I have seen various ideas in the bakery to do with roads and speed limits, mostly fishboned to high heaven. This was born however, from driving behind an old lady on the highway at 42 MPH in the middle lane, while in the other lanes traffic was moving at 68 to 80 MPH. I quite agree that prople should not be forced to drive faster than they feel comfortable, and that little old ladies need to use the highway too, so here is my version of a solution. Lets use a typical three lane highway, for speeds under 50 miles per hour, use the extreme right lane (in the US) Under 65 Miles per hour, the center lanes, and for higher speeds, use the inside lane. Of course, we do slow for exits, don't we, therefore when exiting the freeway, in changing from the inside lane to the outside lane, you should be at the right speed for exiting. Policing this should be fairly easy, the person causing the traffic to back up gets the ticket.-- senatorjam, Sep 04 2002 Move to Louisiana http://www.dps.stat...us/omv/chapter5.pdf• You must not drive faster than the posted maximum limit.• You must not drive slower than the posted minimum limit.• While driving within the posted speed limit, you must not drive so slowly that you hold back other traffic. [DrCurry, Sep 07 2002] That's what guns are for, silly-- thumbwax, Sep 04 2002 It's my understanding that this is exactly how the Autobahn works. And I'm sure there are other examples.-- waugsqueke, Sep 04 2002 Apparently, your highways don't have any left hand ramps. Poor old ladies...
What you suggest is actually the right way of doing it but it is not feasible everywhere. You can achieve some safety only if vehicles don't have to change lanes frequently unlike in a congested urban area.
Let's hold hands for a perfect world...-- cekirge, Sep 05 2002 Aren't the lanes furthest from the centre supposed to be for people who drive more slowly? If people would drive courteously, you wouldn't need a system based on legally-enforced speed limits.
Alternatively, you need the system I've seen in Houston, of having smaller roads with lower speed limits running alongside the freeway.-- pottedstu, Sep 05 2002 Widely Baked, as Herr Wausqueke notes - many, if not most, highways have minimum speed requirements, and slower vehicles are generally required to stay in the slow lane(s). So you just need stronger enforcement of existing rules.-- DrCurry, Sep 05 2002 [DrC] I would not be so itchy on the trigger finger with those MFD rounds, If you read the Idea completely, it advocates different minimum speed limits for different lanes.-- senatorjam, Sep 05 2002 does each lane really need minimum limits? If we all just adhered to the simple "keep right, pass left" (which is the law in most of the US, people just don't know it) you'd almost always be able to drive as fast as you want without defining a number.
The big problem comes in defining "passing" - if you pass a car and there's another car a few hundred feet ahead, can you continue at your same speed until you pass the next car? Or should you move right then move left again? depends on distance, I guess.
next time you're on a deserted highway late at night, try it - drive entirely in the right [US] lane (#1), and when it comes time to pass the slowpoke in lane #3, move allll the way to lane #4, pass him, and then back to lane #1. yeeeehaaaaWWW it's fun! and maybe they'll get the message.-- aberson, Sep 05 2002 senatorjam: and my argument is that that is what we got, even if minimum speeds are often not posted.-- DrCurry, Sep 05 2002 //and my argument is that that is what we got, even if minimum speeds are often not posted// [DrCurry] -So you are saying that differing minimum speed limits applying to seperate lanes of the same highway are in existence for 'most if not all roads'? I would be very surprised if that were the case, or have i misunderstood you?-- IvanIdea, Sep 06 2002 I just want to point out that although the bad doctor agrees with me, it does not necessarily mean I agree with him. I see the point that there is more or less a general understanding that the inner lanes on a multi-lane highway are usually the domain of faster drivers, but this is not something which is universally declared as Curry suggests.
I am only pointing out that there exist highways on this Earth that do work exactly like this, with declared and posted limits in different lanes. The Autobahn being one example.-- waugsqueke, Sep 06 2002 DrPeter, what does that link have to do with this idea? This is about 'lanes' with different speed limits.
And minimum speed limits are commonplace in the US, anyway.-- waugsqueke, Sep 07 2002 please stop confusing me, its late. its DrCurry - why can't you get that right?-- po, Sep 07 2002 I like to cruise at 110mph+ and flash my lights if a car in front of me has not moved out of my way yet. This is very effective and most people see you speeding at them and quickly move over.-- jon12, Sep 09 2002 Not me, I did 40mph in the fast lane of the M11 once as there was no way of getting out of the lane, yet some nonce in a BMW 3 series was flashing his lights to try to shoot past. I love to see those veins throbbing in their foreheads.-- dare99, Sep 09 2002 random, halfbakery