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I have a theory, let's see what you guys think.
The higher the speed limit on a road, the longer and more spread out the dotted lines are in the road. That way, when you go faster, you don't really FEEL like you're going that fast. I think that if they shorten the lines' length and distance that
fewer people will go so fast. I'd rather have them raise the speed limits, but this might work, too.
(?) I've got ~208,726 words for you...
ftp://ibiblio.org/p...etext01/8crmp10.txt
...not including header information, footnotes, etc., of course. (for [SC]) [jester, Apr 05 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]
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Not wide of the mark. That's true about perception and its effect on driver -say...without cruise control. Might me useful to have different line lengths/spacing in different speed zones. This might be a deterrent against speeding in its own psychosomatic way. |
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oober, let me explain. The long white or yellow dashes in the middle of the road that you drive next to become longer and more spread out on roads with higher speed limits, giving the illusion that you aren't going as fast and in more control. Shorten them out and you'll feel like you're going faster. |
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Also, adjust the spacing of the
telephone poles, and the width of
the buildings... |
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and the smart-assed egnor comments |
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You're completely right Afro. |
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I know in Canada the freeway lines have long lines, but all the merge lines are short dashes. |
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As well, check any NASCAR tracks that have lane markers. They're incredibly long. |
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Makes sense to me. If you want people to go even slower,
break up the road surface some (brick paved crosswalks,
etc). |
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(A Ford Escort will go 100mph on a dirt firebreak?) |
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A Ford Escort will go 100mph? |
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I understand the tree and telephone pole stuff, but I'm mostly talking about freeways where that type of stuff isn't always right next to you. You'd notice the lines first. Besides, I never said this was a completely flawless solution. |
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i say we continually vary the lengths of the dashes, just to mess with people's minds. |
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Rather than drive faster, you could merely drive a shorter distance so then the illusion would be that you had travelled faster... But then you'd have to maintain the illusion that you were actually where you wanted to be as well. |
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drive with view lower to the ground |
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periscope @bumper/fender level? |
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...patiently waiting to vote... |
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okay, then, how about random lines have land mines (hey that rhymes! So did that!) that blow up the car AND Regis Philbin? |
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I understand now. Maybe the governments of the world could somehow fit filters into every single car window that blur the views and make it look as if you're going faster still... |
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. . . and how about having air vents automatically increase air flow, and to have seats recline ever so slightly with each additional KPH/MPH . . . |
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and lines that shoot past like when they warp in "Star Wars." Wait, I'm making fun of myself... |
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An old issue of Popular Science predicted "120-mph highways" in the gosh-wow 21st century -- 70 mph in the entry lane, "moderate" 85- and 100-mph lanes, and 120-mph for (presumably) those who could afford the gas. Cars would have huge taillights mounted on the roof to warn of braking -- though at 120 mph they'd look like red bullets coming at you down a blurry tunnel. I'd rather not provide the comforting illusion of a slower speed, or of greater control (most drivers are less in control than they think anyway). Imagine a roadful, bumper-to-bumper at 125 (hey, just pushin' it a bit), yelling at their stockbrokers over their cellphones, and a tire bursts from the standing wave in its sidewall or somebody has a heart attack: Presto! Instant junkyard. "Film at eleven..." |
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(In the US) Change speedometers and speed limit signs from MPH to KPH. 90 KPH provides the perception of going faster than 55 MPH. |
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But only stupid people will be impressed. Kind of like setting a clock ten minutes fast so you think you're late. Only people who have the memory that 'I set this clock ahead ten minutes' pushed out of their neuron will be surprised by the time... |
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How about painting blurry scenery on the sound deflecting walls that run parallel to freeways in many urban areas? |
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Permanent motion blur. Hah. |
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[StarChaser] isn't that who we're playing to? |
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I once managed to scare myself with a Canadian minivan...I looked down and was doing 100! Aaaack!...but then, why is everyone else passing me? |
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Didn't realize that it was Canadian, then, and that it had a KMH/mph speedo, instead of MPH/kph... |
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This is a good idea, and I believe that the general basis could apply to other things as well, such as animaed computer process graphics (on windows file transfers there is the paper going into the folder, and there is that 3D puzzle thing on the disk defragmenter, etc.). I know that I, for one, always feel like my computer is going much faster if that icon is going faster. Such things would cut down on frustration at long processes like this. |
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I do believe this idea has some basis. I think it would work
for a while, but people would get used to how the
markings on the road are placed, just as we have grown
used to the ones now. Also, if I knew this change took
place -- I would no longer pay attention to the lines,
instead I would watch
my spedometer. Although a
good idea, I don't think it would be worth the money it
would take to re-do all the roads. Of course this is just
my opinion, please don't throw stones. |
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sometimes UB I wonder how it is that you are still in the land of the living. Afro's world tends to look like Toy Town on a Sunday afternoon |
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Also four months late - sorta baked a little bit on many UK motorway off-ramps. There are yellow lines painted across the road which get closer together as one approaches the junction.
