Warning speed traps in the morning

inkah12102

New Member
See the problem with this is that you just never know why they are speeding. We can assume they are just doing so because they think they are above the law, but in reality we dont know.
But, they can roll up on me as fast as they want, if there are no lights on, and they are speeding, they have the same blessing from me that everyone does. Pass me when safe.

The point is - you were wrong.

And sometimes they are too.
 

Pushrod

Patriot
Yes, speeding is going 46mph on Rt 235, this is true. You can think that this causes a lot of accidents all you want, you are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts. And the studies say that speeding isn't the issue in the great majority of crashes, that not driving properly, that's the problem.

If I stay in my lane, yield when I am supposed to, maintain a safe following distance, pay proper attention, and follow traffic signals, then no matter my speed, within reason, I simply will not crash. To a point of course, if I travel at 130mph down 235, thats going to result in a crash. But very few folks do that. This is the difference between a factor and a cause. Remove a cause, say failure to yield, and the crash doesn't happen. Remove a factor, and the crash still happens, but the outcome is changed. Say from a 55mph t-bone to a 45mph t-bone.

Me, I'll take no t-bone for $500, every damn time. :buddies:

Your wrong on this example. Using Rt. 235 as an example of a good place to speed is absolutely wrong. The speed limit on that road is put in place because of all the lights, intersections and merging traffic. If your doing 70 mph on that road, your reaction time is severely limited when someone merges onto the roadway or a light changes. This is especially so in heavy stop and go traffic, people speeding through and and passing at high rates of speed are tempting the accident gods. Keeping it closer to the speed limit will indeed save lives.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
Did I mention 70 on Rt 235? Dont think I did. But even so, thats where judgement comes in. At 0700 on a Sunday morning, you could safely do 70 on that road, most of it anyway, given proper attention to the road ahead and a vehicle that is halfway decent. but not at most times, no it wouldnt be safe

And you are right, attempting to speed through traffic at a much higher rate is unsafe. Nobody here is attempting to defend those folks who think that 60mph at 4pm on a weekday when traffic is going 45 is a good thing.

But if you think going 45mph at 230pm, when the rest of the traffic flow is going 53-55mph is safer than speeding at the same rate as the flow, your simply wrong. Acting as the one car at a different speed, slower or faster, causes more traffic to flow around you, and that disturbance increases the chances of an accident. Go with the flow, or even 2-4mpg faster or slower, but a difference of 8-10mph different than the prevailing traffic speed, faster or slower is dangerous.
 

awpitt

Main Streeter
Did I mention 70 on Rt 235? Dont think I did. But even so, thats where judgement comes in. At 0700 on a Sunday morning, you could safely do 70 on that road, most of it anyway, given proper attention to the road ahead and a vehicle that is halfway decent. but not at most times, no it wouldnt be safe

And you are right, attempting to speed through traffic at a much higher rate is unsafe. Nobody here is attempting to defend those folks who think that 60mph at 4pm on a weekday when traffic is going 45 is a good thing.

But if you think going 45mph at 230pm, when the rest of the traffic flow is going 53-55mph is safer than speeding at the same rate as the flow, your simply wrong. Acting as the one car at a different speed, slower or faster, causes more traffic to flow around you, and that disturbance increases the chances of an accident. Go with the flow, or even 2-4mpg faster or slower, but a difference of 8-10mph different than the prevailing traffic speed, faster or slower is dangerous.

AAA did a study on this years ago and found exactly what you just said. Disrupting the flow of traffic (faster & slower) increases the chances of an accident happening.
 

DEEKAYPEE8569

Well-Known Member
AAA did a study on this years ago and found exactly what you just said. Disrupting the flow of traffic (faster & slower) increases the chances of an accident happening.

But, around here, does the local constabulary issue citations for the rare instances of 'impeding the flow of traffic?'
 

awpitt

Main Streeter
But, around here, does the local constabulary issue citations for the rare instances of 'impeding the flow of traffic?'

They should.

Actually, I know someone who was issued a ticket for 'impeding the flow of traffic'. It was a long time ago though.
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
But if you think going 45mph at 230pm, when the rest of the traffic flow is going 53-55mph is safer than speeding at the same rate as the flow, your simply wrong. Acting as the one car at a different speed, slower or faster, causes more traffic to flow around you, and that disturbance increases the chances of an accident. Go with the flow, or even 2-4mpg faster or slower, but a difference of 8-10mph different than the prevailing traffic speed, faster or slower is dangerous.

