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One major problem with driving in low-visibility conditions is that, while it's generally agreed upon that one should drive slower, what is not generally agreed upon is *how much* slower one should drive. A friend of mine got into an accident in heavy fog once, here's what happened: the speed limit was
30
mph. He (my friend) slowed to 20 mph. The elderly lady in the white car ahead of him had slowed to 5 mph, and did not have her lights on.
The problem with low-visibility conditions is that, while coming to a complete stop on the shoulder and waiting it out may be the safest thing to do, it's not practical, especially when it could be hours before the fog lifts, if it lifts at all.
I think the safest solution when dealing with something as large and deadly as a car is to have standardized speed for low-vis conditions. Even if you can't see, as long as you're going the low-vis speed limit you can be secure in the knowledge that the guy ahead of you is going the same speed so you won't collide.
What I propose is, on speed limit signs, have a smaller number, perhaps in red, with a set speed limit for low-visibility conditions.
This may require Bluetooth signs on the edge of the road transmitting to a dash-mounted indicator in your car to alert you if you get too close to the shoulder or the line between lanes, to prevent you from driving off the road or into an adjacent vehicle.
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Hmm.. you shouldn't overdrive your visibility. If you can't stop in time to avoid a stationary object you're driving recklessly. Was your friend on a road with pedestrians? A drivers license should be proof of the skill to not overdrive your visibility, but driver testing in the US is a joke. And of course people overdrive their visibility all the time.
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The problem with your minimum speed is that there is no speed low enough to account for all conditions. In very heavy downpours/dense fog/blizzards visibility can be reduced to less then the front bumper and stopping the car is the only safe option. |
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I'm thinking of having one my teeth
died blue, so that I can more fully
participate in this new world. I'll get my
dentist (who has already helped me
make several other pieces of work), to
fit
a small switch to it, so that it can glow
nicely and shine through my gums in
the dark.
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Sorry 21 Quest - it's got nothing to do
with your idea, which seems like an OK
suggestion. I just thought of it, and now
it's sitting like a little mole on your
page, so have this croissant for sharing.
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I kinda like that, xenzag. It'd be the latest greatest fashion hype! |
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And how would one enforce this low vis speed limit? If its foggy radar wont work, right? |
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Remember the Bluetooth signs? If the Bluetooths (Blueteeth?) are networked and keep track of how rapidly a vehicle passes from one to the next.... with cell phones, each enabled phone has a distinct Bluetooth identity. The same would go with the Bluetooth devices in cars. |
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"If you can see this sign, you can go 30mph" |
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Yeah. Reminds me of the "Do not cross if this sign is submerged" signs you see in .au sometimes. |
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