Driving Freedoms - National Motorists Association

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Spring 2011Driving FreedomsSpeed Studies of Same Road with 55mph Speed limit and 70mph Speed limitaverage = 66.4mph Variance = 36.1 average = 67.7mph Variance = 27.8 (-33%)SPEED STUDY, fREEWaYSpeed number of Vehicles additional5 5 < llllllllllllllll S p e e d L im it (2 .4 % )5 6 lllllll5 7 llllllll5 8 lllllllllllllllllll5 9 lllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 0 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 1 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 2 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 3 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 4 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 5 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 6 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 5 0 th P e rcentile6 7 llllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 8 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 9 lllllllllllllllllllllll7 0 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll7 1 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll7 2 lllllllllllllllllllllllllll7 3 lllllllllllllllllllll 8 5 th P e rcentile7 4 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll7 5 llllllllllllllll7 6 llllllllllll7 7 llllllll7 8 lllllll7 9 llllll8 0 lllllllll 2 .1 % @ 8 0 + m p h8 1 ll8 28 3 l8 4 + ll658 Vehicles, 17 minute studytime (rural), daytime (rural), and freewaydriving − bottom out close to zero deviationfrom average speed, or slightly tothe plus deviation side. This implies thatthe safest traffic flow occurs when speedvariance among vehicles is near zero.Second, note how steep the crashinvolvement curves become when thedeviation from average speed becomesmore and more negative. Slower driverscreate a much higher risk of collisionthan drivers who are at or above theaverage traffic speed.The MSP have an enlightenedculture, one that values traffic safety overcollecting revenue through commandand control tactics such as speed traps.The MSP were instrumental in draftingMichigan’s Public Act 85, a law thatrequires localities to base speed limits onproven, scientific methods, like that ofthe 85th percentile.When several communities were stillusing antiquated speed limits and wereissuing speeding tickets accordingly,Megge and the MSP spoke out loudlyto the media about the disregard for thelawful requirements of PA 85.It is also noteworthy that the MSPSPEED STUDY, fREEWaYSpeed number of Vehicles additional5 5 < lll5 6 ll5 7 llllllll5 8 lllllllllllllll5 9 lllllllll6 0 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 1 llllllllllllllllllllll6 2 llllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 3 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 4 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 5 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 6 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 7 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll6 8 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 5 0 th P e rc e n tile6 9 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll7 0 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll S p e e d L im it7 1 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll7 2 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 8 5 th P e rc e n tile7 3 lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll7 4 llllllllllllllllllll7 5 llllllll7 6 llllllllllll7 7 llllllllllllll7 8 llllll7 9 llllllll8 0 ll 1 .1 % @ 8 0 + m p h8 1 l8 28 3 l8 4 + llll721 Vehicles, 18 minute studyFigure 2were instrumental in encouraging achange to Michigan’s standard workzone speed limits. The current “45Where Workers Present,” as opposedto a blanket lower limit with or withoutworkers present, might not have beenenacted without the help of the MSP.Not all is peachy keen for drivers inMichigan, however. The state’s DriverResponsibility Act (DRA) penalizesdrivers over and above usual traffic fines,particularly those with specific priortraffic violations, or who have accumulatedseven or more points on theirdriving records. $800 million in revenuewas collected under the DRA between2004 and 2009, with most of that moneybeing deposited in the state’s GeneralFund. Our members in Michigan havebeen very active in working for therepeal of the DRA. Last September,the State House of Representativesvoted unanimously for that repeal.Unfortunately, the State Senate did notpick up the issue before the legislativesession ended, effectively killing theinitiative for that year.The DRA activity is not a reflectionon the enforcement responsibilities of theMSP or the active work they are doing toadvocate safer and more realistic speedlimits throughout the state.The NMA is pleased to endorsethe efforts of law enforcement agencieslike the Michigan State Police, who aretruly helping motorists by educatingboth legislators and the electorate on thevirtues of rational traffic regulations andproven engineering methods. •Crash Involvement vs. SpeedFigure 3
Driving FreedomsSpring 2011News FromAround The CountryNow featured, with daily updates,as “NMA Driving News” at www.motorists.orgUnited StatesThe U.S. Department of Transportationhas released data revealing thatAmerican drivers traveled over 2.9trillion miles in 2010. According toDOT, that’s a 0.7 percent, or 20.5 billion-mile)increase over 2009, and thehighest rate since 2007.CaliforniaThe city council in San Bernardinovoted 5 to 0 in early March to pullthe plug on its red-light cameraprogram. The action follows the leadof a growing number of jurisdictionsin the Golden State that have beendisillusioned with automated ticketingmachines.The Los Angeles County MetropolitanTransportation Authority willconvert sections of Interstate 10 andInterstate 110 from high-occupancyvehicle (HOV) lanes to what it calls“Express Lanes,” which will allowdrivers to zip along solo if they’rewilling to pay a toll.ColoradoOne class of Colorado license platesare virtually invisible to photo enforcementsystems: those on the vehiclesof Colorado’s own lawmakers. Thelegislative license plates are not tied to acar’s vehicle registration information, sophoto tickets aren’t issued.IllinoisAlderman Ray Suarez (31st) wantsto mandate countdown signals at allChicago intersections with red-lightcameras. Countdown signals are normallyinstalled to protect pedestrians,but may also be useful for drivers tohelp anticipate signal change.MarylandBaltimore police and transportationofficials are trying to correct a problemwith about 2,000 red-light camera citationsbearing the signature of a long-deceasedpolice officer.MassachusettsThe Massachusetts Supreme JudicialCourt is reviewing the appeal of Belmontattorney Ralph Sullivan, who saysthe $75 it cost him to challenge a trafficticket is just plain unfair — and violateshis right and the rights of thousandsof others to equal protection and dueprocess under the law. (See “SpendingYour Money” on page 2 for more informationabout this news item.)MissouriOn January 12th, the MissouriHighways and Transportation Commissionadopted a new policy that willregulate red-light and speed camerason roads and highways that are understate control. New cameras will haveto be preceded by studies and a 30-daypublic awareness campaign; signs willhave to be posted in advance of camera-enforcedintersections; local agenciesusing the cameras must provideongoing safety and citation data; andcertified law enforcement officers willhave to determine violations.New JerseyGlassboro, the first southern NewJersey municipality to issue a red-lightcamera ticket, has admitted that it issued12,000 tickets worth $1 million atan intersection where the yellow-lighttime was illegally short.North CarolinaState Senator Don East introducedlegislation in early March that wouldmake it a crime to operate a red-lightcamera or speed camera. On the otherend of the spectrum, a dozen Democratsin the state House joined twoRepublicans in introducing competinglegislation that would authorize the useof speed cameras to generate revenueto pay a court judgment entered againstthe state.OregonThe days of having your speedingticket reduced because of a good drivingrecord would be over if OregonHouse Bill 2712, overhauling courtfines, passes the Legislature this year.The law would remove judges’ discretionto order those reductions.South CarolinaSouth Carolina is considering a billthat would allow police to slap $150tickets on motorists caught driving lessthan 10 mph over the limit, but let themskip reporting the tickets to shield lowspeedoffenders from higher insurancepremiums, and likely to minimize theresistance of would-be ticket fighters.A new South Carolina program ismaking sure the state gets the moneyfrom those who haven’t paid theirtraffic tickets — by taking it from theirincome tax returns. The program willtake your money if there’s an outstandingcontempt warrant out for you,which means if you failed to show upfor your court date or failed to payunder a payment plan. •This information is current at timeof printing. For more informationon this and other motorist news, visitwww.motorists.org
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