Eyes On 94

What they say they're targeting could be more plainly stated as "That's just how people drive". If it's anything like the last such event, people are going to be just as lawless as at any other time, as it is quite doubtful that they're going to show up with enough cops to pull aside every insane stunt-man in a truck to 'lay down the law'.

It would be nice if they would regularly (as in part of their daily routine, not some random week-long pretense of force) show up at the truck stops, rest areas, terminals, and give a courteous and professional explanation (with pictures & video) of what "safe following distance" and "proper lane change" actually looks like, so that drivers (of all classes of vehicle) who at least intend to drive safely might be less inclined to let the excessive amount of aggressive drivers on the road "retrain" them...

 

I bet they will have extra enforcement by the in road scales that have no markings also.

 

It would be nice if they cracked down on cars too.

 

What if they had a video recording of unsafe practices to have running at rest areas when cars stopped by, like the old high school videos. Maybe someone would pay attention to them.

 

It is very tempting to think that "justice is served" when an officer pulls someone over for misbehaving near me. But, when it happens, I still have the next troublemaker behind me, then the next, then the next - so I tend to be a bit too busy handling the next crisis to celebrate the victory. I think it would be a bit more reasonable (and a lot less random) to start with a well-reasoned educational campaign, particularly since it seems that "lax enforcement" is a major contributing factor to the nonsense.

The state tends to be a bit inane with regards to safety promotions, so chances are that a poorly considered campaign would be as ignored as the slogans they occasionally put up on the computer-controlled signs. I think they'd do better to show a decent defensive driving video which illustrates the effect which aggressive driving has on other aggressive drivers: Heavy traffic with a defensive driver which strictly maintains safe following distance and does not allow anyone to become boxed in beside or occupy dangerous positions, with said driver completely apathetic toward the many aggressive drivers squeezing through and blowing their horns. The video should clearly show the traffic backed up behind all the way to the horizon, should identify (annotation or animated mark) all tailgating and every improper lane change, and explain that unsafe, illegal, and rude behavior on the road is excellent reason for the "slow" driver to be slow (and quite rude to everyone who also gets to slow down for it), and that the same behavior, when not adjusted for, regularly causes traffic to come to a complete stop. (And perhaps a "Why aren't you people blowing your horns at every wreck you get to change lanes for?")

Also, rest areas aren't really the best places for such a campaign (but it at least can't hurt to keep a display), since much of the traffic through them isn't sticking around long. They should target audiences which will remain captive for a long time. Secretary of State office, doctors' offices, ads on TV and at the theater, news segments, or full-length shows on the public channels [if they can come up with a way to keep it interesting].

 

How's that eyes on 94 working today. Heard there was a 32 car pile up in West of Kalamazoo.