Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 16:45:50 -0600 From: Shane Almeida <almeida.spam.is.evilnospam.is.evil.mindless.com> Subject: Re: 9-5 gas mileage?
On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 08:31:47 +1100, Peter Wilkins wrote: > A recent study I read (I think in the US, but can't remember) has > shown that accidents are greatly reduced, traffic flow improved and > fewer instances of road rage experienced when ALL traffic control > devices (street signs, traffic lights, lane markings etc) are removed. > Drivers behaved responsibly to get the most effective road use. > Apparently the reason it works is that if you treat drivers like > idiots, they behave that way: treat them as thinking adults and they > behave responsibly. So don't replace all the signs, just remove > them..... That's a pretty interesting theory, and I don't doubt it works on a small scale, but I'm not sure I trust all drivers enough to implement the thing on a big scale. Personal responsibility and courtesy to others are traits that are not as common as they should be. Either way, I was thinking about distances on exit signs and things like that. In some states where some thought actually went into the highway system (e.g. Maryland and Virginia but definitely not Massachusetts), the exit number corresponds to the miles from the start of the highway (e.g. exit 42 is 42 miles from the start of the road). This is useful when you want to add an exit because you don't end up with goofy things like exit 23C not really related to the existing exits 23A and 23B. Such a nice system would be broken if you switched to kilometers. On the other hand, I'm willing to bet a lot of people don't realize the exits are numbered that way for a reason. > But it does make cars a bit cheaper to build if the > speedo can be delivered with just one configuration, and ditto for the > manuals. Maybe, but car manufacturers wouldn't pass on the savings anyway.
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