Thursday, November 8, 2012

More stuff that really chaps my hide....

I've found several more things that just chap the heck out of me:  It seems the abbreviated online versions of many news services (Yahoo, USA Today, NYT, etc) like to tease us with articles such as "10 things you can do now to save on your electric bill" or "The 5 best and worst places for retirees to live".  So you click on those links and expect to see a list....#1, #2, #3, a so on.   Instead you see 16 paragraphs of text.  So where are the "10 things..." or "The 5 best..."?  Just show me the damn list!




And freeway designers.  I've been in many parts of the country where there are tall screens separating the freeway lanes going in opposite directions....northbound traffic can't see what's happening on the southbound side.  I'm guessing this is to prevent rubberneckers from slowing traffic while looking at a wreck on the opposite side of the freeway.  Makes sense, right?

But not in Dallas.  Ooooh no!  Here we build 12-lane-wide brand new freeways that have a 4' tall divider between lanes going in the opposite direction.  So every time there is a wreck going one way, cars going the opposite direction slow to 3 mph in order to see all the carnage.  Then as soon as you pass the wreck it's back to 80 mph.  WTF? 

Then all the "traffic engineers" complain traffic is too slow and initiate another 10-year, gazillion-dollar project to install more lanes.  (Job security?)  Bullshit.  Just include a tall divider down the middle and traffic will zip right along.

Come on all you egghead engineers.  This ain't rocket surgery!

S

6 comments:

  1. Oh yeah, I hate those articles like that. There was someone's last night about fruits you shouldn't eat but instead of a list it was just a bunch of text. I don't have time for text! I hate it even more when it turns out to be a video link. Like I want to sit there and listen to some presentation for 5 minutes.

    The rubbernecking is awful in Detroit too. Why can't people just mind their own business? It's not like they haven't seen a car accident before.

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  2. Rubbernecking is one of my least favorite things. Especially because I would like to slow down & look myself, but I'm morally opposed to it so I have just drive on by. :)

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  3. This rubbernecking is a big issue in Portland, Oregon, where we have surprisingly few highways and far too many cars. Add a little rain to an accident and the roads are a nightmare.

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  4. That darned freeway in Dallas caused my only speeding ticket ever years ago as I entered it and tried to keep up with the traffic!

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  5. What is it with traffic engineers? We have a big mall here, with ONE entrance/exit onto a major thoroughfare. During the weeks before Christmas, it takes TWO hours just to get out of the parking lot onto the road.

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  6. Oh yeah a tall scree would be the way to go, too bad SoCal doesn't have this in place because like you said everyone slows down to gawk at the wrecks slowing traffic for miles then poof back to 80

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