Fresh Loaf

Be careful driving home from lackluster New Year’s Eve parties. If you’re caught speeding, you could be fined extra cash under a new state law that takes effect Jan. 1.

From the AJC’s Ariel Hart:

Going 85 miles per hour or more on most Georgia roads — including interstates — will cost a speeder an additional $200, when a new “super-speeder” law takes effect on Friday.  On two-lane roads, meaning one lane each way, the extra fine kicks in at 75 mph.

That’s on top of whatever ticket the speeder gets for going over the speed limit.

“It’s a lifesaving law,” said Bob Dallas, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, noting that speeding makes death or severe injury much more likely when an accident happens.

The program, which Gov. Sonny Perdue has pushed for years, is projected to raise $23 million to help fund trauma centers. It’s worth watching how state lawmakers manage those funds, especially this year. Hart reminds us that legislators will ultimately decide what to do with the cash. In an upcoming session that’s predicted to be all about cutting the budget, there’s a high risk that the cash could be funneled toward other projects.

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The world’s greatest sport and some game that is played between marriage proposals and awkward photos of Chipper Jones will create traffic havoc tonight in Atlanta.

This weekend, the Georgia Department of Transportation will be setting beams for the new (yippie!) 17th Street off-ramp (boo!). That project will require the closure of several lanes on I-75/85 northbound. Here are the details:

Starting at 8 p.m., Friday, July 24, the three regular travel lanes to I-75 North will be closed through the weekend until 5 a.m., Monday, July 27. All northbound traffic on I-75 must use the HOV lane to continue north on I-75. The three lanes to I-85 North will be open, but traffic will be very congested. Northbound drivers just passing through Atlanta are strongly encouraged to use I-285 to avoid the congestion.

Emphasis added. The following weekend, GDOT will once again resurface the interstate near the downtown connector, turning it into a real-life version of “Everybody Hurts.” That process will take 10 weekends to complete. The good news is that all of this activities, which are part of the 14th Street Bridge improvement project, will help GDOT finish the project ahead of schedule.

Do yourself a favor, if possible: Avoid interstate traffic this weekend and quite possibly for the rest of your life. Take local roads or I-285. Better yet, give transit a try. From the comforts of MARTA, you can laugh at the sea of gridlocked motorists. Citizens for Progressive Transit has a helpful online trip planner. You can also access a mobile version.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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In a ruling that may be the most exciting thing to happen to left-hand turns since the invention of passenger side airbags, the Georgia Supreme Court today overturned a 2006 law requiring drivers turning left onto a multi-lane roadway to turn into the left-lane.

The Supreme Court says the law’s wording is “unconstitutionally vague” and states “a person of common intelligence could not determine with reasonable definiteness that the statute prohibits the making of a left turn into the right lane of a multi-lane roadway.”

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Hybrid vehicle.

I’m in the early stages of a mini-crusade to get a traffic light, or at least an electronic crossing signal, installed at a busy intersection near my house. 

As part of my effort, I decided this morning to start tallying how many cars fail to stop for me after I’m already standing in the crosswalk.

During my two crossings this morning, 14 cars illegally whizzed by while I was standing in the crosswalk with my dogs.

Only two cars stopped for me. Much to my amusement, both were hybrids.

Maybe drivers of hybrid vehicles really are better people than the rest of us.

(Centaur courtesy of edupics.com)

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(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Researchers at the University of Georgia and University of Missouri say people at risk of drinking and driving are less likely to get behind the wheel if they think they’ll be caught in the act.

Essentially, all the laws in the world won’t to deter people from cruising after boozing — it takes convincing them they’ll be stopped in the never-awkward roadblock.

All U.S. states have laws designed to deter impaired driving, but there is little evidence on what works to deter drivers who have a high risk of drinking and driving. The researchers found that the existence of laws, such as the .08 blood alcohol content and open container restrictions, affect only those less likely to drink and drive, and the actual number of impaired driving arrests in a state has no significant effect on drivers’ likelihood of drinking and driving.

