quote:thread over
the right lane is now acting as a continuous merge lane, so cars have only one lane in which to keep up a sustained speed
Why isn't anyone griping about this yet? (Speed Limit Change)
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Last: 9 yr ago by Frio Cielo
quote:Really? Would love to see the stats that support that claim....
It isn't about being in a hurry. The posted speed limit is 75. That is the speed you should travel. If not, you are impeding traffic and you are just as much of a threat to safety as those wanting to go 90.
quote:
And then you've got the people who completely ignore the 60 MPH construction zone speed limits.
I can't figure out what's worse...the people who stay 75 all the way through, or the people who slam their breaks and go from 70 to 45 as soon as they see the 60mph construction zone.
We need major investment in infrastructure:
1. Highway 6 needs to be 3 lanes both sides.
2. 2818 needs three lanes both sides, insane amount of development on it, that will only get worse
3. Get rid of all right hand turn lanes in front of 60+ MPH traffic
1. Highway 6 needs to be 3 lanes both sides.
2. 2818 needs three lanes both sides, insane amount of development on it, that will only get worse
3. Get rid of all right hand turn lanes in front of 60+ MPH traffic
*brakes
The highway does need to be widened, not down to Peach Creek. The real "problem area" starts at maybe Highway 40 and goes to Tabor Road. A new lane could be added in the middle in most cases.
As for "why isn't anyone griping yet", they haven't said they WILL lower speed limits. Considering that it's basically a free study, I say it's pretty harmless and will only gripe if they have made threats to.
As for "why isn't anyone griping yet", they haven't said they WILL lower speed limits. Considering that it's basically a free study, I say it's pretty harmless and will only gripe if they have made threats to.
quote:
We need "Accelerate to merging speed" signs at the start of every entrance ramp.
And "Left lane for passing only" signs on the left side of the highway, not on the right side at the end of the entrance ramps.
What is it that Texans do not understand about the term speed LIMIT. That is the FASTEST you are allowed to drive not the slowest. My observation after 16 years in Texas is that Texans feel they have a constitutional right to EXCEED any posted speed limit not be limited by it!
I wanted to quote and reply to 4 responses, but I'll start with this....
And for those that said something to the effect of faster speeds means less margin for error and more injury, I'd say If you're unable to handle it then choose another route to be part of the solution.
And for those that brought up construction zones it has been very confusing with one side of the road being in construction and one side that isn't, and then they never had or take down the construction zone speed limit signs reducing the speed limit. So without a posted sign I'm just supposed to slow down when there is a project going on but no workers ? And the ramp work is mostly off the highway ? What about that ? Markings and instruction have been very poor throughout this 5 year process. So yes, I go 75 all the way thru from WDF to Briarcrest and back everyday.
It also should be noted that I'll only actually be able to do this if I am on the Hwy before 740am and after 545pm, because from 745-815am and from 500pm - 545pm you're average speed is going to be about 30mph because at some point you'll have to slow down and probably even stop.
But I think we've all agreed that Hwy6 should be widened. They could do it pretty easy by adding lanes to the middle and doing the highway divided by a concrete median.
quote:You don't have to do all the acceleration on the ramp, the left lane of the frontage road is just pre-ramp, so you can start your acceleration there.
And something else to consider, some of the cars entering the highway CANNOT accelerate from 55 to 75 in the space provided by the on ramps.
And for those that said something to the effect of faster speeds means less margin for error and more injury, I'd say If you're unable to handle it then choose another route to be part of the solution.
And for those that brought up construction zones it has been very confusing with one side of the road being in construction and one side that isn't, and then they never had or take down the construction zone speed limit signs reducing the speed limit. So without a posted sign I'm just supposed to slow down when there is a project going on but no workers ? And the ramp work is mostly off the highway ? What about that ? Markings and instruction have been very poor throughout this 5 year process. So yes, I go 75 all the way thru from WDF to Briarcrest and back everyday.
