tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post4990021980596737073..comments2024-02-01T04:37:41.878-05:00Comments on Cap'n Transit Rides Again: When speeding is common, people dieCap'n Transithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17057887736728828646noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-37672217008107599832012-05-05T18:52:33.066-04:002012-05-05T18:52:33.066-04:00Buses accelerate differently than cars. The slowes...Buses accelerate differently than cars. The slowest road car can make 0-60 in around 12 seconds. It takes a bus between 25 and 30 seconds to do that. The shorter acceleration lanes on certain exits would force buses onto the main road at less than 20MPH. That is a terrible combination. I am generally a proponent of bus use of parkways, but the Bronx River would have to have an entrance restriction at certain spots.<br /><br />Alex, all cameras make a certain portion of the driving public antsy. This breaks the flow of traffic. Things that break the flow of traffic tend to cause accidents. A lot of the lights with cameras have had their yellow time cut by half or more, giving vehicles no chance to clear the intersection. What trick will be done with the speed cameras.jazumahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00890764412679388559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-55709619169753024302012-05-05T03:54:28.670-04:002012-05-05T03:54:28.670-04:00If speed cameras and instruments do not reduce acc...If speed cameras and instruments do not reduce accidents, why should buses increase accidents? In both cases it's a matter of driver errors and social learning. The only difference is that car drivers will keep causing accidents, whereas bus drivers can be trained not to.Alonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17267294744186811858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-45596118715102773672012-05-02T15:36:07.556-04:002012-05-02T15:36:07.556-04:00I'm confused. You say speed cameras will "...I'm confused. You say speed cameras will "cause accidents". But the only way I can see that happening is because someone is speeding, sees there is a camera, and slams on their brakes, causing a rear-end collision. But then you insist that "people need to pay attention when driving". By that measure, it's the people not paying attention that causes the accident, not the speed camera. <br /><br />Certainly, speed cameras (and red light cameras) need to be used properly by authorities. They should be seen as a safety instrument and not a revenue instrument. <br /><br />Regardless of how we achieve it, greater road safety is an important goal and we should use both enforcement and design to achieve it. Simply saying "oh well, accidents happen, what can we do?" is a terrible approach that won't save any lives.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04337729876550314547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-56076563848347858672012-05-02T14:08:45.557-04:002012-05-02T14:08:45.557-04:00Speed cameras? They will do the same thing as red ...Speed cameras? They will do the same thing as red light cameras, which is cause more accidents. Instruments need to be calibrated regularly and there are numerous cases where police have been caught with uncalibrated radar guns. How do you fight a ticket from an uncalibrated gun? The Hutch is the same way (65-70MPH) and so is I-95, but there is actually regular radar on both on the NYC sections.<br /><br />Frankly, there is no need to change the highway. People need to pay attention when they are driving, particularly on a twisty road like the Bronx River. Too many people do not take driving seriously and while I am sorry seven people died, they died because of DRIVER ERROR. There are few infrastructure fixes that can compensate for driver error.<br /><br />With the short acceleration lanes, buses would probably create more accidents there unless you turned one whole lane into an acc/dec or slow vehicle lane.jazumahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00890764412679388559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5862444008740250372.post-61058244272279722742012-05-01T15:59:36.277-04:002012-05-01T15:59:36.277-04:00"Gonzalez was driving well above the posted 5..."Gonzalez was driving well above the posted 50 mph limit, but speeding is common at that point and she may have been simply keeping up with traffic."<br /><br />This is an astonishing response to the speeding. And the answer is not to step up enforcement or to implement traffic calming, but to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade the road so it can accommodate those speeds? How about we spend a fraction of that on speed cameras? That is if Albany says we're allowed. Sigh.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04337729876550314547noreply@blogger.com