- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
What's the Real Risk of Taking the Interstate
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:47 am
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:47 am
So yesterday four people get whacked on I-12 by someone crossing the centerline.
Now many are dead in Denver as a semi slams into stopped traffic. LINK
I'm not a pussy, and I am not worried about my own driving skills. But you've got a bunch of people here killed on the interstate by something beyond their control (putting aside seat belts for the I-12 folks).
Here is the issue. If taking the interstate saves me ten minutes over taking the back way, is the real risk worth it?
What is the honest cost-benefit analysis here? To take a concrete (no pun intended) example, if I can take 90 to NOLA from LFT using up an extra thirty minutes of my life, is it worth it because I am less likely to get butt rammed by an eighteen wheeler on I-10 past Lobdell when the traffic screams to a halt?
Now many are dead in Denver as a semi slams into stopped traffic. LINK
I'm not a pussy, and I am not worried about my own driving skills. But you've got a bunch of people here killed on the interstate by something beyond their control (putting aside seat belts for the I-12 folks).
Here is the issue. If taking the interstate saves me ten minutes over taking the back way, is the real risk worth it?
What is the honest cost-benefit analysis here? To take a concrete (no pun intended) example, if I can take 90 to NOLA from LFT using up an extra thirty minutes of my life, is it worth it because I am less likely to get butt rammed by an eighteen wheeler on I-10 past Lobdell when the traffic screams to a halt?
This post was edited on 4/26/19 at 8:48 am
23
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:49 am to JudgeHolden
You could just as easily crash and die on a back road too, baw
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:50 am to JudgeHolden
quote:
if I can take 90 to NOLA from LFT using up an extra thirty minutes of my life, is it worth it
I take 90 every time I go to NOLA. frick I-10 and going through BRLA.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:52 am to JudgeHolden
How can you say putting aside seat belts? That’s literally the one thing they could have done that would have saved their lives.
And if you think 18 wheelers are bad on interstates, catch up to one on amphetamines and a 36 hr long haul on some back country road
And if you think 18 wheelers are bad on interstates, catch up to one on amphetamines and a 36 hr long haul on some back country road
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:52 am to TulaneFan
heavier traffic in those areas over time has increased
cables in the median or walls could prevent the crossing of interstate into oncoming traffic
it's what killed those people in ascension over the years until they added the barriers
shipping traffic continues to get worse
18 wheeler traffic continues to get worse
no solutions in sight
cables in the median or walls could prevent the crossing of interstate into oncoming traffic
it's what killed those people in ascension over the years until they added the barriers
shipping traffic continues to get worse
18 wheeler traffic continues to get worse
no solutions in sight
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:53 am to JudgeHolden
Watch "The Matrix" again.
Trinity: You always told me to stay off the freeway.
Morpheus: Yes, that's true.
Trinity: You said it was suicide.
Morpheus: Then let us hope that I was wrong.
Trinity: You always told me to stay off the freeway.
Morpheus: Yes, that's true.
Trinity: You said it was suicide.
Morpheus: Then let us hope that I was wrong.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:54 am to CoachChappy
quote:
take 90 every time I go to NOLA. frick I-10 and going through BRLA.
I think it adds about 30 miles to the drive but I also take 90 now. BR is just so disgusting.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:55 am to JudgeHolden
People get kilt on 90 all the time too.
That's the way I go to New Orleans, but not because I think I'm being safer.
That's the way I go to New Orleans, but not because I think I'm being safer.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:55 am to JudgeHolden
I take interior roads to get to and from work every day in Austin. I don’t really see the need to get on a freeway with frustrated people dodging all over the place at high speeds trying not to miss their exits, etc. all to save 5-10 minutes.
I never understood the concept of getting on an Interstate if I’m not trying to cover a lot of ground.
I never understood the concept of getting on an Interstate if I’m not trying to cover a lot of ground.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:55 am to JudgeHolden
I'm almost certain the interstate is far safer than any other road on a deaths/miles driven basis.
Also, taking 90 from New Orleans to Lafayette should be the standard considering traffic issues on 10/12.
Also, taking 90 from New Orleans to Lafayette should be the standard considering traffic issues on 10/12.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 8:59 am to JudgeHolden
(no message)
This post was edited on 5/11/19 at 11:51 am
Posted on 4/26/19 at 9:01 am to TulaneFan
quote:
You could just as easily crash and die on a back road too, baw
True, but the chances of having an out of control 18 wheeler or dumb frick cross the median going over 70mph on a back road are pretty low. Much lower than on the interstate, at least.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 9:05 am to JudgeHolden
Statistics on numbers of incidents compared to average daily traffic are easy enough to find.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 9:05 am to TDsngumbo
quote:
True, but the chances of having an out of control 18 wheeler or dumb frick cross the median going over 70mph on a back road are pretty low. Much lower than on the interstate, at least.
I think that is right.
It's a hard call on some stretches though. Take the Rosedale Road. Two lanes, high speed oncoming traffic, and death trap ditches. I dunno. Maybe I-10 is safer.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 9:07 am to JudgeHolden
Car accidents are not just an interstate thing.
But the probability of death does go up bc of the rate of speed we travel at I guess.
But the probability of death does go up bc of the rate of speed we travel at I guess.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 9:08 am to TDsngumbo
This quote is from 2009, but I'd be surprised if it's not still fairly accurate
quote:
Last year, 56 percent of the nation's 37,261 traffic fatalities occurred in rural areas. Yet rural America has just 23 percent of the nation's population. In some states, more than 90 percent of highway deaths occur on rural roads.
This post was edited on 4/26/19 at 9:09 am
Posted on 4/26/19 at 9:09 am to JudgeHolden
quote:
What's the Real Risk of Taking the Interstate
probably about the same as going to your local walmart or grocery and catching the flu.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 9:14 am to WallsAllAroundMe
quote:
Being so expensive to install and maintain all these miles of cable to prevent cars from crossing into oncoming traffic, wouldn't it be cheaper to just dig a trench or ditch in the middle of the median? Every so often leave a flat surface for emergency vehicles to cross over? Seems like a driver crashing into one of these cables would do just as much damage as if they crashed into a ditch...or just leave the trees there in the middle. I could think of a few different ways that would have been much cheaper than the $50M already spent to install and the $2M a year to maintain. And what do they do to maintain? WD-40?
lol
Put down the glue.
Posted on 4/26/19 at 9:22 am to LNCHBOX
quote:
Statistics on numbers of incidents compared to average daily traffic are easy enough to find.
Looked at some of them:
Fatalities per million drivers; fatalities per billion miles; fatalities per mile by interstate.
Here is what it doesn't tell me: Is the risk going up, which is what news reports and my own experience suggest? It has gone down for a very long time, but is it on an uptick due to increasing OTR freight, relatively low fuel prices, and increasing use of mobile devices while driving?
That's the part I don't know.
What I do know is that I stay off the Whiskey Bay Bridge if I can avoid it. I take the loop around Lake Charles (avoiding the Contraband bridge) on those few occasions I drive to Houston. And I never get on the interstate in BR for a short commute. The question is whether a rational person could do more than that to avoid the risks.
ETA: I just visited a buddy in the hospital who is paralyzed from the chest down after a teenager with a cell phone and 15k of insurance flipped his truck off the elevated portion of the interstate.
So maybe the subjective risk assessment is a little skewed for me right now.
This post was edited on 4/26/19 at 9:24 am
Posted on 4/26/19 at 9:27 am to JudgeHolden
A majority of people die on interstates are passing through from other states. You gonna take surface streets the whole way from Louisiana to Florida?
Page 1 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News