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Post by jake on Apr 18, 2007 18:26:27 GMT -4
Did anyone see the speed trap set up on rt 50 today? They had a yellow state truck with a cherry-picker bucket set up just before the west st. exit (eastbound); with yellow lights flashing like they were working on power lines. Inside the bucket was a trooper perched 30' in the air with a radar-gun getting people as they passed rt 97 headed east. He was radioing ahead to troopers seating at the bottom of the hill before the rowe blvd exit. I saw about 5 cars pulled over when I passed. Glad to see them going to such effort, expense, and man-power to trap all those evil citizens driver's..
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Post by bchevy on Apr 18, 2007 18:34:53 GMT -4
Hmm, they have taken a page out of the Ocean City Troopers book for that one.
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Post by jake on Apr 18, 2007 19:00:57 GMT -4
yeah, they caught me & the family heading to the beach 10 yrs ago, just outside Salisbury with the same bucket M.O.
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Post by shoreman on Apr 18, 2007 21:22:15 GMT -4
Any attempt to slow some of the idiots on Rt50 is fine with me, it gets worse every day.
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Post by Fred on Apr 18, 2007 21:30:17 GMT -4
Amen to that, shoreman!
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Post by Larry on Apr 19, 2007 0:36:01 GMT -4
Human garbadge. Nothing crime related must have been happening on Clay Street? Hmm, I wonder why we dislike the highway cops?!?
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Post by falgar25 on Apr 19, 2007 5:28:54 GMT -4
I think that wording is wrong. I'm trying to remember how George Carlin put it: aren't the "idiots" the ones driving slower than you and the "maniacs" the ones driving faster?
I"ve never been a fan of speed limits. Too often they seem to be set either for the least skilled driver or for revenue production.
How about: stay to the right except to pass, worry about not running into guy in front of you or next to you, and don't take it personally if I don't agree with your choice of speed?
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Post by shorti on Apr 19, 2007 9:58:38 GMT -4
I agree and disagree on this... I admittedly have a "lead foot" not meaning that I'm driving 80 mph down 50 - but 65-70 yeah... but even then there are people who pass me like i'm sitting still - now that's scary!! Especially weaving in & out of traffic... so in some ways I think the traps are a good thing - for those people I just mentioned. But for those of us who are keeping up with the flow of traffic (albeit "speeding") - let's get real... And here's another thing that gets me & drives me nuts!!! When you have one or two cops sitting in one of those "emergency vehicles only" between East & West bound lanes - and everyone d**n near stops.... but the cops is just sitting there, talking w/ the other or on the phone!!!! This happened to me this morning & people SLAMMED on their brakes & reduced their speed to 45mph in a 65mph zone - How safe is that? ?
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Post by ljp on Apr 19, 2007 10:26:35 GMT -4
I sort of agree, but how do you distinguish between the drivers keeping with the flow driving 70 or the ones weaving in and out driving 75 from a car sitting still running radar?
I have been one known to push the limits of the speed limit but I think that we are forgetting what the limit is set for. Apparently someone has discovered a speed limit that gets you where you need to be and safely and the government agreed therefore setting a maximum speed limit allowed. I think sometimes we look at speed traps solely as a way to generate funds for the state or local jurisdiction and while it provides that, the origins of its purpose were to keep us safe. If I am driving 55-65 on US50 and someone is driving erratically weaving in and out (like the rice rockets) I would love to see them pulled over and ticketed for making it a dangerous place for me to drive, maybe they will think before doing it the next time or have their license taken away for driving like that too often. Trust me I am no prude, I have had my share of speeding tickets, and it cost me dearly when I was younger. Driving a brand new mustang when I was in college was way too much of a temptation!! Being punished for it made me think twice before doing again and if you have ever lost someone close to you because of an erratic driver you may feel differently. If the inconvenience that I experience being forced to drive slower prevents the loss of life, I have to say I agree with it.
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Post by shadow1 on Apr 19, 2007 11:39:27 GMT -4
LJP - I agree with you 100%. Yeah I speed, but in most cases there is a difference between doing 10 mph over the speed limit on the highway and driving erratically like an idiot.
I guarantee the people pulled over on Rt. 50 were doing more than 10 mph over the speedlimit, if not doing something stupid.
