Highway Patrol...Necessary or just a revenue thing?

[Theothertyler]

Voted Yes.

I don't see how any reasonable person would want less enforcement of safe driving laws. The argument can be made about the structure of the highway patrol, bureaucracy, etc. but the actual poll is asking if more/less cops should be on the highway. To say "Drive at your own risk" is fine, but YOU aren't the only one bearing risk when you drive on a highway. I've heard this Darwin-esque driving argument before and as someone who's lost a good friend in an accident where she was not at fault, it really does not resonate with me.

I'm all for less government interference in private matters, which is why I don't believe you should get a ticket for reckless driving in your driveway. The second your car rolls onto a public road, how you operate it becomes a public matter not a private one.

 

[Uneek]

Not only that, but our highways aren't built for autobahn-type speeds.

:iagree: the asphault is twice or three times as thick as what we have on the Interstate system. The repairs are made much more intensively and it's a helluva lot smoother too.

The problem is most highway infrastruture in the US were designed in the 1960s. No one foreseen that it would be this congested. There are highway widening projects in my area, but some places it can't get any wider because they built people's houses right up against the highway.

 

[MikesToy]

So, driving at or below the speed limit causes congestion? You should try driving in Houston....the traffic here would force you to love your current situation. The slow drivers here are not causing the traffic problems....it's the bad drivers that do.

...

I'd trade ya! Some ppl here in CO stay at the fast lane (passing lane) 10-20below the max spd limit.

 

[JeremyH]

I'd trade ya! Some ppl here in CO stay at the fast lane (passing lane) 10-20below the max spd limit.

My 4 mile drive to and from work regularly doesn't get above 30 mph....on the freeway...still wanna trade? :biggrin2:

 

[MikesToy]

My 4 mile drive to and from work regularly doesn't get above 30 mph....on the freeway...still wanna trade? :biggrin2:

Nope! But for 4 miles, i'd take the side streets.

 

[JeremyH]

Trust me, the freeway is faster. Really though, it doesnt bother me too much....I just roll down the window and listen to the stereo....

BTW, those times that I listed are at 7am and 4pm....

 

[hulk311]

1) If we had an Autobahn here in the US it would increase car accidents because americans don't know how to drive.

2) I was in Toronto a couple weeks ago and every single time a car merged into the left or right lane they used their signal, 100% of the time. Why is it that in the US people use their turn signal maybe 5% of the time???

3) What's up with people here in the US passing people in the RIGHT slow lane? I have 33" tires on my truck and I drive 60mph in the right lane on the highway to keep the MPGs up and I see these ***holes all the time in my rear view mirror going in the middle lane and than turning into the slow right lane to pass the car in the middle lane...I just put my hazard blinkers on while keeping the cruise control on at 60.

4) The roads here in the US suck, I'm sorry to say that but they do. In Canada and Europe they make the roads THREE FEET deep while in the US they make them like 3 inches deep so the unions can work on them every ****** summer. Ever notice how the roads and highways in Michigan are always being worked on? It's because the damn unions. If they made all the roads three feet deep they would be good for the next 50 years and people would be out of jobs.

/rant:ybrick::ybrick::ybrick::hunter::keyboard:

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Roads, etc.

1) If we had an Autobahn here in the US it would increase car accidents because americans don't know how to drive.

True; to a certain extent. However, if our police officers concentrated more heavily on lack of turn signal usage (unsafe/improper lane change) AND failure to move right (for those who wish to pass), it would make our roads much safer, less stressful and highway travel would be more efficient. Then, speed limits could be raised a bit - even if not to the level of the Autobahn.

2) I was in Toronto a couple weeks ago and every single time a car merged into the left or right lane they used their signal, 100% of the time. Why is it that in the US people use their turn signal maybe 5% of the time???

Could it be because they are taught better from the beginning? Also, their police departments probably write tickets to those dolts who fail to signal - which they don't do here in most of our states (but NY and PA cops, thankfully, sometimes will cite people for not using blinkers).

3) What's up with people here in the US passing people in the RIGHT slow lane? I have 33" tires on my truck and I drive 60mph in the right lane on the highway to keep the MPGs up and I see these ***holes all the time in my rear view mirror going in the middle lane and than turning into the slow right lane to pass the car in the middle lane...I just put my hazard blinkers on while keeping the cruise control on at 60.

I can't speak for the drivers where you live, sir; but the biggest reason people pass on the right is because too many chumps are driving TOO SLOWLY in the left-hand lanes. When they refuse to move to the right (as often required by law) to make way for drivers who wish to overtake them, there is no other choice but to go around the "rolling roadblock" any way possible. Unfortunately, this often means passing on the right - which is bad because the blind spot is larger and so few people have their side mirrors adjusted properly.

4) The roads here in the US suck, I'm sorry to say that but they do. In Canada and Europe they make the roads THREE FEET deep while in the US they make them like 3 inches deep so the unions can work on them every ****** summer. Ever notice how the roads and highways in Michigan are always being worked on? It's because the damn unions. If they made all the roads three feet deep they would be good for the next 50 years and people would be out of jobs.

/rant:ybrick::ybrick::ybrick::hunter::keyboard:

That is at least partially true. Don't forget about the 'kickbacks' that some legislator probably gets from a brother-in-law who is a paving contractor.
:bravo: :shrug:

It seems as though they will wait until the roads get very bad and resemble a Baghdad runway; and then they come through and 'patch' the potholes. Four months later, they'll resurface the whole road. Fools!!!!
:boxer::sobbing:


** "If I passed you on the right, you're in the wrong damn lane!!" **