Orange county, speed limit reduced?

I was coming home tonight, and since the traffic was rather light, I was
able to notice the new speed limit signs on the 22 east, from the 5 south to
the 55 south. the speed limit on this stretch has been reduced from 65 to
55. How many other sections of SoCal freeway have been reduced? and why? gas
crunch again?

"Matt O'Toole" > wrote in message
...


Maybe they just figured that too many yahoo's will be trying to drive fast
because of all the "Orange County" hype on tv these days. (On both coasts).
(-;

tech27 wrote:

> "Matt O'Toole" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>
> Maybe they just figured that too many yahoo's will be trying to drive
> fast because of all the "Orange County" hype on tv these days. (On
> both coasts). (-;

They've been driving too fast (literally and figuratively) as long as I can
remember, which is about '73.

Matt O.

Matt O'Toole wrote:
> tech27 wrote:
>
>> "Matt O'Toole" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>
>> Maybe they just figured that too many yahoo's will be trying to drive
>> fast because of all the "Orange County" hype on tv these days. (On
>> both coasts). (-;
>
> They've been driving too fast (literally and figuratively) as long as
> I can remember, which is about '73.
>
> Matt O.

I have been ticketed for doing 85 on the freeway. This makes for quite a
dilemma. In traffic school they say you are not to exceed the speed limit.
ok, so do 65 (or now 55) I tried that, I did 65 in the slow lane, and
amazingly, I was being passed on BOTH sides! I was even passed by a school
bus. If they actually want everyone to do the speed limit, they will just
have to set up an eight lane speed trap and ticket the entire morning
commute crowd to get them to slow down. Some flashing sign that says
"Caution, speed limit reduced, 55MPH" will do nothing. Ticketing five
commuters a day during rush hour, is about as effective as using a dental
pick to strip the paint off a barn.

>If they actually want everyone to do the speed limit, they will just
> have to set up an eight lane speed trap and ticket the entire morning
> commute crowd to get them to slow down.

This is how it is on the UK roads now - specs cameras that speed average
over a 3 mile stretch and note your number plate without flashing or
radar/laser usage. Nightmare if you accidentally slip over the speed limit.
Some people are still stupid enough to think they can slow down just before
each camera and speed in between - duhhh

J

Jeff Strickland wrote:
> California ALWAYS doubles the fines in Construction Zones, especially on the
> freeways and other regional routes. They may not double the fines for work
> on city streets, but they will for work on county roads.
>
> Anytime you suspect you are in a construction zone, you will want to be sure
> you are following the rules for that section of roadway. Usually, you can
> tell if you are in a construction zone, but not always. This is especially
> true when construction projects are just getting started, the guys can come
> along and plant a sign that creates the construction zone, but they haven't
> moved in the equipment yet so you don't see that construction is underway;
> of course the cops are dialed in on the signs that are posted and they will
> take advantage of the lack of equipment to get you speeding.

I find it rather appalling that people seem to think that it's okay to
break the law as long as they don't get caught. It's not the police's
responsibility to see that you obey the law. They just clobber you if
they catch you. It's YOUR responsibility to obey it. Sheesh!

Jeff Strickland wrote:

> Anytime you suspect you are in a construction zone, you will want to
> be sure you are following the rules for that section of roadway.
> Usually, you can tell if you are in a construction zone, but not
> always. This is especially true when construction projects are just
> getting started, the guys can come along and plant a sign that
> creates the construction zone, but they haven't moved in the
> equipment yet so you don't see that construction is underway; of
> course the cops are dialed in on the signs that are posted and they
> will take advantage of the lack of equipment to get you speeding.

The zones are decided ahead of time, and signs posted. Actual construction
could be going on within those zones, or not, at any given time. There may not
even be any sign of construction. But as long as you're in a posted zone, watch
out.

Matt O.

Vernon Balbert wrote:

> I find it rather appalling that people seem to think that it's okay to
> break the law as long as they don't get caught. It's not the police's
> responsibility to see that you obey the law. They just clobber you if
> they catch you. It's YOUR responsibility to obey it. Sheesh!

I find finger-waggers appalling.

Right or wrong, speed laws are widely ignored in southern CA. Late at night,
the freeways are pretty much a free-for-all. There are enough drunks and
seriously reckless drivers to keep the cops busy, so the average speeder is
unlikely to suffer consequences.

I'm not sure the current practice of broad-brush construction zones is wise, if
it leads to the masses ignoring well-intentioned laws.

Matt O.

> California ALWAYS doubles the fines in Construction Zones, especially on the
> freeways and other regional routes. They may not double the fines for work
> on city streets, but they will for work on county roads.

Just for the fun of it, I'm interested in how much the fines are in
California (or the States for that matter). Here in the Netherlands, I
got fined for going 13 mph over the speed limit. Usual fine is EUR 90,
but since it was a construction zone (something I had failed to notice,
on account of there being no equipment, workers, or any additional road
signs to underscore that fact), the fine was raised to EUR 145. (It
wasn't DOUBLED, I admit. Lucky me.)

How does that reflect the amount you have to pay in the States or the UK?

Oh, yeah, we don't even have a points system for our licenses. Pay up
and be on your way. Great for the individual offender, useless for
improving safety on the roads.

Matt O'Toole wrote:
> Vernon Balbert wrote:
>
>> I find it rather appalling that people seem to think that it's okay
>> to break the law as long as they don't get caught. It's not the
>> police's responsibility to see that you obey the law. They just
>> clobber you if they catch you. It's YOUR responsibility to obey it.
>> Sheesh!
>
> I find finger-waggers appalling.
>
> Right or wrong, speed laws are widely ignored in southern CA. Late
> at night, the freeways are pretty much a free-for-all. There are
> enough drunks and seriously reckless drivers to keep the cops busy,
> so the average speeder is unlikely to suffer consequences.
>
> I'm not sure the current practice of broad-brush construction zones
> is wise, if it leads to the masses ignoring well-intentioned laws.
>
> Matt O.

I think one problem we have here in SoCal is that we are always in a rush.
We always plan everything so tight, and never really figure in traffic or
travel times accurately. And then, the distances traveled. Some things are
15-20 miles apart and it can be a lot of open roads. Also a lot of tighter
places but since its an open stretch, we floor it to make up time that was
lost while waiting for all the stupid traffic lights that seem to always be
red.
Down by my grand parents house, its a two lane per side road. with a posted
speed of 25 MPH, and two stop signs. These stop signs have always been a
problem. people will turn onto their street and will be doing about 70 by
the time they get to the stop sign and blow through it. This is a
residential street, with houses. We have almost been nailed by cars when
trying to pull out. My grand parents will complain about the cars running
the stop sign, two motors will come out and park in plain sight at the stop
sign, within five minutes of parking, you will hear one tearing off to
ticket someone. Before he is done, the second motor takes off to ticket
someone.
I make an effort to maintain the speed limit, and I would say that I am
getting a lot better, but I still have a lot of work to do. The Freeways are
by far the worst though. They are pretty much a steady 85-90. when traffic
is 65-75, it is truly bumper to bumper. If I am driving in 70 mph traffic,
the person behind me is so close, I cant see their head lights. I look next
to me, there is about half a car length between the car that is pacing me,
and car in front of them. Tell me, how do I change lanes? And then if you do
leave one and a half car lengths of space (you know, to try to be a safe
driver) then people will funnel into that open space.