Does anyone think there is a very high rate of accidents on Hwy 6 in Bryan/College Station? Is it because of the 75mph speed limit? I would be interested to hear opinions of anyone with the police or fire departments or TXDOT.
High number of accidents on Hwy 6
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Last: 8 yr ago by DBSwooper
Have you driven on 6? It's not the 75mph that's the problem. It's the 55mph cruisers in the left lane that cause congestion and accidents.
I do agree that the 75 mph speed limit is too high on the bypass through town. What with all the townies going slow and not knowing how to merge into traffic and whatnot.
quote:I would argue that it comes down to a roadway carrying a daily volume of traffic that far exceeds the original design, much like the other roads in town. The posted speed limit isn't the issue, when a roadway is congested with merging traffic the problem are drivers who are unable or willing to look past their own windshield.
I do agree that the 75 mph speed limit is too high on the bypass through town. What with all the townies going slow and not knowing how to merge into traffic and whatnot.
They need to bite the bullet and start the process for widening Highway 6. Obviously this won't happen rapidly, but it is going to need to be done sooner rather than later.
Look at Texas Ave, they waited forever to widen it, and now it is at capacity again. They should have gone to 8 lanes instead of 6, and now that is likely not possible with all the buildings right up against the road.
Look at Texas Ave, they waited forever to widen it, and now it is at capacity again. They should have gone to 8 lanes instead of 6, and now that is likely not possible with all the buildings right up against the road.
It's a combination of the slow drivers and drivers going 80 mph and greater. I drive it at 5pm many days and go right at 75 mph when I can and I would say at least half of the cars are going over 75 and about 20% are going 85 and up as they want to get home 3 minutes sooner than they would if they went the speed limit.
quote:quote:I would argue that it comes down to a roadway carrying a daily volume of traffic that far exceeds the original design, much like the other roads in town. The posted speed limit isn't the issue, when a roadway is congested with merging traffic the problem are drivers who are unable or willing to look past their own windshield.
I do agree that the 75 mph speed limit is too high on the bypass through town. What with all the townies going slow and not knowing how to merge into traffic and whatnot.
You forgot rear view mirrors and blinkers. I think it's a lack of common sense that causes more congestion. I know it unavoidable during peak hours, but 7:30 at night and a Ford Taurus riding 55mph next to an 18 wheeler doing 54mph is rediculous. Courtesy for other drivers just doesn't exist here.
If any policemen are reading this, please enforce the law that is posted on Hwy 6 stating slower traffic must move to the right. That could solve so many problems.
Well it's hard for everyone to drive fast when there are entrance and exit ramps every other mile. There is no no for it to be 75 going thru town
quote:
If any policemen are reading this, please enforce the law that is posted on Hwy 6 stating slower traffic must move to the right. That could solve so many problems.
Are you kidding? Most every cop runs 65-70 in the passing lane. I never understood the purpose of this.
quote:Where is it posted? I know it isn't in College Station.
If any policemen are reading this, please enforce the law that is posted on Hwy 6 stating slower traffic must move to the right. That could solve so many problems.
quote:quote:Where is it posted? I know it isn't in College Station.
If any policemen are reading this, please enforce the law that is posted on Hwy 6 stating slower traffic must move to the right. That could solve so many problems.
It's posted right after every speed limit sign.
quote:quote:Where is it posted? I know it isn't in College Station.
If any policemen are reading this, please enforce the law that is posted on Hwy 6 stating slower traffic must move to the right. That could solve so many problems.
It's definitely posted in College Station.
Should be 65 in city limits
Slow drivers cause more problems than fast drivers
quote:This!
Well it's hard for everyone to drive fast when there are entrance and exit ramps every other mile. There is no no for it to be 75 going thru town
"Speed" does not kill. Traffic driving at different speeds does. The left lane is the fast lane..some people just don't realize it.
I don't care what the speed limit is, whether it's 65 or 75. People just need to drive the speed limit. Not over, not under. Just the speed limit.
It's time to add an additional inside line in both directions. There is room for it in the median.
If Wellborn Rd can be 3 lanes then certainly Hwy 6 can be.
If Wellborn Rd can be 3 lanes then certainly Hwy 6 can be.
75 is the limit, not a requirement. 3 lanes and 70 mph will do the trick.
I would need to see some stats on crashes for the current and previous years. My take is that you have an increase in the driving population which means more vehicles on the road and greater potential to have a crash. Add in other factors like driver in attention, speed, inexperience, etc.
Speed limit isn't the problem. There's still going to be idiots poking along at 55- mph and idiots zooming away at 80+ mph. A third lane running through would be nice, but if we're going for "highway speed limits of big cities" standard, we need one of those "dotted line" lanes, where there will be a dedicated entrance/"exit only" lane, so, on say, the northbound highway, for instance, there'd be a "third lane" between the Southwest Parkway entrance and the University Drive exit.
See, it's like this--the entrance lane keeps its own lane, instantly becomes a right hand turn lane, becomes part of the frontage road, and then back onto the freeway!
