Deena Winter reports that trucks on Highway 2 will have to stay to the right from now on. Supposedly the goal is to improve traffic flow by preventing trucks from driving side-by-side and impeding other vehicles. But then Ms. Winter quotes Public Works director Karl Fredrickson as saying "Some of those trucks -- once they get going, they don’t like to slow down" and "the third one back doesn’t like to stop". Neither quote has anything to do with side-by-side driving. In fact, the second quote tells what happens when trucks are not allowed to drive side-by-side: they caravan, and all the trucks in the line try to stick together, red lights be damned.
So I'm confused. Is the city trying to solve a problem or make an existing problem worse?
In my experience with Highway 2 -- I have lived within 1/2 mile of Highway 2 since 1981, and I have lived within 2 blocks of Highway 2 since 2001 -- trucks driving side-by-side is not a problem, or at least not the problem we need to be solving. It simply doesn't happen very often because trucks already tend to stay in the right lane. The trucks that drive in the left lane tend to be empty and are thus less likely to bog down traffic.
No, the problem we need to solve is trucks blowing through red lights. (If we're being honest we really should talk about all vehicles running red lights, but since the topic here is trucks, I'll stick to that.) There are a couple solutions. One is to require trucks to obey a lower speed limit, making them more likely to be able to stop at red lights. Since empty trucks can stop pretty easily, the speed limit could be made to apply just to trucks over some specified weight. The second solution is to install flashing "Prepare to Stop" signs. Improved enforcement would also help.
I agree that something needs to be done to improve traffic safety on Highway 2. I have seen many close calls over the years, and I am amazed that there haven't been more deaths along the road. If you ask me, forcing trucks to the right isn't the solution we're looking for.
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The biggest problem with Lincoln drivers and red lights is not the ones who blow through them in a straight line, it is the drivers who make left turns after the light has turned red. I counted a new record last week at 27th and O. Six cars in line to make a left turn went through after the light had turned green the other direction.
I am equally amazed that there are not more crashes and, frankly, fatalities on Highway 2 in Lincoln. I don’t see the left-lane truck thing as a huge issue that needed solving, but maybe I was missing something. Most of the trucks I see on my daily commute on Hwy 2 from 70th to downtown stay in the right lane until about 14th-ish before they start to move over, but I guess the signs can’t hurt.
I agree that safety is a major concern all around. Red light running is absolutely ridiculous. You have to wait at least 30 to 60 seconds to go through a green light at the intersection at Old Cheney so all of the people turning left on red can go.
I also have an issue with the general speed on the section from about Pioneers/33rd to Old Cheney. I like to get where I am going as much as the next person, however, I do not need a ticket. I cannot fathom how the majority, it seems, of drivers think it is OK to go 60-plus in a 45 between 33rd and 40th just to have to slam on their brakes at the light at 40th. If you are in the left lane in this section, you are almost assured of having someone very close on your bumper if you aren’t going at least 55.
Maybe the side-by-side trucks doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it’s a major slow down, especially when it happens between 5 and 5:30 p.m. The red light running is a bigger concern, though. It’s a huge issue all along Hwy 2, but in other places, too. Check out the Van Dorn/S. 9th/10th intersection sometime. A Nebraska trucking group has been running radio spots encouraging truckers to buckle up. I think the air time would be much better spent encouraging their members to stop running red lights.
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