• thepaperpilot@beehaw.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    3
    ·
    1 year ago

    So how frequently do you think rv drivers should pull off to the side of the road to let cars pass them? I find it hard to believe they’ll be having meals, restroom breaks, or naps with the frequency you desire. Also, I’m not sure what kind of road has room for you to pull off to the side of, but not an extra lane for passing. I also am not sure what roads you’re talking about where an emergency vehicle is going to be stuck behind an RV for a long enough period for it to matter - if there’s no closer hospital, then by the point an RV would make a difference between life or death they’re probably just going to send out a helivac.

    Just to be clear, I’m not an RV owner and I sympathize with your IBS. In fact I have no vehicle, and support plans for public transit and similar ways of reducing congestion and improving people’s lives (like a lane solely for busses, taxis, and emergency vehicles, like several European cities have had success with). I just don’t see a need to blame RVs for their slightly slower speeds, over systemic infrastructure issues that are the primary reason for congestion.

    • gerbilOFdoom@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      Sounds like you’re not familiar with driving in the US. Passing along the shoulder is both illegal and incredibly dangerous. These long roads without passing lanes, often with frequent curves making a safe line of sight for passing impossible, create a situation in which courtesy is suggested: if traffic builds up behind while you travel drastically below the nominal speed of traffic with no opportunity to pass coming up, pull over to let them pass.

      Unfortunately, the middle of nowhere exists and that’s where people tend to vacation when they want to exist outside of a concrete jungle. The middle of nowhere also lacks funding for significant road infrastructure; that will not change and changing it would be so inordinately expensive that doing so would be foolish. The answer here is simple courtesy as a driver.

      Also, emergency vehicles aren’t going to be stuck behind am RV - they obligate everyone to pull over by law. The issue is that emergency vehicles do not exist in these areas. None. No help available. No funding, no people to do the job. The US is vast and significant portions of land exist with barely any residents.

      You can also be sure that hospitals are at least an hour’s drive away in these locations where no opportunity to pass exists. There’s no way around it: someone impeding the flow of traffic significantly without allowing faster traffic to pass is dangerous, both because of emergencies and the inevitable human tendency to pass in risky situations due to frustration.

      • thepaperpilot@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Hell even in a car there’s a car behind you most of the time. I can’t believe your suggesting they literally detour at every single moment. That’s adding a hell of a lot more than 25% to the trip duration