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Pele
Advanced Member
USA
316 Posts |
 Posted - 08/15/2012 : 19:52:28
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Anyone pull into the shoulder of the newly remarked area around Newington/Springfield?
Is there some kinda standard for shoulder widths?
Maybe it's the construction barrels and Jersey wall that's making it an optical illusion. I was driving my wife's minivan Northbound in the HOV lanes this past Sunday night/Monday morning... I don't think I could've fit it in the shoulder with enough room to change one of the driver's side tires... And that's with a minivan. What about a full size van/SUV/pickup truck or a wide sedan like a Crown Vic?
I hope nobody blows a tire or has some other breakdown in the new 3 lane HOV/HOT lanes...
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Times to beat:
Horner Rd to/from Pentagon: 12 mins Without Slugs - 17 mins With slugs
Dale City exit to/from 3rd St Tunnel, D.C. 18 mins (No slugs - Holiday) |
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mycroftt
Advanced Member
460 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2012 : 10:18:53
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The standards for highway construction are published by American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in the AASHTO "Green Book." No highway project can be undertaken unless it complies with these safety standards - no wait, they changed the law so the HOT does not have to comply with the standards. Drunk with exuberance over their immunity from the safety rules, the designers have gleefully ignored virtually every highway safety standard on the HOT project: minimum lane width, left hand and right hand breakdown lanes, left/right shoulder widths, etc. Even the minimum horizontal sightline standards are being ignored - this means that if traffic is stopped around a bend in front of you, you will not have a sightline (you will not be able to see the stopped traffic) in time to be able to stop without plowing into it. This is why even the VA StatePolice have stated that they know there will be a significant increase in accidents.
Somebody going to die? You bet somebody will.
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Edited by - mycroftt on 08/16/2012 10:22:26 |
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old_timer
Junior Member
30 Posts |
Posted - 08/21/2012 : 08:21:57
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| Swell! Just another reason to be against the HOT Lanes! |
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Pele
Advanced Member
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - 08/22/2012 : 23:40:43
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Yep... I was driving the pickup truck to work last Sunday night/Monday morning, northbound HOV lanes right before you get off for 495.
I pulled it into the right shoulder and scuffed the right front tire against the Jersey wall. Front left tire was a inches from the solid white line, less than a foot... Didn't have a measuring tape and didn't really feel like getting hit by a passing vehicle. Rear left tire was on the line. Driver's side view mirror was hanging out into the right lane.
Again, this is with a full size pickup truck with about an 80 inch width. No special all terrain tires or oversized wheels.
I'll see if I can get a few pics next time.
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cheryl101
New Member
7 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2012 : 19:26:03
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| i guess PRTC buses will not be able to drive down the hot/hov lines. there are too big. I heard from someone in line tonight that there was a 5 car pileup on the nov lines today. if this is true something needs to be done to stop the hot lines construction. Maybe a meeting needs to take place. |
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Pele
Advanced Member
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2012 : 09:42:09
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Looks like a software update borked my last post with pics... Here are the pictures again:
I took some pictures on the Labor Day weekend when traffic was a bit low and I could take my time. Even still, some are out of focus. Being that it was dark and I don't particularly enjoy playing in traffic, I think it's within reason to expect a little blur.
Starting with the "Worst case scenario" I got the work truck... A 1997 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4. It's a full size truck and comes in at 79.3 inches in width.
Being a truck makes it sound pretty hefty, but it's actually a really good basis to use.
As a comparison, your average family minivan (2008 Honda Odyssey) comes in at about two inches narrower; 77.1 inches wide.
Your standard Taxi or Police car (1998-2011 Ford Crown Victoria) is 78.3 inches wide.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e170/pele2048/HOT%20Lanes%20unsafe/DSC00336.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e170/pele2048/HOT%20Lanes%20unsafe/DSC00338.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e170/pele2048/HOT%20Lanes%20unsafe/DSC00334.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e170/pele2048/HOT%20Lanes%20unsafe/DSC00335.jpg
You can see I squished it up against the Jersey wall and there's still only a few inches to spare against the solid white shoulder line. You wouldn't be able to open the passenger door or get to either of the passenger side tires. The driver's door would intrude into the traffic lane and you wouldn't be able to access either of the driver's side tires either.
Also, note that this is a single rear wheel truck. A dual rear wheel truck (such as the tow truck that you'd need to call if you broke down... Because I sure as hell am not changing a tire with that little clearance.) would be significantly wider and intrude into the travel lane.
Okay... Let's try something narrower. My commuter car, the 2000 Nissan Altima. Specs list it at 69.1 inches in width. About ten inches narrower, so less than a foot.
Compare to another common 4 cylinder compact commuter car, the 2008 Honda Civic is 69.0 inches wide.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e170/pele2048/HOT%20Lanes%20unsafe/2012-09-03_23-48-47_888.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e170/pele2048/HOT%20Lanes%20unsafe/2012-09-03_23-49-29_660.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e170/pele2048/HOT%20Lanes%20unsafe/2012-09-03_23-48-12_397.jpg
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e170/pele2048/HOT%20Lanes%20unsafe/2012-09-03_23-48-27_35.jpg
Again, right up next to the Jersey wall so that you can't even get out of the passenger door. About a foot of space on the driver's side.
Also note that many older compact cars come with 14 or 15 inch wheels. Newer ones are coming with 16, 17, or 18 inch wheels. This means that even if you have the balls to get out of the car and crouch beside it to attempt to change a flat tire, you couldn't even set the tire down beside the car. The rim alone, without the tire is larger than the space beside the car. |
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fed up
Average Member
82 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2012 : 16:24:06
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This was an argument that has been made countless numbers of time. Even the state police had issues with the narrowing of the shoulders but their complaints fell on deaf ears. Those in power just see the dollar signs.
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Pele
Advanced Member
USA
316 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2012 : 14:50:16
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| And now the narrow shoulders run all the way from Newington to Rt 1 in Woodbridge. |
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Someone's gonna die.
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