freeway onramps are almost always utilitarianly, ubiquitously, grey and boring. while there are many attempts by road planners and designers to liven up their freeways, (most notably in my mind the arizona state highways which also measure distance in metric), none are terribly interesting in terms of visual appeal.

freeway onramps should be made up of mosaic tiles that are patterned after the area below and to the sides of the ramp. a speed bump designed for impact at high speeds is placed at the start of the ramp to simulate a jump. the combination of speed bump and mosaic result in the illusion of jumping onto the freeway from the group level.
-- tcarson, Jul 11 2006

Wheeeeeeee! Whee_20Shocks
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 11 2006]

Wikipedia: Evel Knievel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evel_Knievel
"Goddamn! Double the guard!" [jutta, Jul 11 2006]

Number one: You've got to install Whee Shocks [link]
Number two: I am Not, laying the tile.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jul 11 2006


I'm a little disappointed that it's only an illusion, as I was hoping to *fly* onto the highway, but it's still a fun idea. +
-- xandram, Jul 11 2006


I was hoping for a seperate ramp next to the normal one for those that really want to launch in to traffic
-- tatmkr, Jul 11 2006


those were considered as possibilities, but i couldn't think of a method that would get the cars to the freeway consistently without huge power requirements and danger to those using pacemakers.
-- tcarson, Jul 11 2006


[tcarson] Your shift keys appear to be broken.
-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Jul 11 2006


[tcarson] Isn't the lack of consistancy part of the fun? Besides, it might help eliminate some fools who don't pay attention and gain sufficient speed when they hit the "launch entry only" ramp.
-- danpat, Jul 11 2006


maybe the mosaic should be combined with a trapdoor that will drop the cars if a certain criteria isn't met. certain types of cars, say hummers for instance, can be singled out as well.
-- tcarson, Jul 11 2006


[a speed bump designed for impact at high speeds is placed at the start of the ramp to simulate a jump]

As a motorcyclist I have gotten street bikes airborne using the slightest of bumps, not always intentionally. I think you may exceed your illusion and fly right out into reality.
-- normzone, Jul 11 2006


This should help cops chasing criminals in old LeSabres and Caprices with bad (or non-working) shocks and/or loose bits on the bottom, too--the cops make the bumps no problem, the big old boats... ehh... self-dismantle rather rapidly. +
-- kevinlipe, Jul 12 2006



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