SPEEDING IN WORK ZONES

WRECK-LESS DRIVING©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist

SPEEDING IN WORK ZONES
BRANCHBURG, NJ
While serving with the American Red Cross Disaster Services in the Hurricane Floyd flood zone I had 3 weeks to observe daily how NJ drivers behave in the continual heavy metro area traffic. Most are very courteous even when almost bumper-to-bumper at 75 mph in rush hour on I-287. Something I see rarely in many other states..

They were very good about signaling their intentions. And I found that when signaling my intentions they would make room for me to change lanes or merge. When coming from a side road or driveway many would stop in slow heavy traffic to let me go in front of them. I saw no road rage and little unacceptable aggressive driving. Despite the speed they acted safely and I saw no crashes during my daily 60 mile round trip. The “speed cops” seemed to be working the Interstate only on weekends when they could safely pursue and stop an errant motorist.

There were many construction work zones on Route 22, all marked for lower speeds and doubled fines. Again most drivers obeyed, by 5 mph or so. Because of heavy daytime traffic and the disruption caused by construction most of the highway repair work was done at night. By 4:00 am the work had ceased and the lanes were open again to traffic. Other states might do well to adopt this timing also.

Across the USA, each year, more than 700 people are killed in work zones, including about 100 highway repair workers. If the work were done during the night, as in NJ, there would be fewer motorists and workers exposed to the dangerous but necessary situations.
GHD206 all rights reserved

FLUORESCENT ROAD SIGNS

WRECK-LESS DRIVING©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist


FLUORESCENT ROAD SIGNS
HAZEL DELL, IL: “Have you seen the new fluorescent yellow/green road signs? They seem to be used only for warning of the possible presence of pedestrians or bicyclists” So asks Ella D. in a recent letter about road signage. Yes, Ella, I had seen them on a CD-Rom from The U. S. Department of Transportation. They looked impressive on my computer and should be very effective on the roadways .

One, of many, vision problems motorists have is seeing moving objects early enough when they are smaller than automobiles. Judging their distance and speed is a problem for many older drivers. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and small animals are in peril when on the roadways. While motorcyclists burn their headlamps in daylight to be more visible we do not see many pedestrians carrying lit flashlights during the day. Bicyclists could burn their handlebar lights but the batteries would run down all too soon. As for animals, well, we can see their eyeballs at night but they do not reflect enough during daylight.

A special sign warning of the potential presence of these smaller travelers is an excellent improvement in posting effective street and highway signs. These new signs are used in only a few locations right now and simply cannot be at all places where smaller mobile road users may be. Thus we need to continue our safe driving practice of keeping our full attention on our driving. Distractions such as cell phones, exciting radio programs, smoking while driving, out of control children, and back seat drivers do make it more difficult for the driver to be watchful for dangerous road situations of all types.
GHD205 all rights reserved

CHEATING ON THE SHOULDER

WRECK-LESS DRIVING©
by Gunther Doerfert, Auto Safety Columnist

CHEATING ON THE SHOULDER
DEPOSIT, NY: A professional long distance driver, Sally. A, wrote to say that there is highway construction going on across the nation. This causes traffic delays and sometimes miles-long lines. Delays are caused, too, by collisions, slow drivers, and inclement weather. Whatever the cause there are a few drivers who cannot suffer the delay and “cheat” by driving on the shoulder or emergency lane.

This is unlawful everywhere. Mainly because such impatient drivers may thereby block emergency vehicles from reaching quickly the scene of the traffic problem. Human lives are thus endangered even further. In Kansas I saw a line of such shoulder cheaters stopped just short of the next exit ramp by a police officer with a fat book of blank citations. Serves them right!

You have, no doubt, been upset by drivers refusing to move over until the last moment at places where lanes merge. Then they force their way into the front of the long line. Perhaps you have done this yourself at some time when you felt your convenience came first. Sally says that when she sees them coming in her rear view mirrors she moves her rig to cover parts of both lanes. Says she gets a lot of good CB radio vibes from the 4 wheelers whom she “protects” with this tactic. I wonder if that maneuver is lawful?

Tennessee has a new law which carries a hefty fine for not merging at the sign which directs all to merge. And that sign is now placed a greater distance from the protected zone to .make the process fairer and safer. It is the law in 29 other states, too.
GHD204 all rights reserved