Okay... We've discussed stop signs... Now what about those freeway entrance traffic lights?

I always stop at lights, but I'm Soooo tempted to roll through dumb freeway entrance signals. At times they serve a purpose, but more often than not, you come up to one and you're the only one there. I cannot think of a more fuel-wasteful or smog-causing process in all of California driving. Accelerate down the ramp, come to a complete stop, then mash on the gas to get up to speed in time to merge. What purpose does this serve when you're the only one in line? Who thought that up?

What's even worse is when they have two entrance ramp lanes. They didn't even bother to think it through enough to stagger the green lights between lanes so accelerating cars don't have to compete for the same space. Very dumb.

It's time to use 21st century technology to fix this 1970's mess. A simple sensor back at the beginning of the ramp could determine when only one or two cars are entering. This would keep the light green (NO stopping). Signaling would only begin when there are enough cars entering to disrupt traffic on the freeway. Why don't they do this? Imagine how much fuel it would save on those SUV monsters out there!

 

i roll thru whatever i can, whenever i can. i used to be illegal at high speeds. now i'm illegal at 2-3mph.

 

I have never encountered freeway entrance traffic lights n my HCH. They do have those in Chicago on the eisenhower... just never been that way in this car yet.

 

The ones in chicago are kind of timed when they are on. So you can easily time them and go through them green. At least thats been my limited experience.

 

Their purpose is to control the gradual feed of entering cars.
They keep the freeway speeds up.

But yes, they do waste gas.

 

All the ones I encounter have a separate carpool lane which allows me to roll through at high speed. (Thank you HOV sticker!!!)

 

I usually roll through them since I only experience them during rush hour traffic when even when I stop at it I am right behind the car that is backed 4-6 cars before merging into traffic. They just need to make 4-6 lane highways in Chicago.

 

Where I live, in addition to hitting every red light imaginable (everytime I travel since I moved here 2 months ago)... about the only thing I can time with these lights is the fact that they *will* be red when I arrive (doing the speed limit which I always do in the HCH).

We also have those freeway meter lights, as well. I've thought about rolling-through when no one else is around but there's a hidden CHP that parks in a blind-spot behind the light. There was a time when I actually did go through it accidentally but so did the guy next to me. He go pulled over and nothing happened to me. I've seen many others pulled over for running the metered lights.

At night when no one is around the CHP car will park with lights off in the blind-spot (which I can always see because I know where to look) so I figure its not worth it. I'd rather regain whatever lost MPG I have. Granted, for a 20 second acceleration at 3,000 RPM, sometimes it'll take me 10 miles of ultra-hypermiling to make it back up but its not worth risking my driving record over.

I have a habbit of not running reds (or yellers) or stop signs. I obey the maximum speed when possible (sometimes I will do 70 because I can get better MPG that way in certain stretches of my commute)... many times I do 50 in a 65 zone though, too, because *that* maximizes my MPG but running lights and signs are a no-no for me.


Thanks,
Shawn

 

I'm with you man, lifes too short to be sittin in a hybrid all day. I'll zip around and save petrol when I can but its no fun worryin bout mpg all the time.