4 ms·

>Del. Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) said various advocacy groups, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the National Safety Council, gave him the idea. He

>Del. Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) said various advocacy groups, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the National Safety Council, gave him the idea. He drove a car outfitted with the technology and was impressed. “It was easy to use, and once you’re engaged it’s impossible to go over the speed limit,” he said. “It will make our streets safer.” How do you reconcile "left lane is for passing, slower traffic keep right" with hard speed limits and speed regulators? I've never found a satisfactory answer besides the German highway system. Let's say all cars are electronically limited to the speed of the Beltway that goes around Virginia and Maryland in a circle around DC(55MPH). The Beltway has left exits and right exits, as well as merging traffic from the left AND the right. Sometimes you need to get across 2-3 lanes quickly. How do you pass someone going the speed limit enough to create a safe following distance and then merge over in front of them if they are going at exactly the speed limit? Merge behind them instead? What if there's someone behind you and you can't brake? In the Maryland side of the beltway, wherever there's a hard speed limit enforcement mechanism, i.e speed cameras, cars suddenly slow down when they get to the camera and then floor it as soon as they're out of its range. Locals who drive there every day just memorize the camera locations. The sudden drop in speed from people going 70+ down to camera speed creates a more unsafe situation than if we just allowed people to speed more in the left lane and actually formalized it instead of this wishy-washy gray zone system that depends on law enforcement feeling like pulling you over if you're unlucky or an outlier.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> How do you reconcile "left lane is for passing, slower traffic keep right" with hard speed limits and speed regulators? I’m okay with serial speeders losing the ability to pass.
Sohcahtoa82 2y ago
> What if there's someone behind you and you can't brake? The obvious answer is that you brake, and the person behind you is forced to brake as well. You can always brake. But knowing how many asshole drivers are out there, what I predict happens next is that the driver behind you decides that you're a moron slowing down for no reason and then gets into the left lane to pass you, putting themselves in the gap that you were planning on going into. They ignored your turn signal (You are signaling, right?) that would have told them that you were getting out of their way.
ahazred8ta 2y ago
> How do you pass someone going the speed limit You don't. It is not legal to exceed the speed limit while passing. There is no such thing as needing to violate traffic laws. There is no such thing as not being able to brake or slow down, regardless of who's behind you. Sometimes it is not possible to cross several lanes in time to make a certain exit, while driving legally. Your legal option is to proceed to the next exit, regardless of whether that makes you unhappy. If driving legally makes you unhappy... that's a YOU problem.
- neither_color 2y ago
  When a majority or plurality of people ignore a law unless a cop or camera is around then maybe it's time to update the law, perhaps by looking to see how other countries or jurisdictions address it. Some countries have higher speed limits, or different per lane speed limits, or have legal "buffers" where they wont enforce(like 10kph over), or explicitly make exceptions for passing. All of these are preferable to a too slow limit made in a different era with lower safety standards. Im talking about controlled access highways by the way. Not residential or city zones. Those need fewer cars in general.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago

> How do you reconcile "left lane is for passing, slower traffic keep right" with hard speed limits and speed regulators? I’m okay with serial speeders losing the ability to pass.

Sohcahtoa82 2y ago

> What if there's someone behind you and you can't brake? The obvious answer is that you brake, and the person behind you is forced to brake as well. You can always brake. But knowing how many asshole drivers are out there, what I predict happens next is that the driver behind you decides that you're a moron slowing down for no reason and then gets into the left lane to pass you, putting themselves in the gap that you were planning on going into. They ignored your turn signal (You are signaling, right?) that would have told them that you were getting out of their way.

ahazred8ta 2y ago

> How do you pass someone going the speed limit You don't. It is not legal to exceed the speed limit while passing. There is no such thing as needing to violate traffic laws. There is no such thing as not being able to brake or slow down, regardless of who's behind you. Sometimes it is not possible to cross several lanes in time to make a certain exit, while driving legally. Your legal option is to proceed to the next exit, regardless of whether that makes you unhappy. If driving legally makes you unhappy... that's a YOU problem.

neither_color 2y ago
When a majority or plurality of people ignore a law unless a cop or camera is around then maybe it's time to update the law, perhaps by looking to see how other countries or jurisdictions address it. Some countries have higher speed limits, or different per lane speed limits, or have legal "buffers" where they wont enforce(like 10kph over), or explicitly make exceptions for passing. All of these are preferable to a too slow limit made in a different era with lower safety standards. Im talking about controlled access highways by the way. Not residential or city zones. Those need fewer cars in general.