I heard in the Phoenix, Arizona news about suicide lanes being dangerous. I didnt catch the whole story so I don't really know what kind of street lanes their talking about.
2007-02-06 21:04:16 · 4 answers · asked by singmetosleep 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Commuting
I don't live in Phoenix, but we have "breakdown" lanes aside the highway here. I could see how they could be called reserve lanes somewhere else. They are reserved for vehicles that need to pull over for some reason.
During commuting hour, on the more major highways, cars are allowed to travel in the breakdown lane. For me, this would make it a suicide lane, because a car traveling in it could hit a vehicle stopped, or another vehicle at a ramp merge. Likewise, to pull over in that lane might be suicide because a car might hit you.
2007-02-06 21:16:45 · answer #1 · answered by T J 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I've never heard of a reserve lane, but a "suicide lane" is the shared center lane of a two-way street that vehicles travelling in both directions can pull in to in order to make a left turn. It's called the suicide lane for obvious reasons. You have cars coming at each other in the same lane and neither driver knows for sure if the other driver is going to stop or turn.
2007-02-07 01:56:57 · answer #2 · answered by Me again 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Suicide lanes are simply lanes that can accomodate traffic in either direction - ususally these lanes are not seperated by a barrier. The reason they are called suicide lanes is due to the higher liklihood of head-on collisions in these lanes.
They can be of the two-way-left-turn variety, where drivers coming from either direction can use the lane to start or finish a left turn.
Or, they can be reversable lanes, where traffic changes direction depending on the time of day, or due to varying traffic conditions (accidents, roadwork, etc). Usually the direction of traffic in these lanes is denoted by electronic signs above the lane that is reversable.
See the link below for more of a discussion on these types of lanes.
2007-02-07 13:46:36 · answer #3 · answered by sdatary 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A westerner here. In rural areas, passing on a two lane road, meaning facing potential oncoming traffic at a high speed.
Also a single center lane shared by both directions in an urban area, usually reserved for left turners (probably what was meant in the news story)
2007-02-07 03:25:30 · answer #4 · answered by Rockies VM 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