Driving and Roads

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Black Hole said:
In the dead of night I ignore the no-right-turn!
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EEPhil said:
Tut-tut!
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Black Hole said:
The no-right-turn is there for traffic flow management when there is traffic. It's not unsighted, so not a safety issue, and when there is no other traffic there is nobody to catch me doing it.
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EEPhil said:
People could argue the same about going through a red-light in the middle of the night when there's no other traffic.
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Quite so. Nonetheless, I see it as a lesser offence, just a fraction above exceeding the default 20mph limit we have in these parts, and ignoring this particular no-right-turn means I don't then miss the left turn after the U-turn at the roundabout.

The arguments supporting 20mph limits for safety reasons are a crock of shit. If it's 20 because 20 is safer than 30, why stop at 20? Why not 3 (brisk walking speed)? It's a compromise, and a political decision where to balance the compromise – not a scientific one.
 
Black Hole said:
Quite so. Nonetheless, I see it as a lesser offence, just a fraction above exceeding the default 20mph limit we have in these parts, and ignoring this particular no-right-turn means I don't then miss the left turn after the U-turn at the roundabout.

The arguments supporting 20mph limits for safety reasons are a crock of shit. If it's 20 because 20 is safer than 30, why stop at 20? Why not 3 (brisk walking speed)? It's a compromise, and a political decision where to balance the compromise – not a scientific one.
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Why not 3 (brisk walking speed)?
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Bring back the man carry in the flag in front of cars? ;-)
In some countries traffic lights in low traffic areas change to flashing amber in all directions at night. Very sensible and one added benefit is the roads are quieter - less acceleration noise
 
mumble_myopia said:
In some countries traffic lights in low traffic areas change to flashing amber in all directions at night. Very sensible and one added benefit is the roads are quieter - less acceleration noise
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When I was in Munich in the 1980s-90s (visiting, not working) I remember seeing main roads near the centre with something similar. I can't remember for sure but I think the main road traffic lights were turned off and the side road lights were flashing amber as an instruction to give-way. It's made more complicated by the strange rule (to us at least) of give way to traffic from the right at a junction except if there is a yellow diamond with white background sign at the junction (which there often is).
 
EEPhil said:
When I was in Munich in the 1980s-90s (visiting, not working) I remember seeing main roads near the centre with something similar. I can't remember for sure but I think the main road traffic lights were turned off and the side road lights were flashing amber as an instruction to give-way. It's made more complicated by the strange rule (to us at least) of give way to traffic from the right at a junction except if there is a yellow diamond with white background sign at the junction (which there often is).
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The other thing they had (in the late 70s) in Germany were sets of signals after a traffic light junction on main roads that indicated the speed to drive at in order to reach the next set on green - I've never understood why they haven't caught on elsewhere :-(

BTW system can't seem to find your piccy
 
mumble_myopia said:
In some countries traffic lights in low traffic areas change to flashing amber in all directions at night. Very sensible and one added benefit is the roads are quieter - less acceleration noise
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I did some driving in Canada in the 1980s, and IIRC country crossroads had a light suspended in the middle which was flashing red or flashing amber. I was told flashing amber had right of way over flashing red.

The big shock was driving at night (before I got used to it), pulling up at a red light only to find myself in the middle of the junction!
 
Black Hole said:
The arguments supporting 20mph limits for safety reasons are a crock of shit. If it's 20 because 20 is safer than 30, why stop at 20? Why not 3 (brisk walking speed)? It's a compromise, and a political decision where to balance the compromise – not a scientific one.
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The scientific reason is the survival rates at 20mph compared to higher speeds. Do you also think the drink drive limit is also a crock and just a compromise ?
autoscommunity.com

Survival Rate on 20mph Roads 17.5% Higher, Say Motor Safety Groups

With road fatalities rising, introducing 20mph roads across the UK could save hundreds of lives a year. Motoring safety experts at Road Angel
autoscommunity.com autoscommunity.com
 
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Black Hole said:
You still have to choose the threshold of acceptable risk, which is arbitrary. Survival rate is 100% at 0mph.
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[Not a serious comment!] 0mph would be the total speed. I could conceive of an accident where one of those runners, who often block the pavement, misjudge an approach to a parked car and run into it and do themself some terminal damage. For perfect safety on the roads - nobody move at all.
trog said:
The scientific reason is the survival rates at 20mph compared to higher speeds. Do you also think the drink drive limit is also a crock and just a compromise ?
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Unless everyone is using electric vehicles there's extra pollution at 20mph, and with all the intentional and unintentional (pot-holes) speed bumps extra noise.
Drink-drive limit is a compromise. Don't drink and drive. Limit should be zero.
 
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