With all the traffic congestion I run into all the time, it would seem to me that one inexpensive way to inprove the traffic flow would be to have more lanes on the same pavement width, IOW narrower lanes and illimate 1 of the shoulders. Paint & Botts Dots are a lot less expensive & faster to complete than building or widening roadways. If there are 3 lanes, narrowing them & using one of the shoulders, then restriping the road way to make 4 or 5 lanes is an almost immediate 33 to 66% increase in the road capacity.
Why is the standard lane with 12 feet? why not 9 or 10? Anyone know of any common 12 feet wide vehicles?
Maybe one 12 feet wide lane for trucks & the rest 9 feet?
My thought is that with a 48 foot road surface, there could be between 4 (12 foot lanes) or 5 (9 foot lanes) or even 6, if you illimate one of the shoulders, and with all the traffic congestion, 5 or 6 lanes is better than 4. Any one elses thoughts on this?
2007-06-08 19:32:20 · 4 answers · asked by polarbear94019 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Safety
No one is capable of keeping their vehicle in the exact center of their assigned traffic lane all the time. Have you ever followed a 3-trailer rig down the Interstate and noticed how much they move from side-to-side? Now consider that the normal width of a commercial truck in the USA is 96 inches (8 feet). That gives you a cushion of two feet on each side of a 12-foot traffic lane, but only six inches on a nine-foot lane! Would you like to drive an 80,000 lb semi down the highway at 65 MPH with only 6 inches to spare on each side of your rig? How many more accidents would you see if all the traffic lanes were reduced to just 9 foot?
2007-06-09 04:33:39 · answer #1 · answered by JetDoc 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The lane width was determined in the the early 1950s' by the Military.
The most efficient commute vehicle by far is the train.
2007-06-08 19:44:07 · answer #2 · answered by izzie 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In addition to agreeing with Jet Doc, I've noticed a few things over the years. Like how the cars keep getting smaller. And how the drivers of today have even more trouble staying between the lines than the drivers of yesteryear (in the smaller cars!)
2007-06-09 09:51:45 · answer #3 · answered by Firecracker . 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
12ft?
Where in the world are you?
2007-06-10 04:29:11 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