Too bad, too slow

[PedroN]

The oncoming driver thought by accelerating he could go first through the gap

 

[DT MI]

I don't understand that road design where 2 lanes of opposing traffic have to share a single lane. Can someone explain?

 

[PedroN]

This is done to slow down the traffic and creating a safe(r) spot to cross the road (done by schools etc.) and there are no rules except one: first come, first go.

But I agree, it is a bit confusing if you're not familiar with such layout

 

[DT MI]

It would seem that using 'speed bumps' would provide the same result with less traffic congestion. I assume they don't do this in high traffic areas?

Edit: Also, I would suspect the speed bumps would be less expensive than constructing those 'constriction zones'.

 

[Sunny]

Glad we don't have those 100% guarantee for accidents roads in US, at least I haven't seen one yet.

 

[PedroN]

No they don't, this road has not so much traffic, therefore in the past there was a lot of speeding here.
Indeed speed bumps are over here frequently used, sometimes I'm wondering if the town has money they want to spend but don't know how to spend it and decide: let us build some extra speed bumps!

 

[Sunny]

Of course why have speed bumps to slow down?
Let the drivers merge in one lane head on and see who wins.

 

[DT MI]

Of course why have speed bumps to slow down?
Let the drivers merge in one lane head on and see who wins.

This will then create one very large speed bump.

 

[PedroN]

Much used speed bumps in my area are these ones (mostly used in the 30km/h areas)

 

[Sunny]

I think that's really dumb design regardless of where it is.
We have drivers having constant trouble and road rage changing lanes going the same direction and here we have opposite direction cars coming into one lane and on top of that, speeding to beat the other one to go through first.
It's a miracle if there are no accidents in a regular basis.
Also, when an accident happens, there is no way to determine who's fault it was.
I was first, no I was first, me, me...

 

[Gibson99]

Also, when an accident happens, there is no way to determine who's fault it was.
I was first, no I was first, me, me...

technology to the rescue (?)

 

[PedroN]

or the insurance company says: you're both to blame, bad luck, we don't pay.

 

[DT MI]

This is the type of speed bump I'm most familiar with. When placed diagonally across the traffic lane they are very effective. There's a shopping mall near me that has them in the parking area - next time I'm in the area I'll try to remember to drive over them to get a video of how effective they are.

 

[Gibson99]

i hate the diagonal ones. there's a shopping center here that has TALL asphalt ones set at diagonals. in the minivan, even with the dashcam's g-sensor on its lowest setting, and going over it at an indicated zero mph (super slow), it still trips the emergency marker on teh dashcam. in my miata, i bottom out - and it's not even lowered!

 

[PedroN]

That kind of speed bumps we see mostly in parking lots and parking garages and are indeed highly efficient, you'll only have to drive over it one time with too much speed and then you'll always rememberer to slow down

 

[Sunny]

in my miata, i bottom out - and it's not even lowered!

I think for Miata, the only solution to go over the bumps is to do this:

 

[niko]

Despite speed bumps are annoying and uncomfortable, I still prefer them to the one which is in the 1st post., - it's totally illogical / non-practical / confusing and dangerous to drivers !

 

[flank]

The person who designed that dumb road should be shot. At least with a paintball gun.

 

[mel]

They have quite a few of that type of traffic calming measure along one of the roads on the shortest route to Ipswich from here - it's mostly B roads, but much more direct and less congested than the A roads, and I presume they're there to discourage the road's use. as a short cut. Standard practice seems to be to slow down as little and late as possible approaching the restriction if the road ahead is clear (my father likes to maintain his speed all the way through them if the road is dry), then accelerate as hard as possible, so useful as pedestrian crossing points, but encourage bad driving.

 

[Chode]

Most of ours I've seen, would have bollards with white/red reflective top on opposing sides, giving priority to traffic from a single direction - much safer, I should think, than relying on drivers' ability to asses the situation correctly, much as I hate the whole "traffic calming measures" concept ... Not that many drivers even notice those bollards LOL