Hwy 130 speed limit drop

[kimo wires]

Just saw on KGMB news this morning that the speed limit is going to change in May from 55 mph to 45 mph. The zone between Shower Dr. and Ainaloa will be the speed drop area...

Wonder if there will be any enforcement???

[Norm]

Hope so ,Never seen a maine Hy like 130 have so many turns offs and public homes on it.Hy are a means of transportation to expedite the flow. 130 Is not a HY!!!!, Wake up and make a new road to Hilo!!!

[rainyjim]

130 is a hwy!

I'm unclear on this part perhaps someone more enlightened could comment - is it illegal to have your driveway exit directly onto a highway? Shouldn't they be exiting onto another road?

[robguz]

This is just nuts and apparently all thanks to Russell Ruderman. People already routinely drive 35MPH on this stretch with no cars in front of them. So now they will go 25? For those of us in the area he supposedly represents he has now made the long drive to Hilo that much longer. Why not focus his energy on getting this road widened? Honestly, Ruderman has very quickly become everything I feared he would--an anti-science person who would legislate based on his own beliefs without any evidence. Glad I didn't vote for him. Why not lower the speed limit to 5MPH?

[Rob Tucker]

If and when the work to widen Hwy. 130 starts then 45 mph will sound like wishful thinking. The highway widening is estimated to take eight years.

[Bullwinkle]

tinkin out loud.....

slower speed limits means fewer cars by a given point in a measured unit of time...

meaning even longer commutes - it might decrease the number of injuries however

[hotinhawaii]

One may imagine that lowering a speed limit by 10 mph would decrease accidents but it's not necessarily the case. Here is the DOT's own study on this: http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/sl-irrel.html

One thing is clear, it will mean "fewer cars by a given point in a measured unit of time." In other words, even more congestion at all hours of the day and an increase in drive time to and from Hilo.

I realize that the hwy. 130 expansion will mean innumerable headaches for a lot of years (if it ever starts) but, until then, can Russell Ruderman please not make it worse?

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

quote:

---

Originally posted by robguz

Russell Ruderman --an anti-science person who would legislate based on his own beliefs without any evidence.

---

When I read the press release concerning the lower speed limit on that stretch of Hwy 130, it was noted that there is a higher incidence of accidents there for the number of cars driving per hour. There are so many cars, and so many entry points to the highway, it is difficult for people to quickly make driving decisions. If you lower the speed limit, drivers gain reaction time, which in theory should reduce the number of accidents. I would prefer the limit stay at 55 myself, but I also realize that highway is filled with a fair number of people who have a hard time driving at 55 mph in no traffic.

[jlgerk]

Lowering the speed by 10 mph for a 3 mile strech ?
.
Do you need to be in Hilo 2 minutes faster ??

............................................................
http://www.icompositions.com/artists/jlgerk

[hotinhawaii]

Here is more info on how safe driving speeds should be determined. http://www.motorists.org/speed-limits/faq

As far as I am aware, this change was prompted by a whim and inkling by Russell Ruderman that lowering the speed would make the highway safer. While it may end up being true in this case, there is no way to know without studying it. In fact, much of what I have read supports the idea that lowering speed limits doesn't lower accidents. This "intuitive bias" is one of the reasons studies must be performed to get at the reality of the situation.

This change is reckless unless it was carefully studied first.