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In Roslindale, an angry driver is angry
By adamg on Thu, 08/20/2015 - 10:01am
Tim Murphy reports he was driving with his kids up Glendower Street in Roslindale around 2 p.m. yesterday when the guy behind him got horn-blowingly mad not just because he wouldn't speed up the street but because he then stopped for the stop sign at Kittredge.
For those unfamiliar with the street, Glendower is your basic Roslindale side street: Even though it's one way, it's still narrow enough that you could understand if the city banned parking on one side, but, of course, it doesn't, so even some veteran drivers proceed with caution up it for fear of taking out a mirror, or worse.
Murphy says his interaction with the guy didn't end at the stop sign. He says the guy caught up to his car at Washington Street and West Roxbury Parkway - so plenty of time for the guy to stew and steam - rolled down his window at the light, and yelled that he hoped Murphy and his kids "would fucking die!" As you can see, Murphy caught him in mid-exclamation.
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Comments
The only legitimate reason to put in
a stop sign is to assign right of way to traffic. The idea that stop signs are an effective means of speed control is one of the great fallacies of our times.
http://library.ite.org/pub/e271b7f3-2354-d714-518b-58ef17953fd3
Stop signs and speed
Thanks. I will look at the 43 p. doc later, but perhaps I left something out.
I am on the corner where the sign would go. Presuming that people have some regard for the law, why wouldn't it slow people down in the vicinity of the sign (which is also on a blindish corner because of fences)?
Again, and with respect, the purpose
of a Stop sign is not to slow traffic down - it's to assign right of way where traffic and/or physical conditions make application of the normal "traffic to the right has the right of way" rule impractical.
The introduction to the document I linked to has a good summary of why using Stop signs for speed control doesn't work as a safety measure.
Now, it may be possible that the location in question justifies the installation of Stop signs based on MUTCD guidance and requirements. However, speed control is not one of them, as strongly discouraged by the Federal MUTCD and as specifically prohibited by the Massachusetts MUTCD amendments.
See the mess one scofflaw
See the mess one scofflaw made of Sumner a couple weeks back... Stop signs will do nothing against the really dangerous drivers. Think that guy paid any attention to the stop sign at the corner of Brophy park before smashing into several parked cars and careening into the harbor?
Some hefty speed bumps would be a better option. Not foolproof, but better.
I'm also stunned by the number of Bostonians who think they only need to brake once for a stop sign, no matter how many cars were in front of them at the time. I hate stop signs here because three and four cars will zip through without stopping, as long as the FIRST one stopped as required.
I learned to drive in Houston, I am aggressive when necessary and usually find MA drivers fairly pleasant in comparison, but the stop sign thing drives me NUTS!!!!
There is another good reason
It applies to a lot of locations in Massachusetts.
That reason: obstructed sight lines. If you cannot see traffic approaching an intersection, you need to stop.
Now, it may be possible that
Obstructed sight lines are certainly a good reason to install Stop signs at a location, and are one of the factors the MUTCD considers in their guidance. However, it's not an "automatic" gimme, and even with that, the majority of locations I've seen Stop signs installed at in this state do not have severely obstructed sight lines - unless you believe that you should be able to see cross traffic 600 feet away.
Plus, if you're dealing with small residential streets that carry minimal traffic, making the probability of a 90 degree collision very small, Stop signs are an unreasonable measure.
With respect, perhaps you should discuss this issue with your traffic engineer father. Hopefully he will enlighten you as to why encouraging the Stop sign fairy, as happened in many local neighborhoods in Massachusetts after Chapter 689 passed, is bad thinking.
That isn't possible, sadly
He's dead.
His pet peeve was what he called "little blinking light memorials to the dead" - research showed that putting a flashing red/yellow light at a stop sign did not increase compliance with the stop sign or reduce accidents, yet people demanded them wherever there had been a bad accident.
I'm not a fan of stop signs myself - I would love to see more stuff like Somerville and Cambridge are doing with the physical impediments to speeding.
Sorry to hear that.
And I understand exactly where your father was coming from regarding warning beacons. One street in Wakefield has a intersection of two through streets that features a four way stop without an overhead beacon, then a adjacent T intersection with a minor street that has an overhead beacon. The issue is that traffic approaching the four way stop can see the beacon for the T intersection so clearly, it is a distraction.
Of course, the fact the Town decided to place a directional sign immediately in front of the Stop sign doesn't help matters either.
And yes, I brought both these points to the attention of the Town. Have yet to hear back from them.
Very true
Check out this video of Packard's Corner in Allston with no traffic lights. They didn't get them until 1986.
http://youtu.be/SdZsD92HhUg
He fits my mental image of
He fits my mental image of the typical person who was born and raised around here and yet roots for the Yankees.
Roots for Yankees?
I very seriously doubt that.
Oh yeah
That's a Sawwwwwwwks homer if ever there was one.
No
For one thing, "Sawwwwwwwks" is how a N'Yocka would say it.
Put him in better clothes, and you might mistake him for Egbert
Sousé ("That's pronounced soo-SAY'"), or Larson E. Whipsnade.
Actually,,,
"Sousé – accent grave over the 'e'!",
Adam, is there a way to let posters have avatars?
If and when you ever do make that change, I call dibs on this guys photo!
He looks less like a Pete
He looks less like a Pete Nice and more like a Ralph Senior Mean.
A Google "Visually Similar
A Google "Visually Similar Image".
Google search can see into the soul!
Angry driver is angry...and so is Larry David!
No Comparison
I would venture to assume that Larry David is far more intellectual than Roslindale Angry Driver Man.
Don't be stereotyping the bald community.
But that's not
the donut I wanted.
jabba lives!
nt
Nasty People on the Road
A long time ago, about 45 years ago, I had a lumber truck chase me down a winding mountain road in Virginia or West Virginia. I was driving a little Toyota Corona with California plates. It was night time. No place for me to get off the road. I will always believe that this truck driver was trying to cause my death. And he would have easily gotten away with it. Or he was an imbecile. Hopefully by now karma has found this douche bag.
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