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Post by Brooke on Apr 19, 2007 13:31:18 GMT -4
I drive 50 East from Queenstown to DC every day. There are some big time idiots that think they can drive 90+ and pass on the right or 2' in front of you. I'm glad they are doing something about it. You break the law, you get a ticket.
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Post by kl on Apr 19, 2007 14:39:43 GMT -4
But...who discovered that "speed limit" and when? I believe the limit is set based on the amount of cars, the area, and the general time when the road would be mostly full. Coming up 50, speed limit is 65 mph...And there are always drivers going 15-20 miles faster. Me thinks, that there should be troopers driving the highway, with the flow, and if they see someone speeding way faster than the flow, or driving aggresively, cop lights it up, and pulls them over.
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Post by jake on Apr 19, 2007 16:05:51 GMT -4
I agree driving 65 mph on Rt 50 (a 6 lane divided highway) is not, in my opinion unsafe driving, although illegal. I would like to see a crack down on the large trucks, especially dump trucks, and those semi trash-haulers trucks from New Jersey. I see them every day driving 80+, weaving in an out of traffic as if they were driving a sports car, usually fully loaded. They are a tragedy waiting to happen. The problem is they get paid by the load, so the faster they drive the more $ they make. Dump truck drivers are the worst, most drive like total morons..
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Post by Jake the snake on Apr 19, 2007 16:35:12 GMT -4
The speed limit on Route 50 and Route 301 is 55. At what speed do you think the police should ticket a motorist for. What speed should the police begin ticketing people at?
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Post by Pete Richter on Apr 19, 2007 23:30:44 GMT -4
The Police do not set a good example when it comes to speeding, or driving in general. Why?
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Post by Same Deputy on Apr 20, 2007 0:17:57 GMT -4
Pete,
Police officers are people just like everybody else. Were not Jesus after all! Were not angels! Were not saints! Why do so many priests do naughty things to boys? What kind of an example do they lead for society? I have no answer to you question other than the world is an imperfect place. Since planet earth has no perfect human beings, society will just have to cope with cops who speed, presidents who lie about going to war for the sole purpose of locating weapons of mass destruction, lying, cheating politicians, corrupt law makers, bad judges, scum of the earth lawyers who make the laws that allow criminals to walk free, etc.
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Post by falgar25 on Apr 20, 2007 5:32:53 GMT -4
It seems like there is some agreement that driving with the flow of traffic is OK. Or it's OK if the flow of traffic is 5-10 mph over the posted limit since the cops won't ticket for less than 10 mph over anyway. Isn't that saying the "limit" is currently set 10 mph too low?
Every day I drive Rt50 and others. It's rare to see someone driving at, or below, the speed limit. It's uncommon to see an accident. If the "limit" was the maximum safe speed, shouldn't I see an accident nearly every day? If the limit isn't an indication of a maximum safe speed, then what is it?
Down at the bottom end of Rt 8 the speed limit was changed from 50mph to 30mph. Were there a number of accidents down there that we didn't hear about? I won't agree with it in any case, but it would have made more sense if it was in an area with a lot of intersections, traffic, accidents, or road hazards; it isn't. The stretch of road with all the Kent Island Estates intersections, the stretch of road where the accident occured, is still 50mph. The big long curve is 40mph. The 30mph zone doesn't begin until the road straightens for a last 1/4 mile to the pier. If I was safe driving in that area at 50mph for 10 years, what changed two years ago to make 30mph the maximum safe speed?
Speed limits seem to be set too arbitrarily, there's an acceptance that it will be exceeded by 10mph, and the only apparent risk to exceeding the limt is that a cop might be sitting under the next bridge. It isn't "drive the speed limit or you will get hurt," it's "drive the limit or you might get a bill."
