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by pasabagi 1748 days ago
I think the law is simply way too soft on this. If you're using heavy machinery in public areas, it should be absolutely mandatory that you follow the law, and are capable of doing so. People who either do not or cannot should simply not drive.

If somebody was driving a digger on a public street in a dangerous and unlawful manner, you'd expect them to end up in court, and you'd certainly expect more than just a fine and business-as-usual. A car is far faster and more dangerous than a digger.
2 comments
chobytes 1748 days ago
Yeah. Drivers around here get irate at even the suggestion that they shouldn't be driving a minimum of 5 over on every road at all times.
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DaveExeter 1748 days ago
> People who either do not or cannot should simply not drive.

I have the opposite attitude.

People who cannot use their own judgement as to what speed to drive or when a stop sign can be safely disregarded should not drive.

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anoonmoose 1748 days ago
There are certain extremely predictable problems that occur when you allow people to use their own judgement to decide whether or not they need to follow rules/laws/etc., and I for one do not enjoy the outcomes of those problems.
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true_religion 1748 days ago
How would you codify that into law?
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throwaway0a5e 1748 days ago
I don't think you'd need to change much of the law.

A heck of a lot of stop signs would become yields. A heck of a lot red arrows would become blinking yellow arrows.

We could probably do automatic speed limits on limited access highways by measuring the current traffic speed, hitting it with some sort of weighted algorithm to prevent swings in speed or comically high/low speeds.

Frankly I'm surprised there's no such thing as a "yield, unless you're turning left or going straight" type stop sign since there are a lot of intersections where that's what the prevailing traffic flow is in practice.

A ton of intersections could be redesigned to facilitate easier and safer jaywalking with carefully placed islands.

If I had to change the law I'd have stiff fines for stopping at a cloverleaf and I'd make failing to go the minimum speed (which is usually the speed limit minus some constant) subject to the same fine schedule as speeding.

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