Road rules too complex for short ads
Drivers tearing up and down Interstate 540 can’t merge from highway entrance ramps worth a hoot, and they don’t know squat about signaling before changing lanes.
This is undeniable.
Laura Smith, who commutes from home in Farmington to work in Lowell, has a way to help, and The Guru shares her idea even if he’s not convinced it’ll do a lick of good.
Afterward, West Fork resident Jeff Jefferson tells how The Guru missed the boat last week on U. S. 62.
Question: Smith wants public service announcements to tell drivers how to merge into highway traffic, how to change lanes, and about the dangers of tailgating and speeding.
“Have you ever witnessed another driver doing something that caused you to shake your head and utter ‘moron’ ?” Smith writes. “Now, do you think that driver knew better ? Make Arkansas roads and highways a safer means of travel for everyone through PSAs on the rules of the road.”
Answer: The bulk of the $ 1, 136, 064 in federal money received this year by the Arkansas State Police highway safety office will be spent on five drunken-driving campaigns and one seat belt campaign, said Bridget White, the office’s administrator.
The media gave away $ 367, 082 worth of advertising to the campaigns, and news stories will help tell Arkansans about them, said state police spokesman Bill Sadler.
It would be difficult to detail road rules in 28-second TV spots, Sadler said. Drivers who want a dose of traffic laws can find them in the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide on the state police Web site: www. asp. state. ar. us. It’s under the “publications and videos” link.
“Tell Laura we’re open to any idea she might have,” Sadler said. “We’ll be glad to look at it, but in fairness to the driver, you need to question whether you can give someone a new way of doing something in 28 seconds.”
Q: Jefferson thinks The Guru picked the wrong time to test traffic on a stretch of U. S. 62 east of Interstate 540 in Bentonville and Rogers. Jefferson said The Guru should have tried to get stuck in traffic between 3: 30 and 5 p. m. instead of early morning.
“You would do good to make it in 20 minutes,” Jefferson writes.
A: The topic came up when Vance Vanderburg of Eureka Springs blamed traffic signal timing for U. S. 62 delays. He said he faced 15- to 20-minute delays.
The Guru spent part of a morning on U. S. 62 last week, and the longest wait was 12 minutes. He didn’t speed.
The Jefferson afternoon theory didn’t change much. It took nine minutes to drive two miles from Dixieland Road to I-540 at 4: 15 p. m. Tuesday. He tried again. It took 12 minutes.
It would have been quicker to I-540 if not for the traffic signals at I-540 ’s entrance and exit ramps. They shouldn’t be adjusted, though.
Giving more “green time” to U. S. 62 drivers would mean providing less to drivers exiting I-540 and backing more of them up to wait on the highway shoulder to reach the exit. That happens some mornings, and it’s dangerous.
Getting drivers off I-540 may explain why U. S. 62 drivers feel they’re getting gypped out of green. Robert J. Smith, aka The Guru, writes on traffic issues in Northwest Arkansas each Friday. He can be reached at gridlockguru @arkansasonline. com or www. nwanews. com / gridlockguru
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