HOV/CARPOOL LANES: Why does one Adult + one Child = Two Passengers???

[DnetMHZ]

1. Pick up a hitchhiker
2. Drive in car pool lane

problem solved

 

[Mackie2k]

Originally posted by: Hammer
i agree with you for the most part. it violates the spirit of the HOV lane, although legal. it does nothing to reduce the number of cars on the road.

That's my whole point....not trying to rag on parents or kids.....

It doesn't do anything for the envirnoment, and clogs up the HOV LANE for people who are actually carpooling.....

Which isn't cool.

 

[mchammer187]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: Hammer
i agree with you for the most part. it violates the spirit of the HOV lane, although legal. it does nothing to reduce the number of cars on the road.

That's my whole point....not trying to rag on parents or kids.....

It doesn't do anything for the envirnoment, and clogs up the HOV LANE for people who are actually carpooling.....

Which isn't cool.

by that logic

a schoolbus since it only has one driver doesnt qualify :roll:

since the kids cannot drive

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
In terms of traffic, I think allowing HOV lanes to be used as all purpose lanes would speed things up. A bigger pipe, more bandwidth and hopefully better throughput. The decreased amount of time each car would spend on the road would have better effects on overall pollution than doubling up 10% of drivers and slowing 90% of them down by 20%. This is just a hypothesis on my part. I think there could be math to back it up, but I dont know statistics about HOV usage, or its effectiveness in reducing traffic/pollution.

Now do statistics on the percent of people who will die because their car was 10 minutes late to get back to their house, versus the percent of people who will die because their ambulance was 15 minutes late to get to the hospital.

Also, that "10%" of drivers includes buses with 30+ people in them. That will help the case for carpool lanes, statistics-wise.

 

[Mackie2k]

Originally posted by: mchammer187

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: Hammer
i agree with you for the most part. it violates the spirit of the HOV lane, although legal. it does nothing to reduce the number of cars on the road.

That's my whole point....not trying to rag on parents or kids.....

It doesn't do anything for the envirnoment, and clogs up the HOV LANE for people who are actually carpooling.....

Which isn't cool.

by that logic

a schoolbus since it only has one driver doesnt qualify :roll:

since the kids cannot drive

Actually, Bus's, Police, Ambulances, are all exempt to HOV....

Duh.

I'm talking PRIVATE CITIZEN John doe with his Kid.

 

[Syringer]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
If they opened up that extra lane, (4 lanes total)......we'd have 33% more lanes to spread traffic out into.......

Any thoughts?????

...and do you know how much faster traffic would move? Well...pretty much ZERO. Carpool lanes are like handicapped parking spots...it looks like a waste since they're always open, but really they aren't cutting into the total available parking that much.

That is absolutely ridiculous. In a typical place, your average ratio of non-handicap spots to handicap spots is at 50-1 or something really high like that.

In most freeways, the ratio of non-carpool lanes to carpool lanes is 3-1. You're telling me there's going to be ZERO difference if the cars had 4 lanes to deal with instead of 3?

 

[Mackie2k]

Originally posted by: Syringer

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
If they opened up that extra lane, (4 lanes total)......we'd have 33% more lanes to spread traffic out into.......

Any thoughts?????

...and do you know how much faster traffic would move? Well...pretty much ZERO. Carpool lanes are like handicapped parking spots...it looks like a waste since they're always open, but really they aren't cutting into the total available parking that much.

That is absolutely ridiculous. In a typical place, your average ratio of non-handicap spots to handicap spots is at 50-1 or something really high like that.

In most freeways, the ratio of non-carpool lanes to carpool lanes is 3-1. You're telling me there's going to be ZERO difference if the cars had 4 lanes to deal with instead of 3?

Exactly......it's 33% more lanes..........Of Course it will make a difference.....

That is why Washington's 405 and 522 roads have the HOV regulations stop after 7pm 7 days a week....