<off-topic>Re [Star]'s Canadian minivan: my wife was driving my Rover SD1 one time and thought it seemed a bit quick, although the speedo said she was doing the regulation 30 mph in town. A closer look revealed that she was checking the tachometer which read 3,000 rpm (= about 50mph).</off-topic> |
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Did that once too. I forget what the car was, but there were two big meters, both labeled '10 20 30...'...I was trying to figure out why the darn thing wouldn't get past 50... |
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You could do it like we do in Britain. Regularly dig up the roads then re surface (poorly). Hey presto, instant loose fillings. |
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For added humor, the TVR Tamora has a speedo graduated 1, 2, 3, ... instead of 10, 20, 30,... but it might be a bit obvious. |
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//Regularly dig up the roads then re surface (poorly). Hey presto, instant loose fillings.//
Or do what we do here. Dig up the roads then pay people to drink coffee and stare blankly at it for a few months, then fill in the holes with a mixture of tar, dirt clods, and Jimmy Hoffa. |
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"Faster" roads or "fast" roads should have strict enforcement measures to stop people eating their lunches while driving. Perhaps really big potholes every time they go for a sip of Coke. |
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. . . Almost rivals the number of guys I've seen shaving while driving or eating corn on the cob (true! I've seen that twice in the last year). |
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[blissmiss] Your powers of mental arithmetic are astonishing. |
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I want it all, and a little bit more |
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I like it when they pave it nicely, and a month later decide to install cable or pipes down the center and fail to patch it correctly. |
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I'm really tired of the 'two words' thing. |
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Mountain bikes wouldn't do much for me, as I live 30 miles away from work, and don't really want to spend all day wearing sweaty clothes, and then after ten hours of work, want to bike home on the interstate at 11pm. |
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Well then, three words: Motorized mountain bikes |
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The point was, although not adequately explained, that ANY version of 'x words' is annoying. |
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If you're going to ride a motorized bike anyway, why not a motorcycle? |
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why not a moped? That's only one word |
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how about having a sharp spike that slowly extends from the steering wheel with speed. This should give a fairly sharp reminder of the speed/risk ratio. |
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mymus - "Steering wheel spike" as a half-baked idea is already here somewhere. |
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whatsbruin:
really, do you think highways in the US would get a 120mph speed limit before the safety and quality of the cars could handle it? That's a ways off...most of those annoying but popular little SUVs can't take more than 90-95 without shuddering. |
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Problem: heartattack, flat tire
Solution: everybody swerves out of the way with help from their supercar |
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Problem: cellphone use at high speed
Solution: after people wiseup about it, perhaps it will become taboo. Drivers could be pressured to become more responsible in the way they drive as well, through ad campaigns and the like. Just the way they tackled drunk driving. |
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UnaBubba:
'Gotta admire your 'no fuckin sense' attitude... gotta tell ya this one thing though...my stock 93 Eagle Vision Tsi can beat the headers off of your modified escort. ;o) |
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#1Fan: Most of the SUVs shudder at only 90? More like every single one out there (yes, especially the big ones, which usually roll over if they even start to shudder). |
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This is very off-topic, but is anyone else who might be reading this post (I know its old) more than a little frustrated by all the slow SUVs and people who take highway on-ramps at about 30 mph, only to find that they have to *stop* and wait for traffic to pass because there isnt any merging lane? Granted, my car (not SUV, not truck) cant take on ramps at highway speeds, but jeez, 30 is ridiculous since all merging lanes are now gone from any roads around Baltimore/Washington. Where'd they all go? |
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yes immediate disposal of a lot of ignorant people would be nice, but who is gonna work the late shift at fast food restaurants or 7 11. u |
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Maybe you can shorten the dashes on
the road, but you can't change the
speed at which you pass things. If
people do use the dashes to judge
speed, they also use other objects such
as signs, trees, etc. Change the length
of the dashes, and people will
recalibrate their expected dash-passing
speed inside twenty minutes. |
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You can do other things to give people
a greater impression of speed, though.
You can stiffen suspensions, and
position drivers closer to the road
surface. Studies have found that one
reason people driving SUV's and other
trucks tend to speed is that they sit
further above the road than car drivers
do, and as a result have less sensation
of speed. |
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I think nick_n_uit is a genius |
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actually I think this idea may work in zones, in attempt to speed up or slow people down or maybee just give them the perception, in the right places. that they are going real fast so that they may pay more attention |
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