celphones was Why not methanol 4866

JP White

I do indeed maintain a healthy buffer, at least when it is physically possible. Generally there isn't a problem doing so on the highways. On the secondary roads you're also usually ok outside of rush hour. During rush hour, particularly on the thoroughly inadequate "main" roads in the immediate vicinity of Hartford, CT it is simply not possible. It is not a theory either it is fact.

As far as the roads in TX being largely immune to this problem, I can't say that all of them are because I haven't driven enough of them yet. I can say however that the roads here are built substantially better than those in CT, probably due at least in part to more available room to build them properly.

In TX they also do far better at providing left turn lanes which is one of the factors that causes that section of rt44 in CT to be so bad. When 25% of the traffic is taking a left turn without a dedicated turn lane it creates a serious choke point. Add to the improper traffic light timing typical of CT and you have one parking lane and one try to squeeze by lane. The lack of a shoulder in this area only makes it worse. Then add in the "I'm better than you so I should be able to cut ahead" PYV's trying to race down the left lane and then cut back into the right before they slam into the back of the cars waiting for the left turn. Then put this on a moderate curve and bring it up over a rise and down at the very end so you can't see what's going on at the traffic light. Now point the whole mess directly into the morning sun.

You think $20 isn't enough? OK, I'll make it $100 to the first person who can produce clear, unedited video that shows them consistently successfully maintaining a 3 second 120' following distance traveling east bound at 40mph on Rt44 in CT between the Avon-West Hartford line and downtown Hartford at 8:30am on a non-holiday weekday while not creating a hazard.

Pete C.