By adamg on Wed., 4/27/2016 - 1:18 pm
The City Council today unanimously approved a proposal to reduce the default city speed limit on most roads to 20 m.p.h. and 15 m.p.h. in school zones.
The measure, which councilors said should make Boston a safer city for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians, now goes to the mayor. If he approves, it then goes to the state legislature for action.
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While we're at it, let's
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 2:42pm
While we're at it, let's making looking at those stupid GPS screens suction-cupped to windshields illegal as well. Watch the road and that's it!
Replace them with Dashcams
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 4:08pm
Since drivers cause untold thousands more deaths than police officers each year, they should be required to use dashboard cameras every time they operate their vehicles DRIVING IS A RIGHT NOT A PRIVILEGE
AND
By bosguy22
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 4:21pm
Ban radios in cars, remove cupholders (fiddling with cupholders is just as distracting has texting!), and there should absolutely be soundproof plexiglass between the driver and all passengers.
Or, we could enforce current laws/speed limits, and penalize those that don't follow the rules or drive while distracted.
What a waste
By Waste of time
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 1:32pm
Why even have a vote on something that will not be enforced at all? Does the council really think they will enforce this when they have not enforced the current speed limit? How much money are they going to waste on resigning all of the roads?
How much money is spent on
By Kinopio
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 1:58pm
How much money is spent on replacing signs that dangerous drivers plow into? Drivers on my road can't go a week without knocking down the Yeild To Pedestrians In Crosswalk sign. Its hit more often than Clay Bucholz.
If it makes you feel any better...
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 1:58pm
The signs will have salvage value, as any other municipality in Massachusetts will be willing to buy them at a slight discount...
It is a great idea but I have
By Kinopio
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 1:32pm
It is a great idea but I have two concerns: First, that suburban state legislators won't allow it because they care more about being able to drive fast everywhere they go than they care about the people who live in the city. And second is enforcement. I've never seen someone get a speeding ticket in Boston. West Bridgewater cracked down and gave tickets to over 100 people for texting while driving in just a 4 hour period. Where are these crackdowns on dangerous drivers in Boston?
I got a ticket in Boston
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 1:57pm
I was on Comm Ave between Harvard and Packard's Corner. It's a divided highway at that point with few driveways/streets, and I was in the left lane. I got pinged for 43 in a 30.
At 9:45am on a Sunday with nobody on the road, it didn't feel too fast. But, in hindsight, it was.
So I regret that I sped, I regret that I got a ticket, and I'm here to report that this ped/cyclist advocate screwed up behind the wheel and did, in fact, get a speeding ticket in Boston issued by a BPD officer who was spending his morning writing speeding tickets at that location.
Regrets
By ins-scam
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 2:15pm
Wait till you feel the regret from your insurance increase for 5 years!! You'll regret not having thousands of dollars.
Too fast for what?
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 3:01pm
Too fast for what?
Did you realize after you drove past that there were places a pedestrian could have stepped out from, where you wouldn't have been able to stop in time at that speed? Probably not, since it sounds like you were on the inner roadway between two medians.
You know that this section of
By eherot
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 8:38pm
You know that this section of road has crosswalks and transit stops on it, right?
Sorta...
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 8:17am
There is one crosswalk, but since I turned from Harvard there is no way I was doing 30+ by the time I got to Fordham Road (extended). And while the Packard's Corner B Line stop is along the road, it's on the other side of a jersey barrier and 3+ lanes of traffic going the other direction, so I don't think that's a big factor either.
But, to answer the question, the problem with speeding there isn't a specific issue like a crosswalk or blind corner. The problem is general havoc. Cities are tight spaces, and folks do things which can be unexpected all the time. 43 mph is simply too fast to stop/swerve/avoid something unexpected in that area. Had I been doing 30 (for example), it would have taken me an additional 14.5 seconds to travel that stretch of road. I fart around on universal hub for a hell of a lot more time than that each day, so surely I could have afforded to invest the 14.5 seconds in increased safety for me and for others.
Comm Ave is a wide open space
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 12:45pm
Comm Ave is a wide open space. And if there isn't heavy traffic, there's not that much unexpected stuff to expect.
On a road like this, the time savings isn't the 14.5 seconds. It's the 65 seconds per red light, and the lights are often timed so you have to speed to avoid getting stuck at every red.
So what if one does get stuck at every traffic light?
By mplo
Fri, 04/29/2016 - 2:16pm
This is unbelievable! I mean...seriously; Do lots of posters here care so little about and have so little regard for human lives that you're willing to speed through the city of Boston just to presumable avoid being stuck at "every single light"?
This is crazy!
Funny, that timing
By lbb
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 9:16am
Boston cops loooove to camp out in certain locations and hand out the tickets on Sunday mornings. They can't be arsed to do it anytime when it might actually have a positive influence on public safety.