“Essentially, law enforcement needs to focus on perceptions; it is important that drivers perceive that they will be caught if they drive impaired,” said Lilliard Richardson, professor in the MU Truman School of Public Affairs. “We found that high-risk drivers are less likely to drink and drive if they perceive they are likely to be stopped or arrested by police. However, the mere existence of laws designed to discourage people from drinking and driving does not impact high-risk drivers. The results provide support for the value of high-visibility enforcement campaigns. Public safety education and media efforts are important components of the overall strategy for reducing impaired driving.”

Now a show of hands: Who got behind the wheel after pouring a punchbowl down their gullet at the cul-de-sac Christmas bash? Yeah, me neither!

(Photo courtesy of Help-for-DUI.com. Tip of the hat to Joeventures)

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Sorry, Andisheh. A $110-million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will be used for high-occupancy toll lanes along a section of I-85 primarily in Gwinnett County.

I pass the mic to Ariel of the AJC:

The 14-mile project, from the Perimeter in DeKalb County to Old Peachtree Road in Gwinnett, is seen as a seed that would spread to all 44 miles of Atlanta’s HOV lanes.

The tolls will be electronic, with sensors pinging a transponder in each car on the toll lane, and no stopping for toll booths. The toll price would rise and fall with congestion on the main highway: a higher price when traffic congestion is high, lower when traffic is light. Officials said questions like how much the toll price would be required more study. A similar project in California costs drivers about $1 a mile at the most congested time of the week.

And as usual, the comments are the best part.

(more…)

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Thanks to the efficient and helpful staff employed by the Mexican airline Aeroméxico, I had an 18 hour layover in Mexico City over the weekend. (more…)

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The intersection of Adair Street and West Howard Avenue in Decatur is so dangerous, there were three city employees directing traffic there this morning: two school crossing guards and a police officer yelling at drivers through a megaphone.

How much do traffic lights cost? Are they less than the cost of putting two crossing guards and a cop and an intersection twice-a-day for an entire school year?

All I’m doing is saying.

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Number of building permits issued in Decatur in 1995: 349

Number of building permits issued in Decatur in 2007: 822

Percent decrease in car volume at the intersection of Ponce de Leon Avenue and Church Street from 2001 to 2006: 20

Population of Decatur in 2000: 18,147

Population of Decatur in 2007: 17,914

Average household size in the U.S.: 2.58

Average household size in metro Atlanta: 2.7

Average household size in Decatur: 2.12

Source: City of Decatur 2008 Annual Report, Decatur Court Traffic Impact Analysis

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…Decatur’s traffic declines. That’s what Nick at DecaturMetro discovered when he perused the 38-page traffic study completed by the developers of the proposed 315 W. Ponce project in the smart-growth posterchild’s downtown (more on that project, called Decatur Court, later.)

(more…)

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Georgia’s highways can be a dangerous place. Not only are there drunk drivers out there, but there’s a literal lake of beer. With sharks swimming in it.

Question about the sharks slide show: Why are all the carcasses’ faces blotted out? Is WSB-TV waiting for authorities to notify the next of kin?

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At a June 2 press conference, Gov. Sonny Perdue announced that he has halted a state gas tax increase because of high prices at the pump and tough economic times. And what did he say about commuter rail or using less gas? Nada.

“I’m persuaded we’ve got great reserves here that we can bring to the market very quickly rather than being held hostage from the international perspective.”

— The governor on why the U.S. should drill for oil.

“I’ve seen people do it. I see them ride a little car for a little while, and then they’re back in big vehicles after a while.”

— Perdue’s response when asked if he’d consider switching the state’s fleet of vehicles or his personal transport, a SUV, to hybrids.

“I travel pretty lightly as most of you know.”

— Perdue says his retinue is smaller than that of most governors. Perdue has visited at least 14 Georgia cities since April 24. After the press conference, he flew to Savannah.

(Photo illustration by John Yardley)

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