Open letter to the Colorado State Patrol: Enforce the two-second rule
Over the weekend I had the joy of driving from Colorado Springs to Denver (and back), including my reacquaintance with an irritating Colorado law.
A couple of years ago, the Colorado legislature passed, and Governor Bill Owens signed, law 42-4-1013 (1), which states that "A person shall not drive a motor vehicle in the passing lane of a highway if the speed limit is sixty-five miles per hour or more unless such person is passing other motor vehicles that are in a nonpassing lane or turning left, or unless the volume of traffic does not permit the motor vehicle to safetly merge into a nonpassing lane."
Huh? First of all, remember that the interstate highway from Colorado Springs to Denver, a 50-mile stretch that connects communities of a half-million and two-and-a-half-million citizens, is two lanes in each direction. How did the left lane become, rather than the additional lane for accommodating capacity, the "passing lane"?
The law passed because of voiced annoyance about being forced to drive behind somebody who was driving more slowly (that is, at the speed limit) than other drivers in the left lane. While admittedly annoying, this behavior was caused not because of individuals abusing the passing lane, but because of a far-too-familiar pattern of dangerous driving called tail-gating. Tailgating, or following too closely -- the Colorado Driver's Manual calls for following at two seconds, or in such away that one passes a fixed point two seconds or more after the vehicle one is following -- accounted for 8.1% of all accidents in the Colorado State Patrol's jurisdiction in 2003, behind speeding (17.4%) and lane violations (8.6%). Right away this should tell us that those folks bitching most loudly about passing lane abuse were probably the ones causing the most accidents -- you know, driving too fast.
The first question, of course, is if one can be arrested under this law for driving the speed limit in the left lane. After all, nobody should be going faster than that. The Colorado Driver's Manual makes much of following traffic, but isn't there a law against exceeding the posted speed limit? Of course. So the anguish felt by those most vocal in supporting the law could have no relief under enforcement of this law. The weasly wording about "passing" is irrelevant in this context. I actually make it a point, quite frequently, to set my cruise control at 75 mph and stay in the left lane -- especially if somebody's riding my bumper.
The next question is why so many people stay in the left lane when they're not the fastest vehicles on the road, and I'll give you the answer: because of tailgating. When I want to pass somebody who is driving at 65 mph in a 75 mph zone, and I see other 65 mph drivers ahead of that driver, it behooves me to stay in the left lane until I have passed the cluster. If traffic is heavy, I may encounter periodic pockets of slow drivers to pass. The problem is this: if, having passed one driver and observing that someone is coming up rapidly behind me, I notice that there are in fact several closely-packed vehicles coming up behind me, I know that if I return to the right lane, I am unlikely to be able to again reenter the passing lane before I am forced to slow to the speed of the next slow vehicle in front of me. I then have to wait until a gap in the passing lane, driving below my desired speed the entire time, before being able to pass the next vehicle. If I stay in the left lane and am still driving faster than the vehicles in the right lane, I'm still passing, even though those behind me who wish to drive more rapidly might still get really pissed off. The law above has done nothing.
In normal traffic, of course the slower vehicles should be to the right, the faster vehicles to the left. But there are lots of levels of slow, and lots of level of fast, and this system requires free movement between or among the lanes -- and this is only possible if drivers are following at a safe distance, gauged by the 2-second rule. Following too closely not only causes accidents: it also increases the severity of traffic jams. This is discussed nicely here, so I'll refrain from reinventing the wheel.
In summary, then, the law above should not have been passed. Rather, the Colorado State Patrol -- and municipal and county enforcement -- should be more aggressive in catching and punishing individuals who drive too closely. A publicized campaign, plus vehicles pulled over daily, would encourage drivers to follow safely when a patrol car was visible, just as the same patrol car inhibits speeding. The law was a knee-jerk response to frustration that it no way alleviates, and as such is the worst kind of law. The high place of tailgating in the causes of accidents makes punishing it a much more appropriate expression of state power.
A couple of years ago, the Colorado legislature passed, and Governor Bill Owens signed, law 42-4-1013 (1), which states that "A person shall not drive a motor vehicle in the passing lane of a highway if the speed limit is sixty-five miles per hour or more unless such person is passing other motor vehicles that are in a nonpassing lane or turning left, or unless the volume of traffic does not permit the motor vehicle to safetly merge into a nonpassing lane."
