Lets talk traffic safety.....

[glhs837]

The recent spate of accidents has gotten me thinking. Some things that seem to either not be taught, of folks have forgotten them.

Merge lanes, or acceleration and decceleration lanes. These come in a variety fo flavors, but all are meant to be used in the same manner. If you are travelling on the main roadway, these lanes allow you to either speed up to the speed of traffic before merging, or give you time to slow down for your turn after leaving traffic.

Please note the parts I have bolded, as these seem to be the most common misuse of these lanes. Folks either travel to the end of the accel lane, then stop, or slow down to turning speed before entering the decell lane.

Heres the one at Wildewood onto 235 south.

lexington park - Google Maps

The intended usage for these lanes is that stop right at the beginning of them, then use them to speed up to the flow of traffic. Do not drive to the end of it, then expect to merge cleanly with traffic travelling 50-60mph. Its all about speed differential, the greater it is, the greater the chance of an incident, and the greater the damage will be when one happens.

Decell lanes are the opposite.

lexington park - Google Maps

If traffic around you is going 55, and you want to be at 15mph for that turn into Airport Road, then dont slow down to 30mph before entering that lane. Enter that lane at 55, or at worst 50. Then use that lane to slow down to the speed for the turn.

Lastly, median crossings, or cuthroughs. Like the one below, the one at St Johns road. I use this road twice a week to go to class, and it gets pretty crazy in this cutthrough at times. These things are a safety concern to start, as they feed you into the "fast lane" with no accell lane to get up to speed. But the bigger danger is folks who use them improperly, leaving no visibility to judge when to merge into traffic.

lexington park - Google Maps

So, for those who dont know how to use these, heres how. Your car should always be on the side of the cut through towards your oncoming traffic. This seems odd, as the folks going the other way will cross in front of you as you wait. Thats fine. That way, he can see approaching traffic clearly, and so can you.

 

[Floyd2004]

THANKS!
I hate when people go to dart out of WW and then stop at the end of the accel lane!
Either that or they are too dumb and just wait for the light to change to red and then putt out.
You turn, pick a gap then get up to speed and enter the gap. ITS SIMPLE!

 

[glhs837]

Well, this certainly hasnt sparked much discussion, but 272 people have looked at it. If only one of them learns, or knows and shares this with someone who doesnt know these things, it was a good deal.

 

[vraiblonde]

Well, this certainly hasnt sparked much discussion, but 272 people have looked at it. If only one of them learns, or knows and shares this with someone who doesnt know these things, it was a good deal.

Most of us took our driving test and know what the lane is for. However, we get impatient (*ahem*) or it's only a short way to where we need to turn and would have to just get right back over (the spare lane on 235 S from Sheetz to San Souci, for example; or the spare from San Souci to CVS).

I understand your annoyance because it does make for an exciting ride trying to anticipate what your fellow motorists will do. But it's just the way it is and no amount of education or chastising will make people change. So deal with it.

 

[glhs837]

Sorry, Vrai,but if you really read what I wrote, I didnt say anything about staying in a lane like that from place to place. I specifically addressed only those accel/deccel lanes that ended, like the one leaving Wildwoode.

 

[Star_Rider]

The merge lane out of Wildwood Blvd onto south Three Notch Rd is WAY to short to be used to get up to speed before merging into 55 mph traffic. It should either be removed or extended. During periods of heavy traffic people still insist on pulling out which forces people on 235 to get on the brakes. Personally there appears to be plenty of room to make it an added lane instead.

A good example of people slowing down in traffic before moving over is the center turn lane like on Great Mills. Most people come almost to a complete stop in the traffic lane and then move over to the turn lane.

An example of getting up to speed then moving over is turning south on 235 from First Colony Way between Lowe's and Giant. Most people come to a complete stop at the corner instead of using the merge lane. Of course part of the reason might be due to the people in the travel lane speeding up to prevent someone from getting in front of them. A Little courtesy goes a LONG way

 

[glhs837]

The merge lane out of Wildwood Blvd onto south Three Notch Rd is WAY to short to be used to get up to speed before merging into 55 mph traffic.

