Happiness makes the world slow down
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood. At the fork was a new stop sign. The view was clear up both forks, no traffic visible, but we were supposed to stop. Why? The usual reason for an all-way stop in a sparsely populated area. To make residents happy. The town’s engineer had approved an all-way […]
Talk is cheap
With traffic signs costing about as much as fancy toys, they get used like fancy toys. When I see “RADAR ENFORCED” in California, I think “it’s safe to exceed this speed limit.” There’s no apparent correlation with actual use of radar, but they seem to be used more often where the speed limit is too […]
Another day, another octagon
A four way stop appeared at an intersection I use regularly, Lexington and Beech in Belmont, Massachusetts. I wondered, “should I stop?” That I had to ask shows how confrontational the relationship between government and drivers is. Most stop signs are posted for nuisance value. View Larger Map The town engineer says there’s a reason […]
Hey, bud, need some stop sign?
Want “medical” marijuana in California? A doctor will prescribe you some, no questions asked. Want opiates in Florida? Same deal. Want a nuisance stop sign… anywhere? An engineering consulting firm will prescribe you one. Or should I say four? Of course there are honest doctors and engineers. If you already know what you want there’s […]
Where did that stop sign come from?
Somewhere between the Blue Hills and the best supply of winter blueberries I’ve found near Boston, I drove through a series of “nuisance” stop signs. If you look on a map you’ll see Dana Avenue, Hyde Park, Boston is a line from point A to point B, one of only two crossings over 3 miles […]
What does this sign mean? (part 2)
Why did that intersection get an all way stop? I drove through for years before my curiosity got the better of me. View Larger Map The road is in the Blue Hills, under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. I sent a letter to the DCR asking for the engineering study […]
The Stop Sign Tax
By John Carr, NMA Massachusetts Activist When all you can afford is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If we can’t abolish stop signs, we should at least tax them at $20,000 per year to reflect the harm they do. You may not think of a car stopping as a big deal. Multiply […]
The Stop Sign Tax
By John Carr, NMA Massachusetts Activist When all you can afford is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If we can’t abolish stop signs, we should at least tax them at $20,000 per year to reflect the harm they do. You may not think of a car stopping as a big deal. Multiply […]
Making Excuses
By John Carr, NMA Massachusetts Activist “49 reasons, all in a line, all of them good ones, all of them lies” — Stephen Stills Is there a communications major in the house? A major job of a government traffic engineer is justifying somebody else’s policy decision. The title could be Chief Public Relations Engineer for […]
Making Excuses
By John Carr, NMA Massachusetts Activist “49 reasons, all in a line, all of them good ones, all of them lies” — Stephen Stills Is there a communications major in the house? A major job of a government traffic engineer is justifying somebody else’s policy decision. The title could be Chief Public Relations Engineer for […]