Because it does open up more lanes and traffic flows more freely......and trust me, and 7pm traffic can still suck, but it seems better now because they opened that extra lane up.

 

[Yossarian]

I agree w/Mackie2k as well. Other than that, there are a lot of really dumb attempts at "logic" in this thread.

 

[chiwawa626]

Mackie2k...get over it. If you want to use the carpool lane then go find some people to carpool with, or go have kids.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
People bitch and moan on here all day, so I will to.....if you don't like it, suck it. :lips:

In fact, I think that these lanes should be eliminated and made to be "Paid" Carpool lanes.....

You pay a fee per month, and you get access to them.....and the state gets a fat new source of revenue...

I'm tired of people getting perks for having kids.....it's BS and should stop.

And you are RIGHT....kids and dogs aren't the same.....

MOST DOGS ARE SMARTER AND MORE WELL BEHAVED.

We have that in texas... its called a Toll Road... and usually they flow alot faster than the main non toll roads...

In Texas our HOV lanes are ony 1 lane thats barrcaded all the way to only certain exits.... so they are kinda limited in usefullness they pretty much go to downtown to the suburbs and only 1 way IE in to Down town in the AM and away from Downtown in the PM...
they are used mainly by Vanpools and Busses ... Texas also allows 1 person Motorcycles to use these lanes....
which is one of the reasons I ride year round rain or shine.. shaves over 45 mins off a 15 mile drive by using it...

I love HOV lanes... I hate that I can only get on and off at certain points unlike California or Florida where you can get in and out at any point... and they flow both ways....

 

[daveshel]

Originally posted by: cyclistca

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
Any thoughts?????

Your an idiot?

And you're semiliterate.

 

[Mackie2k]

Originally posted by: daveshel

Originally posted by: cyclistca

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
Any thoughts?????

Your an idiot?

And you're semiliterate.

LOL.....

nice catch DaveShel -

 

[Kelemvor]

Legally i don't think the kid counts... But who's going to do anything about it? Technically i think it's 2 legal drivers makes you valid to drive in the car pool lane.

I see people go through there with just themselves and half the time they don't even stop. But of course there's never a cop there to do anything about it...

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
Legally i don't think the kid counts... But who's going to do anything about it? Technically i think it's 2 legal drivers makes you valid to drive in the car pool lane.

I see people go through there with just themselves and half the time they don't even stop. But of course there's never a cop there to do anything about it...

Here in Houston they have cops on it all the time.. its 1 lane barracaded by Concrete barriers.. so once you on you cant get off except at certain exits... Metro Police sit at these areas and do head counts and they ALWAYS have somone pulled over there...

 

[phreakah]

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
People bitch and moan on here all day, so I will to.....if you don't like it, suck it. :lips:

In fact, I think that these lanes should be eliminated and made to be "Paid" Carpool lanes.....

You pay a fee per month, and you get access to them.....and the state gets a fat new source of revenue...

I'm tired of people getting perks for having kids.....it's BS and should stop.

And you are RIGHT....kids and dogs aren't the same.....

MOST DOGS ARE SMARTER AND MORE WELL BEHAVED.

We have that in texas... its called a Toll Road... and usually they flow alot faster than the main non toll roads...

In Texas our HOV lanes are ony 1 lane thats barrcaded all the way to only certain exits.... so they are kinda limited in usefullness they pretty much go to downtown to the suburbs and only 1 way IE in to Down town in the AM and away from Downtown in the PM...
they are used mainly by Vanpools and Busses ... Texas also allows 1 person Motorcycles to use these lanes....
which is one of the reasons I ride year round rain or shine.. shaves over 45 mins off a 15 mile drive by using it...

I love HOV lanes... I hate that I can only get on and off at certain points unlike California or Florida where you can get in and out at any point... and they flow both ways....

we have openings and closings in the carpool lane too, but it never really stops anyone from crossing over

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: Hammer
i agree with you for the most part. it violates the spirit of the HOV lane, although legal. it does nothing to reduce the number of cars on the road.