Of course they do.
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 12:47pm
Of course they do.
More people speed when the road is very empty, because it's safe to do so. (I'm talking about going 43 on Comm Ave, not 63.)
And it's easier to pull people over when you don't have to chase them through heavy traffic, and cause a major jam when you stop in a travel lane.
" First, that suburban state
By Patricia
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 2:32pm
" First, that suburban state legislators won't allow it because they care more about being able to drive fast everywhere they go than they care about the people who live in the city."
Can you back that up with anything, or do you just make stuff up about people?
Old Colony Ave is a hotspot
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 3:42pm
Old Colony Ave is a hotspot suburbanites cutting to South Shore bypassing 93. I have seen reckless drivers during rush hour almost hit people and not yield to pedestrians even in the clearly marked crosswalk.
And hopefully Old Colony will
By DTP
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 6:29pm
And hopefully Old Colony will be fixed soon. The city and state are both well aware of the problems with it, and are actively pursuing design solutions.
I've seen it.
By tape
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 3:17pm
The state police regularly set up a speed trap on Morrissey Blvd. at Malibu Beach. However, since it's a DCR road, that's the staties, not BPD.
See them there too
By tachometer
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 4:47pm
That's a regular setup so if anything I drive only slightly above the posted 35mph there. I saw a different setup there a few weeks ago though. I was on the inbound side and saw two staties standing in the right lane on the outbound side and one had a set of binoculars but there was no radar gun being used. I'm fairly sure that the one with binoculars was looking for people texting/using their phone and the other was a safety spotter for cars in the lane they were standing in.
It's disheartening to see
By ZachAndTired
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 1:36pm
It's disheartening to see city councilors blatantly disregard the insight that experts on a subject have given them. This is asinine.
Its disheartening to see so
By Kinopio
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 1:40pm
Its disheartening to see so many Boston drivers blatantly disregard the safety of everyone else.
You're right. Laws generally
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 2:01pm
You're right. Laws generally whip those people right into shape.
If one person obeys, so does everyone behind him
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 1:59pm
The nice thing about speed limit laws is that if the person at the front of a platoon obeys the law, so does everyone behind them, by necessity. Does not apply to wider roads of course.
That's real cute that you think that...
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 2:46pm
Ever stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk in Boston/Cambridge? Cabs tailgate, honk then dangerously swerve around you the first chance they get, nearly crashing into the pedestrians in the process. You must be new here... welcome.
Yeah, works great, until some
By Scratchie
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 2:57pm
Yeah, works great, until some jackhole crosses into oncoming traffic to pass, or passes in a "right turn only" lane...
That's fine if your goal is a
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 3:03pm
That's fine if your goal is a pack of tailgating drivers. Do you have evidence to show this is a safe outcome?
Yes, because rear end
By eherot
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 8:40pm
Yes, because rear end collisions are rarely fatal, especially at 20 mph, whereas a car striking a pedestrian at 30 mph is usually fatal.
This only works on one-lane
By DTP
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 3:39pm
This only works on one-lane roads. And even then it encourages road rage.
Wait, what?
By anon
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 4:48pm
You have no right to demand that others disobey the law because you can't plan your time, or feel entitled to behave irresponsibly.
I suppose that you think that allowing women in public encourages rape.
You have no right to demand
By DTP
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 6:31pm
That is not at all what I said. What I said is that one slow driver encourages aggressive behavior from the drivers stuck behind them. Whether you feel this behavior is warranted or not, it does occur, and can create unsafe driving conditions. A car moving along freely at 45 mph is less likely to cause an accident than a car trying to aggressively pass someone at 30 mph.
Honest rephrasing is the first step
By SwirlyGrrl
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 8:22pm
You need to rephrase this in a way that puts the cause of and responsibility for aggressive driving behavior where it really belongs.
In other words, people obeying speed limits aren't what causes aggressive driving. People driving slowly don't cause aggressive driving. That's ridiculous.
People who get worked up over being denied their supposed right to drive fast at all times on all roads in all situations cause aggressive driving.
A fundamental lack of self-control and a firm belief in being too special to obey road rules causes aggressive driving.
Assigning blame doesn't change reality
By Roman
Wed, 04/27/2016 - 11:29pm
If the goal is more safety, human psychology, aforementioned firm belief in right-to-go-fast and all, must be accounted for rather than wished away.
If the goal is to flaunt your virtue without accomplishing anything positive, then by all means, lower ALL speed limits to 20 mph an all roads statewide and put bicycle sharrow markers down on all lanes of the Mass Pike from the New York line to Logan.
If the goal is more safety,
By DTP
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 12:28pm
Exactly! It doesn't matter who is to blame, we need to acknowledge human psychology.
