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Re: Comments from Mr. Traffic
Kevin Atkinson (kevinatk@home.com) wrote:
: The abstract and findings of the paper can be found at
: "http://www.clark.net/pub/kevina/sl/sl-irrel.html". I basiclly agree
: with the study however it the speed limit goes up to 70 or 75 I would
: predict that over the years speed will slitly go up but it would by no
: means go up to 80 - 90. I rember seeing a study taken before the mandate
: that gave a good idea of the 85th percentile speed (it did't state it
: however) and it is estamited that the 85tyh perentile speed on no lmits
: roads is about "77" ad on 75 is about "75" ... on 60 is was about "70".
: If I dig it up I will post it (it came from genie)
Doesn't surprise me a bit. On a dry, flat highway with little traffic, my
"comfort zone" is around 70-75. In fact, most people I know, much like
myself, are perfectly comfortable at 70 (conditions allowing) but start
to feel uncomfortable at 80. I see this frequently on I-5--I usually
have my cruise set at about 72, and I'm usually right around the flow
of traffic. As I approach 80, I start to feel a little uneasy. If
my own feelings and observations are at all accurate, then the 85th
percentile figures you give sound about right to me.
Speaking of I-5...I had the most eerie experience earlier this year.
Remember when the valley was floodng and a bridge on I-5 washed out in
Fresno County? That was when the road was generally closed between
SR 152 and SR 99, about a 200 mile stretch of highway. Well, I wanted
to enter I-5 at 152, but couldn't. So I took a detour and entered it
at a little interchange in the middle of nowhere about 10 miles to the
south of the 152 junction. Mine was the only car on the road for
about 100 miles. It was, well, *very* eerie. Too eerie. I had to
get off after about an hour because it was getting so unsettling.
--
* Tim Irvin is ziggy29@rahul.net * WWW: http://www.rahul.net/ziggy29
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