Depends on what you drive, but, yes, for most vehicles, you cannot achieve real merging speeds in that short a space. But, if you use it properly, then you can get at least to 30-40, and that means traffic doesn't have to brake quite so hard while letting you finish getting up to speed. Merging into +50 at 40 is tons better than merging into 50 at 25.

I agree about GMRs center lane, it gets pretty poor at times. Not laid out well, with lots of exits overlapping with ones across the street, leading to lots of head on confrontations. Also lots of folks entering exit only places, or exiting entrance only places (west entrance of ST Mary Square, I'm looking at you). BK is another sore spot, lots of folks exiting from there onto GMR, or entering it from westbound GMR.

 

[Floyd2004]

Depends on what you drive

My little Neon has no issues getting to 50 in that lane...
He must have a hybrid lol

 

[glhs837]

Havent made that particular lane in anything normal for some time. I don't go into WW that often, and even less often when driving the Blazer. Now, Floyd, keep in mind, your "normal" throttle and most folks might not be the same. If you go say %85 of full throttle, you most likely go %15 more than most people.

Like my coworker, who said he was going to "get on" his new vehicle, but seemed surprised when I asked if he was really going to plant his foot all the way down. You would be amazed at how many folks have never actually planted a gas pedal all the way to the floor. Same for the brakes, I would say over %85 of folks have never really maxed out the braking on their vehicles.

 

[Floyd2004]

Haha yea maybe. I know my brakes work when my eyes bulge from my head and all the blood rushes to my feet!

 

[aps45819]

Most of us took our driving test and know what the lane is for.

yet every afternoon when I drive by Wildwood, there's a dozen cars lined up on the shoulder by that intersection

 

[Star_Rider]

Depends on what you drive, but, yes, for most vehicles, you cannot achieve real merging speeds in that short a space.

True, and when combined with glhs837's comment about not tromping on it, most people that I've come across trying to merge fail miserably.

 

[somdshootnet]

This should be a really interesting thread for all of the Southern Maryland area.

"traffic safety" and "southern maryland" in the same sentence, LMAO.

 

[DEEKAYPEE8569]

yet every afternoon when I drive by Wildwood, there's a dozen cars lined up on the shoulder by that intersection

Cuz people don't know how to merge into traffic. Conversly.....courtesy is a lost art in many instances. Letting somebody in doesn't happen a whole lot 'round here. I myself try to let folks "slide" in front of me but there's always that one other guy who's gonna dart in front of you also. So perhaps THAT is another reason for the discourteous driving. :shrug:

None of this matters a whole lot anyway. Any more, you have to pay attention to what YOU are doing AND what the other guy's doing too.

 

[glhs837]

Cuz people don't know how to merge into traffic. Conversly.....courtesy is a lost art in many instances. Letting somebody in doesn't happen a whole lot 'round here. I myself try to let folks "slide" in front of me but there's always that one other guy who's gonna dart in front of you also. So perhaps THAT is another reason for the discourteous driving. :shrug:

None of this matters a whole lot anyway. Any more, you have to pay attention to what YOU are doing AND what the other guy's doing too.

But the driving in question here isnt, in most cases, deliberately discourteous. I dont think the folks who slow down to 10mph before getting out of the flow do so thinking "Aha, I'll show them!!!!", anymore than that person sitting perched at the end of the Wildwoode merge lane is. It's really that they do not understand the purpose of the lanes.

As to your last, thats not a "anymore" thing. Its what everyone should have always been doing. Hard to adjust your behavior to ensure smooth traffic flow if you are not aware of what everyone else is doing, even 5 or more cars ahead. Admittedly, you, as one person, cant have a big impact, but the small impact you do have ripples outward, hopefully. That car up 10 cars ahead, going five under? Your not in his lane but if you lag just a little, letting the folks who would otherwise be bunched up behind them to get over, it makes everyones drive a little better.