Ha ha ha!
By mplo
Fri, 04/29/2016 - 3:07pm
This:
is absolutely ridiculous, Roman! Lowering the speed limit is the best thing to do, in order to save and protect lives, and, as some other posters here have suggested, one or two aggressive scofflaw drivers don't have the right to even try to encourage other drivers to do likewise. If you have to be, or want to be somewhere at a certain time, just make the effort to get an earlier start, instead of being so nasty about it.
Driving way slower than you
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 12:49pm
Driving way slower than you should to intentionally block the person behind you is also a form of aggressive driving.
You are right
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 1:24pm
Driving way slower than the speed limit can be a form of aggressive driving. Driving the legal speed limit is not aggressive driving.
It can be, if the speed limit
By anon
Fri, 04/29/2016 - 11:08am
It can be, if the speed limit is way lower than it should be.
I once decided to obey the waaaaay underposted 20 mph limit on an empty rural road somewhere up near Gloucester, even though a driver behind me clearly wanted to go faster. I made a point of not pulling over to let them by. I'd say I was guilty of aggressive driving.
No, it's not.
By mplo
Fri, 04/29/2016 - 3:09pm
Driving at a 20 mph speed limit deliberately in a densely populated urban area i isn't aggressive driving at all. Driving above that posted limit is.
If someone gets themselves worked into a rage
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 7:58am
because the idea of the driver in front of them driving the speed limit is too much for them to handle, then that person has a mental deficiency. The rage wasn't "encouraged" by the law abiding citizen (or autonomous vehicle). Saying that implies that the law abiding driver might be somehow at fault, or responsible for the rage.
If someone is going way
By anon
Fri, 04/29/2016 - 11:09am
If someone is going way slower than the prevailing speed (even if that's the speed limit), and won't let someone else pass them when there's no reason not to do so, they have a social deficiency.
You do know that driving in
By Rob
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 2:24am
You do know that driving in such a manner (refusing to yield, building a platoon behind you, blocking a shoulder, weaving) as to force other drivers to "drive safely" - even if you're conforming to a posted limit - is actually unsafe, aggressive, and in certain circumstances illegal?
in what circumstances?
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 7:50am
in what circumstances is driving the posted speed limit illegal? I'm a little shocked that anyone would consider that illegal or aggressive.
The comment was only about driving the speed limit, the comment said nothing about breaking laws by weaving, etc.
No, no it isn't.
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 8:30am
Unless members of the platoon behind you have emergency lights and/or sirens on, it is decidedly not illegal to drive at the posted speed limit. It's also not unsafe. The jackhole who reacts in an aggressive manner is the one acting unsafe, not the person following the law in a predictable manner.
According to
By Sock_Puppet
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 8:58am
MGL 1. D. 10T, "the law is whatever I say it is and fuck you."
I'll spell out one example
By Rob
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 11:59am
I'll spell out one example for you:
If you're on a multilane road, AND...
If you decide the left lane best suits your needs, AND...
If you decide your speed limit (could be the posted limit, could be higher), AND...
If there's traffic behind you that wants to go faster than your limit, AND...
If you become aware that they are aggressive and maybe even unsafe - they want to go faster than you and want to pass you (whether or not they first "politely" signal* for you to pull over to the right to let them by or they skip directly to tailgating, leaning on the horn, rude gestures, and passing on the right), AND...
If you don't get out of their way (when it's safe for you to do so) and let them be their aggressive, unsafe selves...
THEN - YES! YOU are being aggressive, too (even if it's "only" passive-aggressive), and unsafe - because YOU are compounding the situation!!
You might be driving at the default statutory speed. You might be driving at a safe speed for visibility and pavement conditions. But - Insisting on YOUR speed in "YOUR" lane regardless of traffic conditions around you (including the aggressive, unsafe jerks) is aggressive, territorial behavior and a dereliction of YOUR responsibilities as a driver.
(*with a blink of the headlights from a safe distance)
Yes, that person would be a clueless jerk
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 3:41pm
Just like standing around under a tree with a mountain lion in it just because it's your right. It's not safe.
In some states, it's illegal
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 12:19pm
In some states, it's illegal to block a platoon, even if you're going the speed limit. You have to pull over and let people pass.
In most states, including here, it's illegal to block faster traffic in the left lane of a multi-lane road, even if you're going the speed limit.
How can I know the following driver wishes to break the law?
By anon
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 1:34pm
What is the legal method of signaling that one wishes to break the law and therefore others should pull off to the shoulder to allow it? Turning on the "pull over to the side of the road because I wish to break the law" signal? Hitting the bumper of the car in front of you? Three shots fired in the air at short intervals?
What about aiding and abetting? Isn't it illegal to help people break the law?
This is fascinating stuff.
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