Use this form to reply to this Thread
ly provide the required 850 feet SSD.
I do not understand what is meant by the first sentence in paragraph 2(c) above, but have these questions in any event:
1. Is SSD something that is properly applied to this circumstance? It seems strange to assume that a driver would amble up an entrance ramp with no sight down the highway (due to the existance of the wall), with an 1150 feet entryway ahead, and simply decide to drive onto the roadway where vehicles are moving at 70 mph. If the DOT is going to postulate drivers making blind and eratic lane changes, it would seem that even an SSD of infinity would not prevent an accident.
2. Why is the entering vehicle's speed not used in the calculation? If the vehcile is travling at 35 mph when it reaches the gore and is accelerating, why is it necessary for the driver on the main line to "stop" at all? It would seem all that is necessary is for the driver on the main line to reduce speed to something less than the speed of the entering vehicle before the point of impact.
3. Even if SSD is a proper issue, isn't 1150 feet sufficiently long to construct curbing along the entryway forcing the entering driver to use the lane, at least until the driver on the main line gets 850 feet of sight distance?
I anticpate we will be bringing litigation against the DOT in the coming months. Considering the discretion that is given to state agencies, I need to establish that the hypothetical given is either fanciful, false or both. I would appreciate any advice anyone might offer. I am happy to provide the drawings to anyone interested.
-Carl
Carl J. Elitz
reds@inil.com
Use this form to reply to this Thread