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Post by matt on Apr 20, 2007 9:47:30 GMT -4
Speed limits are set both politically and by engineering design. Engineering: highways speed limits originally were based on bottom-average driver skills/physical abilities, and vehicle performance numbers. Highway/transportation engineering is a big field, and too complex to explain in an internet post. In short it's an assumed design feature that drivers will naturally find a safe speed for a given road – physically and legally (financially). Physically, you sense vehicle handling limits (in your butt, largely, and seriously) - i.e., go down 552 and take a left towards Marling Farms, or down Rte 8 to Kent Point road where it hooks hard (HARD!) right, or any of the many miles of old farm roads with a barely adequate macadam cover - you won't find the 80mph+ Rte 50 drivers doing superhighway speeds. Physically, drivers are guaranteed to slow down when a jersey wall is close by, or other perceived limitations to the space available next to their vehicle. Ever notice how vehicles running in open lanes next to traffic jammed exit lanes slow down? Simply because they fear someone jumping into travel lanes explains only part of it – a lot of it is also perceived limitations on maneuverability. Fog – reduced perception of how fast you’re going – you can’t see the grass fly by – so drivers speed up. All this adds up to the “flow” speed we all talk about keeping up with. Neat thing: most drivers do around 65-80 on Rte 50 for which the engineering assumptions (lower average driver/vehicle) are, I believe, 70mph. 55 is pure legal/political. You could, in a decent car, go full throttle from 404 to the DC beltway. Cops can usually be found at nearer the safe speed limitations of the highway because they’ve no legal fears from doing so. That’s also why they teach that cops set the safe speed… if cops are afraid of the road conditions, they’ll slow down, so you’re supposed to also. When cops realize they can safely do 90 on route 50, they will… sucks that the same jerks will pull you over because you are comfortable at a higher speed. A cop’s job with speed enforcement should NOT be to just grab anyone above the speed limit posted, but to grab anyone going excessively above the average speed. That’s why they don’t bother with people doing 10 mph over – everyone is. They are supposed to get the aggressive weaving drivers doing 30 mph above or well above average speeds… from an engineering perspective, at least, those drivers are the only ones posing a threat to traffic. I try not to get mad at the cops flying by at 80 (when I’d love to be allowed to), but it’s difficult, because it’s an abuse of power. I have had cops waive me to keep up with them on their bikes when I’m on mine, and that’s fun. ;D
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Post by kl on Apr 20, 2007 10:28:05 GMT -4
Awesome post Matt.
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Post by matt on Apr 20, 2007 10:35:22 GMT -4
It's a very interesting topic... if you like mostly theory with a practical application.
Such as that highways are graded A through F based on efficiency of travel, so A is a wide open highway (think Rte 50 in grasonville at midnight) and F is average traffic (such as at the Severn River at 5:30pm). Interestingly enough - the most efficient ITO getting more cars through, is not A, but C... more closely spaced, moving slower, but dense enough to move more cars through.
Crowd mentality and natural instinct keeps most people at safe, if not legal speeds. I've had the bike to [stupid] mph on route 50 before, with absolutely no concerns for road conditions. I slowed because I saw a cop ahead. (and yes, I know it's stupid)
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Post by shoreman on Apr 20, 2007 13:23:19 GMT -4
pigs?
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Post by Same Deputy on Apr 20, 2007 14:54:37 GMT -4
Could someone please answer the question as one writer asked. As a police officer I would love to know what speed when traveling on route 50 should a motorist receive a ticket. Give a number. It's not that hard. Pick the lowest speed a driver should be issued a ticket when traveling on a posted 55 MPH speed zones. I want to know! 75, 80, 85, 90. Tell me, please! Just because a motorist is traveling 85 MPH does not mean, they are operating their vehicle in a negligent, aggressive, careless manor. Speed alone does not constitute recklessness.
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Post by matt on Apr 20, 2007 15:12:47 GMT -4
[when] they are operating their vehicle in a negligent, aggressive, careless manor. Speed alone does not constitute recklessness. Bingo, Barney. As I said, you repeated... A very kind police officer once told me he doesn't care how fast you're going. He'll chase aggressive, excessive speeding drivers, but only when it's safe to do so. It should be a pre-requisite to become an officer of the law to possess the maturity and necessary common sense judgment both to know when someone is behaving unsafely AND to know that speeding past a line of cars, at a rate of speed at which those other drivers would get pulled over, is unacceptable.
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Post by shadow1 on Apr 20, 2007 15:16:00 GMT -4
Same Deputy - I think the "speed" you're on constitutes recklessness. You are supposedly the "cop", why don't you answer the question as to what speed you'd pull us over. If you are really a deputy, your boss must be beating his head against the wall with your mindset.
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Post by shoreman on Apr 20, 2007 18:16:29 GMT -4
If you all think this guy is a deputy, than I'm Sheriff Buford T Justice.
This guys cases would not see the light of day once the State's Attorney looked at this 1st grade grammer. And any defense lawyer would have a field day with him, if he ever went to court.
That's why I don't bother to respond to his ramblings anymore.
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