Speed Traps

[jmen24]

"at speed" let me be the first to say that this will be the stupidest idea. Now this does not apply to everyone, so if you do not think it applies to you, there is no real need to bark at me. But, if you sit in a parking lot on a Saturday and just watch people drive around and park, you will notice that quite a few folks have no idea where the passenger side of their car is. They park directly next to another car on the drivers side with 3 feet on the passenger side. This is just one place to notice this activity, you can see folks constantly hugging the drivers side on their vehicle against something when they still have a car width on the passenger side.

And now they are going to let people pass through very unforgiving concrete toll booths AT SPEED (I am sure they are wider than a typical travel lane, but still). This does not even bring into account the folks that will not pass through at speed, that will slow to 20 or 30 mph and get run up on by Joe Salesman yapping on the cell and jotting down notes. Cause this will be great, now you have no need to even turn the cruise control off.

Just seems like an idea that will come back to bite someone. Maybe it is happening in other states without issue, if that is the case, I will stand corrected.

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by jmen24

"at speed" let me be the first to say that this will be the stupidest idea. Now this does not apply to everyone, so if you do not think it applies to you, there is no real need to bark at me. But, if you sit in a parking lot on a Saturday and just watch people drive around and park, you will notice that quite a few folks have no idea where the passenger side of their car is. They park directly next to another car on the drivers side with 3 feet on the passenger side. This is just one place to notice this activity, you can see folks constantly hugging the drivers side on their vehicle against something when they still have a car width on the passenger side.

And now they are going to let people pass through very unforgiving concrete toll booths AT SPEED (I am sure they are wider than a typical travel lane, but still). This does not even bring into account the folks that will not pass through at speed, that will slow to 20 or 30 mph and get run up on by Joe Salesman yapping on the cell and jotting down notes. Cause this will be great, now you have no need to even turn the cruise control off.

Just seems like an idea that will come back to bite someone. Maybe it is happening in other states without issue, if that is the case, I will stand corrected.

At the "highway speed" toll booths in NJ, the ones that you can cruise through are super wide. They are on the far left of the toll plaza, and are easily 2-3 car widths.

[SIKSUKR]

The 35 mph at the Hooksett tolls is not the pass through speed, its the speed leading up to the tollbooth. The pass through speed is only 10 mph.

[Rattlesnake Guy]

I will bet you $0.75 the guy who can't figure out what lane to be in will drive across the high speed lane in confusion.

[pcmc]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

I will bet you $0.75 the guy who can't figure out what lane to be in will drive across the high speed lane in confusion.

Moderator remove this if it is inappropriate.

hancoveguy, Have you ever heard of anything like this before, maybe pass it around the dept. if you think its a possibility.

I don't want to start any bad ideas, but I must say TWICE this year going through the EZ Pass lane I've come close to rear ending 1-bike and 1-car.

What happened the first time was heading home on a Sunday night going through the toll on 93, heading south, following two bikes. Traffic is slowing for the toll (no delays) and the first bike holds up a EZ Pass and goes through, as the second bike enters the toll area he slows to the point he is trying to balance, I hit the brakes to avoid hitting him, and he keeps looking at the camera equiptment, I'm guessing. It must have took a pic of the side of his bike and then he took off to catch the other bike. Or, he wanted the EZ Pass equiptment to pick up mine and he would get the free toll. ( I'll have to recheck my statement, as I don't recall if the light was green as he sped away)
The second time, as I was approching the toll a car darted out of the pay toll line right in front of me and creeped almost stopping, again like the bike. I got the impression he was trying to get me to tail gate him as we went through the toll. No one was behind me, this was later at night, so I stopped about 10 feet before the toll, he stopped less then 1/2 way into the booth and must have been waiting for me get closer to him but I didn't. Then when he went through the booth he did start to pull over to the side, but I didn't see where he went.

Maybe he was confused....I feel its the latest scam to get the car behind you to be charged the toll. Regardless, BE CAREFUL, people think nothing of just darting out, doing something stupid!!!!!!!!!

[jacka82942]

north alton on rte 11 where long open stretch ends and limit drops from 55 to 40.cop sits right at 40 marker when you come down the hill with his radar.not much time to see sign and slow down before gotcha.

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by jacka82942

north alton on rte 11 where long open stretch ends and limit drops from 55 to 40.cop sits right at 40 marker when you come down the hill with his radar.not much time to see sign and slow down before gotcha.

I don't like speed traps as much as the next guy but you call him a "classless policeman" for doing his job? He sits there because people will drive way faster than 40. The speed change is clearly marked way before you hit the 40 mph marker. Some drivers need to pay more attention to the road signs. They are there for a reason.

[LIforrelaxin]

So I want to stop by bring back up a few point from earlier....

--- First and emergancy vehicle is only an emergancy vehicle when it lights are on and flashing... so a cop pulled off to the side of the road, is just an observer.

--- Second, it is just common curtiousy to pull over into the passing lane when safely possible and someone is in the breakdown lane. The reason the law got passed was that to many people fail to do the right thing even when there is plenty of room to do so... So after many years and plenty of statistic to back the law up across the country the law was passed.

Now as for cops pulling people over from the side of the road or even stepping out into the traffic lanes, this is done all over the country. When it is done correctly and safely it is done on a straight stretch of road with clear visibility and it is pretty obvious what is going on. People should be slowing down anyways.

Occassionally you see a single cop do this maneuver when he shouldn't... and maybe it is scary for all involved including said officer, because in the course of doing something else on the side of the road, he notices something he can't just let slide....Remember one thing: POLICE OFFICERS ARE HUMAN, WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES........ They react and run off of adrenaline and emotion... and sometimes it cause an oops... Instead of getting angry or fearing police officers, get to know some of them.... talk to them... Have lunch with them... hey if you haven't done anything wrong what have you to fear.... other then learning how uncomfortable it is wearing bullet proof vests.... Having to make decissions, in less time then it take most people think about what there next task at work is going to be.....