That's my whole point....not trying to rag on parents or kids.....

It doesn't do anything for the envirnoment, and clogs up the HOV LANE for people who are actually carpooling.....

Which isn't cool.

I agree with what your saying for the most part about kids, but your totally ignoring the other benefits of HOV lanes. Parents+kid are NOT the only people in the HOV, I doubt they are even the typical HOV user.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: phreakah

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
People bitch and moan on here all day, so I will to.....if you don't like it, suck it. :lips:

In fact, I think that these lanes should be eliminated and made to be "Paid" Carpool lanes.....

You pay a fee per month, and you get access to them.....and the state gets a fat new source of revenue...

I'm tired of people getting perks for having kids.....it's BS and should stop.

And you are RIGHT....kids and dogs aren't the same.....

MOST DOGS ARE SMARTER AND MORE WELL BEHAVED.

We have that in texas... its called a Toll Road... and usually they flow alot faster than the main non toll roads...

In Texas our HOV lanes are ony 1 lane thats barrcaded all the way to only certain exits.... so they are kinda limited in usefullness they pretty much go to downtown to the suburbs and only 1 way IE in to Down town in the AM and away from Downtown in the PM...
they are used mainly by Vanpools and Busses ... Texas also allows 1 person Motorcycles to use these lanes....
which is one of the reasons I ride year round rain or shine.. shaves over 45 mins off a 15 mile drive by using it...

I love HOV lanes... I hate that I can only get on and off at certain points unlike California or Florida where you can get in and out at any point... and they flow both ways....

we have openings and closings in the carpool lane too, but it never really stops anyone from crossing over

You dont undertand... CONCRETE barriers... not a line...
and its the same lane they just close off different openings for day vs night commute.... 1 lane no passing concrete barriers and cops at exits= a well planned lane

 

[Hammer]

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: Hammer
i agree with you for the most part. it violates the spirit of the HOV lane, although legal. it does nothing to reduce the number of cars on the road.

That's my whole point....not trying to rag on parents or kids.....

It doesn't do anything for the envirnoment, and clogs up the HOV LANE for people who are actually carpooling.....

Which isn't cool.

I agree with what your saying for the most part about kids, but your totally ignoring the other benefits of HOV lanes. Parents+kid are NOT the only people in the HOV, I doubt they are even the typical HOV user.

I don't think he's advocating doing away with HOV lanes, but rather not allowing kids to count toward the passenger total.

 

[pancho619]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
People bitch and moan on here all day, so I will to.....if you don't like it, suck it. :lips:

In fact, I think that these lanes should be eliminated and made to be "Paid" Carpool lanes.....

You pay a fee per month, and you get access to them.....and the state gets a fat new source of revenue...

I'm tired of people getting perks for having kids.....it's BS and should stop.

And you are RIGHT....kids and dogs aren't the same.....

MOST DOGS ARE SMARTER AND MORE WELL BEHAVED.

You have a point there with the toll road idea. I currently pay a monthly fee to use the 91 Express Lanes through Orange County into Riverside County, I only use it on the weekends when my wife and I visit my parents but it's well worth it. Before I had the express pass, I would sometimes sit for over an hour on that 12 mile stretch of highway, now I pay a toll and in 10 minutes I've passed that horrible traffic.

I've used it for about a year and it has gotten more noticeably popular, so I guess if the need is high...people will pay.

 

[Mackie2k]

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: Hammer
i agree with you for the most part. it violates the spirit of the HOV lane, although legal. it does nothing to reduce the number of cars on the road.

That's my whole point....not trying to rag on parents or kids.....

It doesn't do anything for the envirnoment, and clogs up the HOV LANE for people who are actually carpooling.....

Which isn't cool.

I agree with what your saying for the most part about kids, but your totally ignoring the other benefits of HOV lanes. Parents+kid are NOT the only people in the HOV, I doubt they are even the typical HOV user.

