i really dont know where to put this as far as topics go. but just had to post this. Having past the freeway a few times, the backup this past week was very obvious. in fact, it was part of the reason why i was on a state hiway when i had my accident instead of I-5. here is an article from the Daily Olympian Dots on freeway will be removed By ADAM WILSON THE OLYMPIAN Nevermind the dots, for now. OAS_AD('300x250_1');Â The state will remove the large white ovals painted on Interstate 5 near the Nisqually River bridges after the safety-campaign markers clogged traffic over the weekend. The signs explaining them already have been taken away, a state Department of Transportation representative said Monday. "You had people coming up on these dots and thinking, 'What are these?' Reading the signs - well now they're going less than 60 mph," spokeswoman Lisa Murdock said. The dots were painted Thursday evening as part of the "2 Dots 2 Safety" program. Signs told drivers to keep two dots between them and the nearest vehicle ahead of them. The program was intended to encourage drivers to keep 160 feet back from the vehicle they are following - which provides the recommended two seconds of separation at the 60 mph speed limit. Drivers followed the instructions in heavy traffic Saturday, causing a long backup of vehicles on the freewa y as cars reaching the dots slowed to let the car in front of them get farther ahead. "The Department of Transportation wants to apologize for the delays that motorists experienced over the weekend," Murdock said. "Our intentions are good. It's just we're trying to increase safety not cause congestion." The $35,000 program was based on successful campaigns in Minnesota and Pennsylvania, according to the department, which says it will try installing dots in another location. "We still really believe in this program. It's just that we'll have to take a look at another area," Murdock said, noting the location near Nisqually was thought to be a good spot to start. "At the time, we thought it was a good representation of the rest of the state. It's not as congested as Seattle, but it is an area where following too close is a problem, and if you use the program where following too close isn't a problem, it's not going to make a difference," Murdock said. A future location has yet to be determined, but might be on a stretch of road with less traffic, she said. Following too closely does not give a driver enough time to react to an abrupt maneuver by the leading vehicle. Rear-end collisions accounted for 28 percent of vehicle crashes and 21 deaths in 2005, according to the department. "Trying to explain to people that they are following too closely has been really difficult," said Sgt. Monica Hunter of the State Patrol, which coordinated with Department of Transportation on the dots project. if i read this right, the state is apoligizing for helping people drive safely. what is this world coming to??
It looks to me like the state is apologizing for causing confusion and possibly making things less safe as a result. The idea sounds like a pretty good one to me. At least once drivers get used to the concept. Of course if they tried that here in NJ, they'd have to start with the dots 2 feet apart.
If drivers on a congested road leave 160' between vehicles instead of 70' between their car and the car in front of them, wouldn't this cut in half the number of vehicles that could travel over a section of highway at any given speed? If this happens, the speed of vehicles would decrease. If drivers still leave 160 feet between vehicles, the rate of traffic flow would decrease further and delays could more than double. Maybe this is why 160 foot gaps are thankfully not seen in very congested traffic. Of course 1 foot gaps would seem to maximize traffic flow rates and minimize delays, until you consider the congestion caused by traffic accidents and stop and go highway driving.
actually after further investigation, the dots are only 80 feet apart. and the speed would only slow down as drivers start to maintain proper following distance. btw, the ticket for not maintaining proper following distance or cutting in without proper clearance is $101
Why did they have to put new dots on the road? There are already a slew of them between each lane! Well OK those are more dashes than dots. I've always used Eddie Rabbits "Driving my life away" as a way to judge speed and distance. At 60 MPH the dashed lines go by exactly in tempo with the song! and if you keep half a chorus between you and the car in front of you your fine!
Actually, according to the voices in my head, the dashes and dots were all part of an elaborate communication with extra-terrestrial beings who were passing overhead some time during the weekend. Now that the communication has occured, they are removing it and circulating a huge cover story to distract attention. Perhaps they could leave half of the dots (creating a 160' gap) and tell drivers to use them to gauge the 2-second following distance on their own at whatever speed they are traveling. Or perhaps a 320' gap would be enough. Granted, that would force individuals to think which usually only serves to get in the way of talking on the phone, swapping DVDs, eating, and perfecting their make-up.
Who's agitatin' my dots? You agitatin' my dots? :lol: (apologies, I already used this plagiarism in another post, but I really like the commercial)... I've seen these dots in PA when we go to OH to visit family. I always felt like I was Pac-Man going over them. wokka wokka wokka...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Aug 15 2006, 02:31 PM) [snapback]303624[/snapback]</div> Wait ... are you implying that eating chips & calling my wife while I'm driving is dangerous? I suppose bending down to pick up the CDs I dropped on the passenger side floor is dangerous, too.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Proco @ Aug 15 2006, 01:43 PM) [snapback]303638[/snapback]</div> Yeah. C'mon, everyone knows slipped disks are not just dangerous but painful! Ouch. <_<
know what you are saying and these are not "turtles" iow, not raised bumps used to warm drivers that they are wandering out of their lanes. these are flat painted dots
In most cases, the lane lines are painted on 40-foot intervals. Stay back 1 to 4 of those, depending upon your speed and intentions. Four should be enough, even at high speeds, to keep you from squishing your Prius into the back of the preceeding vehicle.
Over the weekend, I was on the stretch of I-5 where the dots were/are. Traffic was bumper to bumper through that area, but I doubt that they caused the congestion (it seems like it's always that bad recently). The dots were interesting, but I had no idea of what they were about. I don't think I could see two dots at the same time (as it was way too congested). We were driving in France earlier this year. They have the same idea, but used the lines on the (right and left) sides of the road. Instead of solid white lines, they were 60' (or something similar) line segments. Not enough to distract, but enough to peak a little curiosity. They then had road signs demonstrating that you should have 2 line segments between you and the car ahead. I thought it was clever. I personally think this is a better approach that odd/distracting dots.
Apparently using the mile markers on the side of the highway is too difficult for drivers. I mean, just find a freaking landmark like a signpost or a marker and count the number of seconds after the car in front of you passes it. It's not that hard. Unless you're blind in one eye and thus lost depth perception.
the backup on I-5 happens EVERY weekend, so the reporters contention that the dots caused it are total bs. and the backup is always going north from Lacey up until you pass Hwy 16 interchange. besides, if people were inconveinenced by the dots, why would they continue to follow the instructions??? having been held up in traffic for extended periods of time, most probably would not have abided by the dots rule out of frustration.
