

[Pisgah]

As long as I can ever remember, there has never been a time where I have traveled through Pennsylvania and not driven through a work zone. Perpetual job creation.

AMEN! I drove I-81 from Scranton to I-77 in VA yesterday. PA was a work zone about every 5 miles!

[FWiedner]

I will observe that there are a lot of folks who don't pay attention to or in work zones the way that they should.

I have an opinion that some of the inattention or confusion is due to simple sensory overload. There are so many colored signs and flashing lights that it is sometimes difficult to devine the intent of the engineers who have designed the detour. It's worse when it rains. The simple solution is to slow down and assess the situation, but many times the flow of traffic won't permit someone who may be slow of reflex or wits to take that precaution.

It's a poor driving habit to just maintain speed and continue to plow through, but that's what people do.

I recall several weeks ago I was on an eastbound access road to I-635 and driving twixt the orange signs. I approached an intersection and was trying to figure it all out and when I stopped at what I thought was the indicated point. I found myself sitting at a red light directly in front of two lanes of southbound traffic following another detour. Luckily, it was early early and the southbound folks had not stepped on the gas, and waited patiently for me to get the H out of their way.

But that's all it was, I just didn't understand what all of the signs, cones, flashing lights, reflectors, barrels, and arrows were directing me to do. I stayed in the lane, between the markers, in the direction indicated, below the speed limit, drove to the red light and stopped. In the wrong place.

A simple dumb mistake, nobody hurt, my fellow drivers tolerated my mistake, but I had to run the light to get out of the way.