Honk if you didn't see this coming from a mile away...
LACEY, WASH. (AP) - An anti-tailgating strategy on Interstate 5 backfired in the form of unexpected traffic jams, state transportation officials have discovered.
Officials from the state Transportation Department and Washington State Patrol planned to meet Monday to reassess the $35,000 Two Dots To Safety pilot program on a two-mile stretch of the freeway north of this Thurston County town. Similar programs are in use in Maryland, Minnesota and Pennsylvania.Road crews painted dots 80 feet apart and posted signs telling drivers to stay at least two dots - 160 feet - from the vehicle ahead, based on the traffic safety principle of being at least two seconds behind another vehicle when going 60 mph.
Long backups developed Saturday, the day after the program began, when drivers slowed down because of heavy traffic and continued to maintain the two-dot separation, although that much distance was not necessary at slower speeds, said Lisa Mordock, a Transportation Department spokeswoman.
Which reminds me of Professor Bainbridge's comment [on red-light cameras making intersections less safe], "The law of unintended consequences once again rears it ugly head and bites safety regulators in the ass."
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Comments (12)
Spreading cars out by that ... (Below threshold)1. Posted by eman | August 15, 2006 12:24 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Spreading cars out by that much is the equivalent of shortening the roads by a factor of four!
My dog could have figured that one out.
Somebody OD'd on stupid-pills again.
1. Posted by eman | August 15, 2006 12:24 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 15, 2006 00:24
2. Posted by scrapiron | August 15, 2006 12:44 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
No stupid pills required. This is Wash. state which is in a constant state of supidity.
2. Posted by scrapiron | August 15, 2006 12:44 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 15, 2006 00:44
3. Posted by eman | August 15, 2006 12:55 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Sorry, Pal, Mass. is way dumber than Wash. We have the Big Dig.
3. Posted by eman | August 15, 2006 12:55 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 15, 2006 00:55
4. Posted by Jim Addison | August 15, 2006 2:48 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Doesn't every states' drivers' manual and traffic laws dictate you should follow a safe distance behind the car ahead? It's been awhile, but I remember I had to know the reaction and braking distances at various speeds just to pass my written test.
What's next, then? Government agents to DRIVE us everywhere, too? Why should we be trusted to obey ANY of the traffic laws?
4. Posted by Jim Addison | August 15, 2006 2:48 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 15, 2006 02:48
5. Posted by James Cloninger | August 15, 2006 3:57 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The problem is that those little blue dots stay spaced so far no matter what prevailing speed the traffic is moving. Now, if those little dots were smart enough to respace themselves when the overall speed decreases...
5. Posted by James Cloninger | August 15, 2006 3:57 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 15, 2006 03:57
6. Posted by jpm100 | August 15, 2006 6:11 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The real problem is that the road probably needs more lanes or there needs to be another freeway.
6. Posted by jpm100 | August 15, 2006 6:11 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 15, 2006 06:11
7. Posted by Alexandra | August 15, 2006 7:26 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Is this staged? Don't the cars in the front row look just alike? Others in the back look remarkably similar too.
7. Posted by Alexandra | August 15, 2006 7:26 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 15, 2006 07:26
8. Posted by Faith+1 | August 15, 2006 8:01 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The real problem is that a lot of people are just really bad at math. Painting the dots was a collosally stupid idea because the distance of the dots varies with speed. You want cars 2 seconds apart--not a fixed 80 feet apart. Could have save a ton of money and headache if they had just placed signs and a slogan of 2 SECONDS apart and not 2 DOTS apart.
People just don't think a lot of things through.
8. Posted by Faith+1 | August 15, 2006 8:01 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 15, 2006 08:01
9. Posted by ed | August 15, 2006 11:06 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Hmmm.
Reminds me of the apocryphal story about where Boston, in a vain hope of improving traffic flow, turned all the "one way" signs inward towards the center of the city.
Which of course made it nearly impossible for anyone to actually leave Boston.
No idea if it's true, but it does amuse.
9. Posted by ed | August 15, 2006 11:06 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 15, 2006 11:06
10. Posted by JohnAnnArbor | August 15, 2006 11:23 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
If the signs said to keep the separation only at freeway speeds, they would have been better off.
10. Posted by JohnAnnArbor | August 15, 2006 11:23 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 15, 2006 11:23
11. Posted by ed | August 16, 2006 10:55 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Hmmmm.
Personally I think a vastly more effective sign would have been:
"Don't drive like a dick."
But I live in New Jersey ... well you get the idea.
11. Posted by ed | August 16, 2006 10:55 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 16, 2006 10:55
12. Posted by epador | August 16, 2006 11:43 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
How about a contest to design a bumper sticker that says:
If you can read this you are close enough for me to _________. [c'mon, USE you Imagination folks!]
I'm sure it would get lots of attention, encourage a new line of bumper stickers and maybe even help educate the public and change the behavior of a few million unsafe drivers...
Without creating dots on the highway!
12. Posted by epador | August 16, 2006 11:43 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 16, 2006 23:43