Well, Seattle/Bellevue is the capital of Single Parents........so it actually is a really big issue. I counted at least 50 cars passing me this morning with a parent and kid only inside.

 

[mchammer187]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: Hammer
i agree with you for the most part. it violates the spirit of the HOV lane, although legal. it does nothing to reduce the number of cars on the road.

That's my whole point....not trying to rag on parents or kids.....

It doesn't do anything for the envirnoment, and clogs up the HOV LANE for people who are actually carpooling.....

Which isn't cool.

I agree with what your saying for the most part about kids, but your totally ignoring the other benefits of HOV lanes. Parents+kid are NOT the only people in the HOV, I doubt they are even the typical HOV user.

Well, Seattle/Bellevue is the capital of Single Parents........so it actually is a really big issue. I counted at least 50 cars passing me this morning with a parent and kid only inside.

a better solution would make it at least 3 or 4 people

it would be ridiculous to exclude children because suppose you had a van taking 5 kids to school

you are infact carpooling unless all 5 of chilrdren are yours

but i guess that shouldn't count either


by your logic

people that don't have license shouldn't count
neither should people that don't have a car for that matter
people that are handicapped and require a driver shouldn't count either because they need someone to drive them around

you can't make those types of exclusions

what about a couple that share's one car

they aren't helping anyone out by taking the carpool lane they don't even have 2 cars


i can see your argument if you want to make it 3-4 people but otherwise it holds no weight at all unless you are in favor of excluding everything else

 

[Ranger X]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
Please don't say "If you had kids you'd understand..." I realize kids suck in the car, and they scream and cry and whine, but YOU DECIDED TO HAVE KIDS......that's your choice...

Actually women have the final say in whether the child is born or not. As a man, we have absolutely no power over this matter whatsoever.

Totally unfair to people who don't have kids...

You think this is unfair? Just think about those people who cannot afford kids but continue to have them because the gov't throws more cash at them if they do. Ultimately, we're all sharing the burden together.

 

[rh71]

technically I totally agree with you... but it's just one of those things where it's fine the way it is to alleviate traffic anyway.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: Hammer

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: Hammer
i agree with you for the most part. it violates the spirit of the HOV lane, although legal. it does nothing to reduce the number of cars on the road.

That's my whole point....not trying to rag on parents or kids.....

It doesn't do anything for the envirnoment, and clogs up the HOV LANE for people who are actually carpooling.....

Which isn't cool.

I agree with what your saying for the most part about kids, but your totally ignoring the other benefits of HOV lanes. Parents+kid are NOT the only people in the HOV, I doubt they are even the typical HOV user.

I don't think he's advocating doing away with HOV lanes, but rather not allowing kids to count toward the passenger total.

Originally posted by: Mackie2k
If they opened up that extra lane, (4 lanes total)......we'd have 33% more lanes to spread traffic out into....... [/quote]
Originally posted by: Mackie2k
Exactly......it's 33% more lanes..........Of Course it will make a difference..... [/quote]

Yes he is.

 

[Phoenix86]

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: Phoenix86

Originally posted by: Mackie2k

Originally posted by: Hammer
i agree with you for the most part. it violates the spirit of the HOV lane, although legal. it does nothing to reduce the number of cars on the road.

That's my whole point....not trying to rag on parents or kids.....

It doesn't do anything for the envirnoment, and clogs up the HOV LANE for people who are actually carpooling.....

Which isn't cool.

I agree with what your saying for the most part about kids, but your totally ignoring the other benefits of HOV lanes. Parents+kid are NOT the only people in the HOV, I doubt they are even the typical HOV user.

Well, Seattle/Bellevue is the capital of Single Parents........so it actually is a really big issue. I counted at least 50 cars passing me this morning with a parent and kid only inside.

If you counted that many, your as bad of a hazard on the road then the moms+kid in the HOV lane are irritating... Just to put things in perspective. Watch the road, mmkay?

I can see where it would be an issue by city... If it's really being abused then you have a good point.