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I've seen driving habits change over the years as more and more move here from places like CA where traffic and going as fast as you can are the norm. I used to say the most dangerous thing here is people giving up the right of way just to be nice.
No offense Mark, but I'll bet I've been driving a lot longer than you and I've never, not even once gotten a ticket. That's about 50 years of driving all over the world. I always go the speed limit, even if it makes no sense to me. As a result I've been fingered (happen here for one of the first times a couple of weeks ago), threatened, tailgated, stink eyed, got shot at once on the mainland. All for going the speed limit. I pull over to let people pass and try to be as courteous as possible. Sometimes when confronted I ask people to calculate how much time the are going to save. Usually about two minutes. Not worth the stress. Slow down. Maybe you'll be able to see all the pretty memorials on the highway.
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I've heard the slower pace argument before, and "this ain't the mainland." On the other hand, there are still people who want to get where they're going, and 35 is still pretty slow for a highway unless there are compelling reasons to be stuck with them. For 11 into Hilo I think the reasons are the number of cross streets, and pedestrian crossings, both of which could probably be fixed relatively cheaply with pedestrian overpasses and underpasses. Over and underpasses seem to almost be nonexistent here, whereas mainland roads are riddled with them. In the end that would not only create a faster but a safer road system. I just find it funny that since at least the mid-1950's, with the establishment of the large development plots, people have known a population boom was going to happen here, yet here we are in 2013 still stuck with a mid-20th century road system.
In other places, when you're speeding and caught, you generally know that you were doing it. Here it seems that you can be going what appears to be a reasonable speed and still be stopped for speeding, and what's more, the cops are waiting at those areas where speed limit and intuition don't match. That's a different experience for me than mainland driving. On the mainland you can be a conscientious driver without constantly glimpsing the speedometer and without getting stopped. Here that doesn't work.
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I've found that if you keep all your paperwork current, then you are more likely to get off with just a warning, or not be pulled over at all.
I've never seen more signs along the road than in Mtn View. It's almost comical. In my opinion, at some point so many signs become counter productive.
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Overpasses??????????? This is a prime example of why you might hear from time to time, "This ain't the mainland." And as far as speed traps go, Hawaii is pretty darn tame. Try I10 from LA to FL sometime.
Speed limits are generally set by guidelines such as population density. 25 through Keaau is very reasonable to me. The difference between going 25 and fourty for the whole stretch of road is about 15 seconds. If you get two tickets is two years maybe you're doing something wrong.
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Hawaii needs traffic engineers, agricultural inspectors, and, apparently, experienced homicide detectives. If there is a reason for the abrupt drop in speeds --and I am not sure there is-- it may be to make it easier for drivers (truck drivers in particular) to pull out onto the highway. When everyone is going 65 or 70, that can be a challenge. You see signs of the old life sometimes -- an elderly Japanese guy driving a tractor almost as old as he is on the shoulder.
Everything is slower here: the minds of local traffic engineers, the rate at which agricultural inspectors are hired and invasive species are dispatched, and the solving of homicides (that, apparently, gets outsourced to Dateline NBC, which is better known for its salaciousness than its crime-solving abilities).
The problem on 130, though, is that things are faster....and then abruptly slower....and then fast again. It is difficult to be all revved up and supercharging on that fluorescent green freeway and then see a sign that you are going to need to slow down to a crawl.
Until you see that subtle little sign that things are about to speed up again.
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"Overpasses??????????? This is a prime example of why you might hear from time to time, "This ain't the mainland.""
If it's aesthetics you're worried about, I know at least several examples of underpasses, anyway, that are far more pleasing to the eye than intersections with lights, traffic jams, etc. You almost don't know they're there until you get to them and with proper landscaping, they look almost like a natural feature of the land. Not being a civil engineer, I have no idea what would be involved in constructing them in this environment.
About the pace of modernization: Sure, you hear a lot about the pros and cons of change. Intelligent change can improve the lives of everyone though I don't think it's prudent to accept change just because it's a change. That's as wrong as viewing the past through rose colored glasses. There's a time and place for gravel roads and picnic lunches, but when you're in an ambulance with chest pains you want the super-fast freeway and high speed exit to the ER. And so on.
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When you start talking about building over passes, keep a couple of things in mind about building here. It took longer and cost more for the short span of bridge in Hilo to be replaced than it did the Golden Gate bridge, so long that residents were betting in which century it would be finished. It took so long for the intersection alone at Puainako, that people were asking standby traffic officers if they were building Disneyland under the intersection, it took OVER 1.5 YEARS. You want overpasses, if they start today, they might have one done by 2025.
As far as speed limits (traps) being set for financial gain, count on it, they are 100%. Want a new traffic light installed, its going take a few deaths first.
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Could you imagine an underpass after one of Hilo's 12 inches of rain in 12 hours events? I don't care what kind of drain system was used, you'd still need to use a scuba tank to go down and clean out the grates.
-Veritas odium parit”(Terence 195–159 BC))-"Truth begets hatred".
-Veritas odium parit”(Terence 195–159 BC))-"Truth begets hatred".
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"As far as speed limits (traps) being set for financial gain, count on it, they are 100%."
Why do people keep saying this? Is there any actual evidence? An official memo?
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FYI The County does not get any of the ticket (fine) money. It all goes to the State.
Watch out for construction zone limits, the fines are higher and the signs go up months in advance, and seem to come down years after completion. The idea was to protect construction workers, but that idea seem to be lost on someone ordering a speed trap in the middle of the night. Don't blame the beat cop, they go where they are told.
I have seen people getting ticketed in the 130 stretch, so I figure my good deed for the day is saving the annoyed tailgater behind me from getting a $250 fine. I saved his day and he didn't even know it.
Cruise control is your best friend, the traffic won't creep you higher and higher.
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