TRAFFIC CONTROL
The sign ahead said, "Work Area: Speed Limit 50 MPH" and another said, "Fines Doubled in Work Area." I was on my motorcycle going 65 MPH, which had been the speed limit on I-95. People had been passing me like I was standing still, and no one was slowing down for the construction. Most were going between 75 and 80 MPH throughout the construction area, and no one seem to notice. I use to work on road construction, so I have a different perspective from the drivers. Where are the police when you need them?
Not
only are there more and more drivers on the road today. They are driving faster
than ever and being less considerate. I have this burning desire to be a traffic
cop in an unmarked vehicle. I could make tens of thousands of dollars a day
for the state in speeding fines, tailgating fines, and reckless endangerment
arrests. One of the problems is that there are not enough police to
enforce speed limits, and the process of stopping someone and writing them
a speeding ticket is time consuming and antiquated.
I have a solution. The police need to implement technology similar to Easy Pass. All vehicles are required to have license plates that are registered to the vehicle owner, so why not incorporate Easy Pass technology into the license plates? Then at key points along highways, such as construction areas, an Easy Pass type technology could be set up. It would be unmarked and mobile. It would measure the speed of each passing car and automatically generate speeding tickets, when appropriate; much like the current Easy Pass system generates charges that are billed to the individual. If you don't pay, you don't get to reregister your vehicle.
Another Solution: Everyone seems to be moving to the suburbs, so the malls are moving there as well. Traffic congestion is getting to the point where people can't speed anymore. This is an easy solution. Stop adding more lanes to existing roads, and stop building new roads. This, in and of itself, will save the government and the tax payers lots of money. The congestion will force people to slow down, and the exodus to the suburbs will eventually halt.
I think the local government where I live is already working on this solution. I've always lived in the suburbs. When I move, I simply move from one suburb to a different suburb. When I moved into my current suburb there was a two-lane road that accessed it, which was also a link between two state highways. Over the years more and more housing developments have been built along this two-lane road until it had to be widened to a four-lane road. That attracted even more housing developments, which attracted businesses and professional centers. Now the road that was widened to four lanes just 5 years ago is more congested than it was before it was widened. During rush hours and on weekends I often sit through four or five changes of lights due to the congestion.
The definition of a suburb is: "A district lying immediately outside a city or town." Thus the area where I live is no longer a suburb. It has become a city by all definitions. My neighbor, who has lived here much longer, says he use to live in the country - and he's never moved.
Recently local government planners have approved the construction of a major mall complex along this stretch of four-lane highway where traffic is already congested. The existing mall is over two miles away, so I guess that was too far to drive - considering all the congestion. Don't the idiots who approve such things communicate with the Department of Transportation? Are they going to expand the road again to six or eight lanes? I don't like living in the city, nor does anyone I know like it. Never the less, our government is working hard to bring the city to us.
We kill more Americans each year on our highways than we lost during the entire 12-year Vietnam Conflict. We had plenty of Vietnam war protesters back then. Where are they now, and why aren't they protesting the traffic problems? I'll tell you where they are. They, and their kids, are out there on the highways killing each other.