Good luck doing anything near the speed limit during the day (between rush hour). You are more likely to have people doing 40 in the left lane then 50.
Well that's if they stay in one lane, some tend to float a little over the lines.
Rush hour traffic is much more predictable.

Here's the public relations statement on the recent "enforcement" (more on that later).
-Traffic Safety Initiative Underway in St. Mary's. The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office Special Operations Division, in cooperation with the Maryland State Police, Leonardtown Barrack, is conducting a Traffic Safety Initiative to address numerous traffic safety-related issues. Based on citizen complaints of speeding and aggressive driving, combined with 2011 motor vehicle collision data, the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office has identified two travel areas where enforcement efforts will be concentrated. In 2011, four hundred-sixty (460) motor vehicle collisions occurred on Three Notch Road between Wildewood Parkway and Pegg Road in the California and Lexington Park areas of St. Mary's County, Maryland. In addition, thirty-nine (39) motor vehicle collisions occurred on Maryland Route 5 in Leonardtown, Maryland. Over the next couple of months, deputies and troopers will be patrolling these identified areas during the morning and evening hours when traffic volume is increased. Officers will attempt to detect motorists who are violating motor vehicle laws including speeding, unsafe lane change, following too closely, improper passing of school buses and inappropriate cell phone use. Motorists who violate Maryland traffic laws are subject to receive a citation for the violation(s). The goal of the initiative is to increase motorist awareness of such problems, and to have all motorists obey traffic laws, as well as, increase the care and caution utilized when operating a motor vehicle, thus increasing safe travel for all.

and the more. They are simply running speed traps, there is no effort to target distracted (i.e. cell phone) drivers or other dangerous behavior.

For example, I was almost involved in a collision last night, the person behind me would have technically been at fault. Fortunately they were able to stop short as well. Seems that despite the NO U-TURN sign on SB 235 at gate 1, some nimrod made the U-Turn and cut me off - I had to slam on my breaks to avoid T-Boning him (or her) I was making the right, on the green coming out of gate 1.
I see this regularly, people just ignore the signs. I wathced someone go from the SB left turn lane, to the NB left turn lane in front of the church. Worst law ever passed, RIGHT ON RED. People don't obey the law, they just roll thru the right like they have the right of way.
No way that's being enforced when the radar guns are parked along the side of the road. To easy to write and collect the revenue on a "speeder" than take some the bad drivers off the road.
 

glhs837

Power with Control
See, thats my point, the stats given are useless without referent. More than 2010? I suspect not, or that would have been stated. And if the crash stats are lower, then focus on the things that cause the crashes we do have. But, oddly enough, no mention of the statistics on the causes of crashes. I suspect that that is because, quite simply, that those stats would not support the upcoming red light cameras. And the follow on request for speed cams once they get a taste of the free money. So we do stuff like this, make the public aware that A) SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!!!!!! B) It costs too much to have police officers do it, lots of man hours involved.

Of course, what they want to do wont solve the real problem, but it will solve the problem that they want to solve, how to make money without raising taxes.
 

BernieP

Resident PIA
Talk about liars figuring and figures lying. I had to go out at lunch hour today and it struck me that the section of 235 they are citing for all those accidents is the one with the screwed up intersections.
People coming out of businesses south of Buck Hewitt Rd have to cross three lanes of traffic to make a U-Turn, to make a U-Turn while people are coming out of Buck Hewitt on the same red. Here's the catch, because the line was so long, people were going straight across the road. Now you have a gobber in the left lane cruising at a lower speed and people are trying to time their move to not get hit but the center and right lane (and right hand turn lane) traffic while pokey takes their time on the far side.
You have people stopping in the traffic lanes because they can't figure out how to slow down in the turn lane (right or left). You have people stopping in the right lane because people in the turn lane have assumed it's for their use as an acceleration lane so to get right their recourse is to stop and wait. Of course the drivers coming thru the light aren't expecting a car to stop in the traffic lanes when traffic is moving along.


But none of that is considered the problem, it's just those damn speeders that they can ticket.
 
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