On 7/28/2006 1:11 am, Hatunen wrote:
On 27 Jul 2006 15:27:19 -0700, "Sapphyre"
wrote:


Another road complaint (California specific), is when I'm booting along
at 65-70 with the other cars, but there's a gap, so the 18 wheeler
edges out in front of me, and slowly passes whatever at 55 mph. It
****es me off, because you'd think he'd see me closing in on him at a
high speed and realize it's better to let me get ahead of him and his
passing before slowing me down for a good 10 or so miles of roadway
where I keep having to apply my brakes. On the other hand, putting
myself in his shoes, if I'm in the right lane following someone doing
slower than 55, and I have a schedule to meet, I'd get past that guy at
the first opportunity where it's safe enough to change lanes.


And once the 18-wheeler is commmitted to passing and has its
steam up, it's pretty heavy to suddenly brake just to let you by,
or me, since the same thing rankles me. I-5 needs an extra lane
each way from the Grapevine northward.


What both of you have just commented on here is the inherent non-safety
of split car/truck speed limits. If trucks were allowed to go 70, or
frankly even 65, you wouldn't have such a huge range between minimum and
maximum actual speeds; trucks wouldn't take so long to complete passes,
meaning you would have more freedom to pass in the left lane; and it is
possible Caltrans could get away with delaying any kind of widening
project for another few years. You would be surprised how big the effect
of the split speed limits really is.

That said, although I have only been on it once, early on a Saturday
morning, I agree with you that I-5 in the Central Valley could use six
lanes.

--
Larry Harvilla
e-mail: roads AT phatpage DOT org
blog-aliciousness: http://www.phatpage.org/news/

also visit: http://www.phatpage.org/highways.html
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