[dayvsea]

I think that NH cops are a tad aggressive compared to any other state.. Ever drive back on 16 some night from up North? There is a squad car every intersection. I was followed for 5 miles one night with the fam, and felt if I did 1 mile over the limit the lights were goin to flip on, illuminating my blue licence plate. Maybe just weed out the bad drivers, and not worry about the plus and minuses on the speedometer.. One mans opinion..

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by dayvsea

I think that NH cops are a tad aggressive compared to any other state.. Ever drive back on 16 some night from up North? There is a squad car every intersection. I was followed for 5 miles one night with the fam, and felt if I did 1 mile over the limit the lights were goin to flip on, illuminating my blue licence plate. Maybe just weed out the bad drivers, and not worry about the plus and minuses on the speedometer.. One mans opinion..

As long as your doing nothing wrong there is nothing to fear.... that is the bottom line...Even if you get pulled over for going 1 m.p.h over the speed limit you can usually bring it to court and get it dismissed.... I you are going 10 m.p.h over the speed limit well your probably going to get stuck with the fine..but then again you have broken the law of the speed limit. Bottom line, you have nothing to fear if your not doing anything wrong...

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

The 35 mph at the Hooksett tolls is not the pass through speed, its the speed leading up to the tollbooth. The pass through speed is only 10 mph.

Some of the lanes are marked 10 MPH with signage, others aren't. So can one do 35 MPH through those left unsigned ?

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by Mee-n-Mac

Some of the lanes are marked 10 MPH with signage, others aren't. So can one do 35 MPH through those left unsigned ?

Currently, the speed limit through the tolls is 35 MPH. A lower speed limit is being considered. The yellow 10 MPH signs that you see at the tolls are not the speed limit.

CONCORD, N.H.—New Hampshire's House is setting a 25 mph speed limit on E-ZPass lanes.

The House voted Wednesday to lower the limit from 35 mph for vehicles that use E-ZPass transponders to electronically pay tolls. The bill allows higher speeds in open toll lanes which are being build on Interstate 95.

The Senate next considers the bill.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new...h_speed_limit/

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by chipj29

Currently, the speed limit through the tolls is 35 MPH. A lower speed limit is being considered. The yellow 10 MPH signs that you see at the tolls are not the speed limit.

Ok Chip now I'm confused.The sign that says 10 mph is not the speed limit?Then what is the sign for?

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

Ok Chip now I'm confused.The sign that says 10 mph is not the speed limit?Then what is the sign for?

Me too. (confused that is) I recall a story where people got "reminders" from the DOT for going too fast (25 mph IIRC) through the E-Z Pass lanes. Then there's this ...

From the NH DOT website ( http://www.nh.gov/dot/org/operations...faq.htm#ticket)


What is the speed limit through an E-ZPass only lane?
The maximum speed is 10 MPH. The reason for this is safety of the motoring public and safety of our employees that could be crossing toll lanes at any time.

Could I get a speeding ticket for going too fast through an E-ZPass lane?
Maybe … NHDOT has no authorization to issue speeding tickets. This is a Department of Safety - NH State Police issue. If a police officer is monitoring speed through the toll lanes, and you exceed a reasonable, safe speed through the E-ZPass lane, you could be issued a summons.

Could I lose my license if I drive too fast through an E-ZPass lane?
No. Drivers licenses can not be suspended for speed through an E-ZPass lane.


So I might conclude that the NH DOT has set a 10 MPH "recommendation" but doesn't (can't) enforce it via tickets. The NHSP may or may not enforce a "reasonable" speed limit, which might be higher than 10 MPH.

Clear as mud.

[jmen24]

Originally Posted by Mee-n-Mac

Me too. (confused that is) I recall a story where people got "reminders" from the DOT for going too fast (25 mph IIRC) through the E-Z Pass lanes. Then there's this ...

From the NH DOT website ( http://www.nh.gov/dot/org/operations...faq.htm#ticket)


What is the speed limit through an E-ZPass only lane?
The maximum speed is 10 MPH. The reason for this is safety of the motoring public and safety of our employees that could be crossing toll lanes at any time.

Could I get a speeding ticket for going too fast through an E-ZPass lane?
Maybe … NHDOT has no authorization to issue speeding tickets. This is a Department of Safety - NH State Police issue. If a police officer is monitoring speed through the toll lanes, and you exceed a reasonable, safe speed through the E-ZPass lane, you could be issued a summons.

Could I lose my license if I drive too fast through an E-ZPass lane?
No. Drivers licenses can not be suspended for speed through an E-ZPass lane.


So I might conclude that the NH DOT has set a 10 MPH "recommendation" but doesn't (can't) enforce it via tickets. The NHSP may or may not enforce a "reasonable" speed limit, which might be higher than 10 MPH.

Clear as mud.

Yellow speed limit signs are recommended speed. White are official.

I say just zip thru at 35 when a State T is parked there watching and see if they come after you.

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by jmen24

Yellow speed limit signs are recommended speed. White are official.
I say just zip thru at 35 when a State T is parked there watching and see if they come after you.

Bingo. I tried to explain this to someone in person and man did they give me a "look".

[Shore Driver]

Originally Posted by chipj29

At the "highway speed" toll booths in NJ, the ones that you can cruise through are super wide. They are on the far left of the toll plaza, and are easily 2-3 car widths.

Those tollbooths on the GSP are the benchmark for which all tollbooths should be measured, IMO. EZPass never makes me feel smarter than when I fly through those at full speed.