See, it's like this--the entrance lane keeps its own lane, instantly becomes a right hand turn lane, becomes part of the frontage road, and then back onto the freeway!
one obvious problem...the Texas Avenue exit on northbound 6 is a rare left lane exit. So you're going to have slow drivers in the left lane from about the Highway 40 entrance ramp to the TAMU / Tex Ave left lane exit. Even worse the left lane exit is right where the highway/bypass curves to the right
quote:quote:Where is it posted? I know it isn't in College Station.
If any policemen are reading this, please enforce the law that is posted on Hwy 6 stating slower traffic must move to the right. That could solve so many problems.
Mr. Griswold, take a look tomorrow. You'll be surprised to see how many of those signs there are up and down Hwy 6 through Bryan and College Station. It would be nice if everyone saw them.
quote:Guess we need to define "slow drivers"...someone going 75mph (or 74mph, oh the horrors!) looks like a slow driver when he/she is among the "gotta go 80-85mph, you're the problem, not me" crowd.
Slow drivers cause more problems than fast drivers
Speed limits don't cause accidents. Dumbasses do.
Start handing out tickets for speeding and aggressive driving!
City PD's should start patrolling the freeway instead of hanging out at the cop shops.
Never, ever, see a highway patrol unit. All of them are chasing Mexicans at the border while our freeways are free-for-all fatality zones. Freaking people going 85 to 90+ mph need to be slowed down with fines and insurance points!
City PD's should start patrolling the freeway instead of hanging out at the cop shops.
Never, ever, see a highway patrol unit. All of them are chasing Mexicans at the border while our freeways are free-for-all fatality zones. Freaking people going 85 to 90+ mph need to be slowed down with fines and insurance points!
Speeding is illegal, but so is driving in the passing lane. Maybe you're more equal than the rest of us though.
ETA: TXDoT
Keep Right
Watch for signs on Texas multi-lane highways that read "Left Lane For Passing Only." These signs let you know that the left lane on a divided highway is not a "fast" lane; it is a passing lane.
After you pass someone, move into the right lane once you've safely cleared the vehicle. Impeding the flow of traffic by continuing to drive in the left lane is punishable by a fine of up to $200.
ETA: TXDoT
Keep Right
Watch for signs on Texas multi-lane highways that read "Left Lane For Passing Only." These signs let you know that the left lane on a divided highway is not a "fast" lane; it is a passing lane.
After you pass someone, move into the right lane once you've safely cleared the vehicle. Impeding the flow of traffic by continuing to drive in the left lane is punishable by a fine of up to $200.
It has little to do with speed and more to do with distraction.
HWY 6 is a long stretch of monotonous highway. If you speak with people who work the accident scenes, I'm willing to bet that the majority of the events are caused by lack of attention to the roadway.
HWY 6 is a long stretch of monotonous highway. If you speak with people who work the accident scenes, I'm willing to bet that the majority of the events are caused by lack of attention to the roadway.
There also needs to be a viable bypass to get from one side of BCS to the other. 2818 was doing an OK job before they jammed it with lights. If people had alternate routes, they would take it.
quote:Amen! And I might add that the feeder roads onto 6 give you plenty of time to get up to the posted limit. Merging into 75 MPH traffic at 50 MPH is something only an ignorant person would do.
Speed limits don't cause accidents. Dumbasses do.
quote:The east bypass was built in the 70's to get traffic off of Texas Ave. through town.
There also needs to be a viable bypass to get from one side of BCS to the other.
quote:
Speeding is illegal, but so is driving in the passing lane. Maybe you're more equal than the rest of us though.
ETA: TXDoT
Keep Right
Watch for signs on Texas multi-lane highways that read "Left Lane For Passing Only." These signs let you know that the left lane on a divided highway is not a "fast" lane; it is a passing lane.
After you pass someone, move into the right lane once you've safely cleared the vehicle. Impeding the flow of traffic by continuing to drive in the left lane is punishable by a fine of up to $200.
This is all fine & dandy and works well in more rural areas. However, if I'm doing 75 coming into town in the right lane, and I move to the left to pass the long line of cars in the right lane doing 60, next thing you know I'm (hopefully) traveling at 75 in the left lane passing all the traffic in the right, and it has ceased to be a passing lane and becomes the fast lane.
Why Hwy 6 through town hasn't been widened to 3 or even 4 lanes is beyond me.
Drive better.
quote:quote:The east bypass was built in the 70's to get traffic off of Texas Ave. through town.
There also needs to be a viable bypass to get from one side of BCS to the other.
2818 was once the "West Bypass" too.
Before everyone starts jumping to conclusions, howza 'bout some actually get statistics on the number of accidents actually happening instead of this anecdotal "doesn't it feel like there are more accidents".
Compare the number of accidents occurring annually through the years and then adjust for the increase in traffic.
To remove the "higher speed" as the cause, you adjust for number of accidents "per capita" (how many cars travelling highway 6 at any one time).
Highway 6 used to be a literal ghost town back when I came to A&M 1987. Now it is very highly trafficked.
Compare the number of accidents occurring annually through the years and then adjust for the increase in traffic.
To remove the "higher speed" as the cause, you adjust for number of accidents "per capita" (how many cars travelling highway 6 at any one time).
Highway 6 used to be a literal ghost town back when I came to A&M 1987. Now it is very highly trafficked.