It also should be noted that I'll only actually be able to do this if I am on the Hwy before 740am and after 545pm, because from 745-815am and from 500pm - 545pm you're average speed is going to be about 30mph because at some point you'll have to slow down and probably even stop.
But I think we've all agreed that Hwy6 should be widened. They could do it pretty easy by adding lanes to the middle and doing the highway divided by a concrete median.
I agree about no one merging correctly and the other problem is that no one actually drives even close to the speed limit. Most people drive 85-90 in the fast lane and 60-65 in the slow lane. Can we all just drive 75 when it's 75 and get over it!? Even 80 or 70 would be acceptable but people just have to go to either extreme. And getting up to speed when entering the highway is just common sense but if the guy in the right-hand lane is going 60 when I'm trying to come onto the highway at 70-75, it's dangerous! I doubt lowering the speed limit will help.
This morning I went to enter 6 with a clear on ramp. The only car in the bypass at the time was in the right hand lane and I had to enter behind them. The problem? They were driving along at a nice slow 60 mph. That caused me to slow my on ramp entry and bottle up the other cars behind me. Once in I then had to hammer the accelerator and move to the left to keep from making a big mess. You want to fix the problem? Its simple. Drive 75 on the bypass. Or at least close to 75. I will settle for 70. If you are that unsure of yourself at that speed and feel the only safe speed is 60 then get the hell off the bypass and drive the frontage road.
quote:The officer that gave me a ticket last year for accelerating in the left lane of the feeder road disagrees with your advice.
I wanted to quote and reply to 4 responses, but I'll start with this....quote:You don't have to do all the acceleration on the ramp, the left lane of the frontage road is just pre-ramp, so you can start your acceleration there.
And something else to consider, some of the cars entering the highway CANNOT accelerate from 55 to 75 in the space provided by the on ramps.
He's wrong.
Some of the bridges to navasota already have the "3rd" lane added to them for I guess the future. I was taught a loooong time ago to acceralate when getting on the on ramp. Guess folks can't while reading a iPad and getting on hwy 6.
quote:Here's your citation.quote:
The posted speed limit is 75. That is the speed you should travel.
75 is a maximum limit, not a minimum. Perfectly legal to travel under that limit.quote:
If not, you are impeding traffic and you are just as much of a threat to safety as those wanting to go 90.
Citation needed.
quote:
According to state and federal studies, drivers that are driving significantly below the average speed are the ones that are most likely to get involved in an accident. Studies show that the most accidents occur when the driver is driving at 10 mph slower than the speed limit. So someone going 45 in a 55 has a bigger chance of getting into an accident than someone driving at 65-70 mph.
https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/09/18/is-driving-faster-safer/
Thank you, sir. My theory was based on anecdotal evidence provided by friends and family members in both law enforcement and fire/EMS.
nm
quote:
Some of the bridges to navasota already have the "3rd" lane added to them for I guess the future. I was taught a loooong time ago to acceralate when getting on the on ramp. Guess folks can't while reading a iPad and getting on hwy 6.
I saw someone doing a crossword puzzle once....newspaper folded against steering wheel....pen in hand....
I was amazed.
As Daniel Tosh once said...."Texting and driving is illegal, but writing a long form handwritten letter is still perfectly legal?"
I routinely travel hwy 6 between WDF and Briarcrest (sometimes Boonville) and if it's not "rush hour" I will set my cruise on 75 and count the number of cars that pass me vs the number I pass. I have done this roughly 30 times and the ratio is about 8 to 1.
I pass 8 cars for every 1 that passes me. The funny thing is when I pass cars more times than not it will be a clump of 2-3 and the first car is driving 5-10 below and the 2nd / 3rd car seem to just be following like sheep.
Example : This morning at 7:55 got on 6 headed south, set cruise at 75 and passed 18 cars, I was only passed twice. Never hit the break until I got to WDF exit and 2 cars who were also exiting had already slowed to 55 before they got to the exit. (I Did slow to 60 in construction zone). There was a fair amount of traffic but not bad by any standard.
