How much ($) for one shot at the centerline-centerline ? ?

I just sent this to the boss for future intersection designs. In a busy college town this is sometimes how traffic actually is, especially on football weekends. Great find, and very funny to watch.

:good: :good: :good:

Three weeks ago while walking home, I was hit by a Lexus. I was in a cross walk, the sign said walk, I had 12 seconds remaining on the sign, there was a streetlight directly above me.

The car that hit me made a left hand turn, at 25 mph and even though I saw them break the intersection, and I figured out when they were 3' past the line that they were not going to stop, I did not have time to get out of the way.

I was able to jump up on the hood, roll up to the window and hang on for the 100' that it took the driver to stop.

Everyone else at the intersection in cars stopped and got out and ran over. The 90-year old who hit me (in a brand new Lexus) never saw me until I was laying on his wipers.

Everyone, including me was surprised that I was okay. I had a small bruise on my leg, but I was physically okay. I didn't even pee my pants. I am still a little mentally screwed up, but what is new.

We sell safety vests at the shop, and I now wear one on my jacket at all times when walking to work. The fact that a 'big guy' like me won't actually fit under a Lexus is not lost on my measuring skills.

So with that introduction, I have to say that video scares the c*() out me. Really, it does.

Thanks Brad, for sharing 🙂

M

Cairo Egypt

I think Cairo has the worst. I worked there a week or so in 2007. Here is the picture of the local roundabout taken from my hotel roof:

Each day we had to drive across Cairo to get to the job site, and traffic was horrendous...here is a video that tells it all:

Cairo traffic

We had drivers to take us to the job site, but once we were in the desert, they were not any good at driving 4WD. I had to get us unstuck several times. Unfortunately I have no pics of the actual work- it was forbidden to take pictures.

That must be where Fire Ants came from.

Glad you are okay. That is scary!

This reminds me of Sigonella Sicily in the late 80's.

This is taken from from the insert ribbon on Word, far right pull down marked symbol.

I saw traffic similar to this in Greece, but what I noticed MOST OF ALL is that 1)No accidents; 2) Everyone is paying to their driving 100%; 3)Everyone watches out fro everyone else, and HELPS maintain the flow of traffic.

Here, in the US of A we can't even merge nicely when required. We have those people who HAVE to speed to the front of the line and then force everyone in line to stop so they can merge. The only time I've seen it work was in VT. Everyone started merging at the 1/2 mile warning, by the 1/4 mile warning we were merged and flowing at 40 mph, until that one jerk has to run to the front of the line and force their way in causing everyone to stop.

It really can work, if people pay attention, aren't overly selfish, and help others out.

You have to have your head on a swivel when crossing streets in midtown and downtown Sacramento.

Drivers will look right at you as they wiz by if you are lucky, usually it's just tunnel vision.

I had a lady in a giant SUV try to take me out on a left turn. I was crossing a one-way street, she was turning left from a side street (looking away from me). I managed to barely get out of the way and I yelled at her.

The look on her face when I got her attention said, "I am a rich beotch in a giant shiny Cadillac SUV, you are lower than an ant, ON FOOT no less."

But I'm not bitter.

I yell at the other drivers LIKE A ZIPPER YOU FOOLS!.

In my experience East Coasters don't know how to merge. West Coaster know how but refuse to do it in a safe and courteous manner thus screwing up the traffic flow.

If the average driver would just be courteous that would solve 99% of traffic flow issues but we just can't do it, I have to be first, THIS IS 'MERICA DON'T YOU KNOW I MUST WIN WIN WIN EVEN IF IT COSTS ME!!!

Mark

I am a member of our local fire department and many times, we are working traffic at accidents. People's stupidity knows no bounds. However, I do know that you can sail a 4-D cell mag light through a back window of a vehicle that nearly hits you, and get their attention that way. 🙂 Food for thought. 🙂

> I saw traffic similar to this in Greece, but what I noticed MOST OF ALL is that 1)No accidents; 2) Everyone is paying to their driving 100%; 3)Everyone watches out fro everyone else, and HELPS maintain the flow of traffic.

How much ($) for one shot at the centerline-centerline ?? There are a great number of pedestrians crossing the street in the video. I suppose if you wanted to topo the intersection you would just work your way out there and get the shots. As Foggy says, everybody is fully alert as they enter the crossing traffic, lest they get their car smashed.

Not that I'd want to test the theory myself.

Thanks! I never knew that even existed. B-)

After watching the video I thought the same thing.

They look exactly like pissed off fire ants! :excruciating:

Merging early is what starts (and prolongs) the jams here.
A lot of people assume the worst, slam on the brakes and merge very early at very low speed, crossing the solid lines a lot of the time in their desperation. After the initial melee there is plenty of (relatively) empty road to merge afterwards, once you get to it....
Like a zipper is the best way but it requires people to maintain a reasonable speed. At one point we had signs instructing where to merge when coming up to road works, not sure why they stopped them.
Well we are known for our love of queuing.

Wow - reminds me of San Juan, Costa Rica...

Reminds me of Cozumel, Mexico. They have at least one traffic signal, but I don't think anyone knows what it's for. I asked one of the locals about it, and he said the tourists are the only ones who are involved in accidents, because they don't know how to deal with it.

Dang! I got excited yesterday at 65 MPH when a fellow pulled off of a side road into my northbound lane and I had to slam on the brakes. The driver that was a hundred yards in front of me barely missed the idiot and only because no one was coming at us in the southbound lane.

BTW, I have shot the section corner at that highway intersection three or four times. It is no big problem as it is about two feet off the edge of pavement one way and roughly 15 feet the other way. This is on a little US highway that starts in Corpus Christi and goes all the way to Canada.

> Here, in the US of A we can't even merge nicely when required.

There is a sign in my home town where two entrance ramps to I-81 merge together that says; "Alternate Right of Way (Take Turns)". Because, you know, "alternate" is kind of a big word that the country folk may not know.