Huh? First of all, remember that the interstate highway from Colorado Springs to Denver, a 50-mile stretch that connects communities of a half-million and two-and-a-half-million citizens, is two lanes in each direction. How did the left lane become, rather than the additional lane for accommodating capacity, the "passing lane"?
The law passed because of voiced annoyance about being forced to drive behind somebody who was driving more slowly (that is, at the speed limit) than other drivers in the left lane. While admittedly annoying, this behavior was caused not because of individuals abusing the passing lane, but because of a far-too-familiar pattern of dangerous driving called tail-gating. Tailgating, or following too closely -- the Colorado Driver's Manual calls for following at two seconds, or in such away that one passes a fixed point two seconds or more after the vehicle one is following -- accounted for 8.1% of all accidents in the Colorado State Patrol's jurisdiction in 2003, behind speeding (17.4%) and lane violations (8.6%). Right away this should tell us that those folks bitching most loudly about passing lane abuse were probably the ones causing the most accidents -- you know, driving too fast.
The first question, of course, is if one can be arrested under this law for driving the speed limit in the left lane. After all, nobody should be going faster than that. The Colorado Driver's Manual makes much of following traffic, but isn't there a law against exceeding the posted speed limit? Of course. So the anguish felt by those most vocal in supporting the law could have no relief under enforcement of this law. The weasly wording about "passing" is irrelevant in this context. I actually make it a point, quite frequently, to set my cruise control at 75 mph and stay in the left lane -- especially if somebody's riding my bumper.
The next question is why so many people stay in the left lane when they're not the fastest vehicles on the road, and I'll give you the answer: because of tailgating. When I want to pass somebody who is driving at 65 mph in a 75 mph zone, and I see other 65 mph drivers ahead of that driver, it behooves me to stay in the left lane until I have passed the cluster. If traffic is heavy, I may encounter periodic pockets of slow drivers to pass. The problem is this: if, having passed one driver and observing that someone is coming up rapidly behind me, I notice that there are in fact several closely-packed vehicles coming up behind me, I know that if I return to the right lane, I am unlikely to be able to again reenter the passing lane before I am forced to slow to the speed of the next slow vehicle in front of me. I then have to wait until a gap in the passing lane, driving below my desired speed the entire time, before being able to pass the next vehicle. If I stay in the left lane and am still driving faster than the vehicles in the right lane, I'm still passing, even though those behind me who wish to drive more rapidly might still get really pissed off. The law above has done nothing.
In normal traffic, of course the slower vehicles should be to the right, the faster vehicles to the left. But there are lots of levels of slow, and lots of level of fast, and this system requires free movement between or among the lanes -- and this is only possible if drivers are following at a safe distance, gauged by the 2-second rule. Following too closely not only causes accidents: it also increases the severity of traffic jams. This is discussed nicely here, so I'll refrain from reinventing the wheel.
In summary, then, the law above should not have been passed. Rather, the Colorado State Patrol -- and municipal and county enforcement -- should be more aggressive in catching and punishing individuals who drive too closely. A publicized campaign, plus vehicles pulled over daily, would encourage drivers to follow safely when a patrol car was visible, just as the same patrol car inhibits speeding. The law was a knee-jerk response to frustration that it no way alleviates, and as such is the worst kind of law. The high place of tailgating in the causes of accidents makes punishing it a much more appropriate expression of state power.
posted by heavynettle at 11:36
1 Comments:
Traffic rules are a great example of the theory that cracking down on small crimes is the way to prevent big ones. It's a shame that the actual, enforced speed-limit is a guarded state secret known only to the police--we all know you don't get stopped for 66 mph in a 65, but at what point DO you get stopped? No one is quite sure. This surely cannot sere to engender respect for law any more than the oddities of "traffic court" engenders respect for the constitution.
The better solution would be to do as Montana did before caving in to federal pressure: post the speed limit as a true guideline of safe speed, then leave it up to officer discretion to bust unsafe drivers. This approach is somewhat in place in most places; for instance, if you skid on the ice you can be cited for going "to fast for conditions," even if you were going well below the posted speed limit at the time.
But we both know the real reason the 2-second rule isn't enforced any more than the posted speed limit on ANY highway is enforced: money. Society won't pay for enough officers to patrol and enforce the laws, especially since such a huge percentage of citizens refuses to obey them or even acknowledge the laws' legitimacy. The speed limits only de facto legal function is merely to help victims establish guilt after one of their loved ones are killed by some speeding, or tail-gating, imbecile.
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