Based on my observations i would say a fair percentage of complants about people driving too fast are probably from people driving too slow and not realizing that the people driving "too fast" are actually driving the speed limit.
I pass 8 cars for every 1 that passes me. The funny thing is when I pass cars more times than not it will be a clump of 2-3 and the first car is driving 5-10 below and the 2nd / 3rd car seem to just be following like sheep.
Example : This morning at 7:55 got on 6 headed south, set cruise at 75 and passed 18 cars, I was only passed twice. Never hit the break until I got to WDF exit and 2 cars who were also exiting had already slowed to 55 before they got to the exit. (I Did slow to 60 in construction zone). There was a fair amount of traffic but not bad by any standard.
Based on my observations i would say a fair percentage of complants about people driving too fast are probably from people driving too slow and not realizing that the people driving "too fast" are actually driving the speed limit.
Went to the link for the studies in the URL techno provided. All that came up was a website that appears to advocate ways of getting out of speeding tickets.
Hmmmm...
Hmmmm...
quote:This is also a problem....quote:
Never hit the break until I got to WDF exit and 2 cars who were also exiting had already slowed to 55 before they got to the exit.
Don't slow down until you're ON THE EXIT RAMP, or even more ideally, just after you've hit the frontage road itself.
Also I'd argue that you're rarely slowed down because you're going the opposite direction than most of the traffic. I'd bet more folks drive north in the morning and south in the evening.
quote:If the unscientific data you have provided is correct all the advocates for the 75 mph speed limit are in trouble. TxDOT will most likely institute a speed limit around the 85th percentile of the average vehicle speed. Sounds like that will be less than 75 mph.
I routinely travel hwy 6 between WDF and Briarcrest (sometimes Boonville) and if it's not "rush hour" I will set my cruise on 75 and count the number of cars that pass me vs the number I pass. I have done this roughly 30 times and the ratio is about 8 to 1.
I pass 8 cars for every 1 that passes me. The funny thing is when I pass cars more times than not it will be a clump of 2-3 and the first car is driving 5-10 below and the 2nd / 3rd car seem to just be following like sheep.
Example : This morning at 7:55 got on 6 headed south, set cruise at 75 and passed 18 cars, I was only passed twice. Never hit the break until I got to WDF exit and 2 cars who were also exiting had already slowed to 55 before they got to the exit. (I Did slow to 60 in construction zone). There was a fair amount of traffic but not bad by any standard.
Based on my observations i would say a fair percentage of complants about people driving too fast are probably from people driving too slow and not realizing that the people driving "too fast" are actually driving the speed limit.
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2) Also people REFUSE to merge at highway speed. If the speed limit of the highway is X, you need to be going X by the time you've reached the end of the entrance ramp. It is the law.
.....People trying to merge at X -10 or X-20 miles per hour causes traffic problems, slow-downs, and accidents. Be conscious of your merging speed and merge at the posted speed limit. The ramps are shorter...Press harder on the pedal on the right to merge at the proper speed.
DING DING DING! We have a winner here!
It's amazing -- when I'm going the speed limit while merging on to Hwy 6, I never have a problem.
Ugh, have you tried doing this (75 mph) on the new on ramp from the feeder from Hwy 158 entering southbound? You can't see the highway from the feeder, then it is a short-ish curved onramp, that delivers you to a bridge support if you are not allowed onto the highway. Sometimes when drivers are kind and move to the left to allow onramp drivers to merge, the drivers behind them speed up, making a wedge of drivers, and no one has anywhere to go. I have seen this accident happen already. I will not be choosing the bridge support if I am forced into anything.
quote:This drives me absolutely insane. I'll be driving along going 75+ in the right lane and watch a car going faster come up on my rear and just sit not passing. I don't get it. I'm in the right lane, going over the speed limit. What do these idiots expect me to do? They're probably the same people that will speed up beside you, slow down, then pace you instead of going around.
