Are traffic laws made and enforced by drunk clowns...?

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12-08-10, 06:15 AM

#26

irwin7638

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Quote:

Originally Posted by gcottay

Are traffic laws made and enforced by drunk clowns? Of course not. They are made and enforced by a wide variety of humans. Both functions are improved by the application of reason and understanding. Gratuitous scorn. on the other hand, pollutes productive civil discourse and thus obstructs improvement.

After the past few days, the existence or non-existence of traffic laws have become non-issue to me. By coincidence I was writing on this subject on my blog. I went to a nearby intersection to see how motorists treated a stop sign where the road terminated at a busy commuter route. The whole thing is on my blog but of 100 cars:
17 made a legal stop
18 made an illegal stop
65 did not stop at all
50 used their turn signals although every one had to turn.
It looks to me like everybody is doing the same thing, looking out for their own interests regardless of the law, whether in cars or on bikes.

Marc

12-08-10, 09:18 AM

#27

contango

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Just out of interest, what is an "illegal stop" at a stop sign?

12-08-10, 09:34 AM

#28

Chris516

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Quote:

Originally Posted by greaterbrown

Wow. That would be even funnier if it wasn't so screwed up.
Barry, "HumanCar" recently did Maryland a huge favor when he clarified summaries written by MVA and DOT regarding our new 3 foot law. There were many ridiculous errors, but the most egregious was their stating that if a motorist was attempting to pass a cyclist on a road that was not wide enough to give 3 feet when passing, then the motorist could just pass anyway with out giving it. Yikes.

That is why a cyclist should 'take the lane'. How in the world can a motorist abide by the three foot law, apart from the window they can't see through the paneling of the passenger door to accurately gauge three feet.

12-08-10, 09:41 AM

#29

irwin7638

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Quote:

Originally Posted by contango

Just out of interest, what is an "illegal stop" at a stop sign?

A legal stop is coming to a complete stop behind the stop sign or a marked crosswalk if it exists. An illegal stop is stopping anyplace past the marked crosswalk (or sign where no crosswalk exists)at that point you have legally entered the intersection and "run the stop sign." A police officer was kind enough to explain that to me a few years ago--in writing. He only charged $35 for the information.

Marc