I pass 8 cars for every 1 that passes me. The funny thing is when I pass cars more times than not it will be a clump of 2-3 and the first car is driving 5-10 below and the 2nd / 3rd car seem to just be following like sheep.
I usually turn my cruise off and start slowing down. If they don't get the message and traffic is clear, I'll jump into the left lane, hit my brakes quickly until they pass, then get right back behind them. That typically wakes people up.
I know that I'm old, but when I took driver's ed way back in the the 60's the on ramps had yield signs. You were supposed to yield to the traffic on the highway, not the other way around. Why should the main road have to slow down to let someone that is going 15-30 mph slower merge. That is an accident waiting to happen, when the main line of traffic slows down it creates a backup, and rear end collisions. Texdot needs to reinstall the yield signs on the ramps, and educate drivers how it should work.
Your joking right? Those idiots don't even know what a turn signal is and you expect them to know what a yield sign is.
quote:You can absolutely get a ticket for driving too slow, even without a minimum speed limit.
75 is a maximum limit, not a minimum. Perfectly legal to travel under that limit.
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/beat-ticket-book/chapter7-6.html
I also would support a minimum speed limit. If you need to drive 15 mph under the speed limit, then you shouldn't be worried about stop lights anyway and just stay on the feeder.
This thread is cute. Bryan / College Station is growing up to be a big boy town and experiencing (gasp!) traffic.
90% of the advice in this thread is spot on, and for the folks complaining about the 75 MPH speed limit, I'm guessing y'all have seizures on Houston freeways where the speed limit is merely a suggestion. I travel all over, and each city or area has it's own traffic personality. In Houston, 10-15 MPH over the posted speed limit is the safest speed to travel, and you better know how to hammer the gas pedal to get on a freeway because the people dang sure won't slow down to let you on. In San Antonio, 5-10 MPH under the speed limit is normal and it drives me insane. It sounds like B/CS is more like San Antonio now.
90% of the advice in this thread is spot on, and for the folks complaining about the 75 MPH speed limit, I'm guessing y'all have seizures on Houston freeways where the speed limit is merely a suggestion. I travel all over, and each city or area has it's own traffic personality. In Houston, 10-15 MPH over the posted speed limit is the safest speed to travel, and you better know how to hammer the gas pedal to get on a freeway because the people dang sure won't slow down to let you on. In San Antonio, 5-10 MPH under the speed limit is normal and it drives me insane. It sounds like B/CS is more like San Antonio now.
Is "Drive Defensively" an obsolete concept? I know "Drive Aggressively" seems to be the trend these days. IMO the ramp and feeder road situation is pathetic. My biggest complaint is there are no speed limits for most of the ramps. Go anywhere else and there are. I have been cussed (I can read lips) by people coming off of the highway because I was doing the speed limit on the feeder and didn't stop to get out of their way. If I had been able to move over to the right lane I would have but couldn't.
quote:Yes.
Is "Drive Defensively" an obsolete concept?
"Defensive" to most people means driving absurdly slow in the name of being "safe." That, in and of itself, is not safe.
Bottom line: Put your **** away, leave your phone in your pocket, go the posted speed, and act like you have somewhere to be (or stay the hell off the road).
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Your joking right? Those idiots don't even know what a turn signal is and you expect them to know what a yield sign is.
I would be more afraid that it would give people that have no clue how to merge an excuse to stop on the on ramp.
quote:There was no traffic congestion on 6 until they redid the ramps. Now it is constantly clogged. I know we won't avoid all traffic, but we *could* learn from other towns' mistakes and adequately plan for growth.
This thread is cute. Bryan / College Station is growing up to be a big boy town and experiencing (gasp!) traffic.
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There was no traffic congestion on 6 until they redid the ramps. Now it is constantly clogged.
That's just selective memory. There was congestion on 6 as far back as 2004 when I did traffic counts on it as an intern.