[tomwed]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

There are always financial constraints to be considered. The number stated in the thread, accurate or not, was $300,000 to install striping and $100,000 per year maintenance. Divide by about 50,000 homes and this is 50 cents/ month for 1 year and 17 cents/ month thereafter.

Now consider this:
Ever notice those little highway millage markers every 1/10 mile on interstates, US highways, and most state highways?
There are 46,876 miles of interstates, with signs in both directions every 1/10 mile, for a total of 937,520 of them
There are an additional 175,514 miles in the National Highway system= another 3,510,280 signs
There are 780,000 miles of state highways = another 15,600,000 signs
Total 20,047,800 of these little markers

According to the Illinois Dept of highways, it costs $125 to MANUFACTURE each of the signs and more to install them, so lets assume a low number 0f $300/sign. This makes a total cost for these signs, installed, of 6.014 BILLION dollars. God only knows the yearly maintenance cost.

According to the IRS, there are 243 million adult Americans, of which 122 million pay federal income tax (which in and of itself is a different problem). Just under 1/2 of the returns are joint filings, so let's assume 80 million distinct 1040's that actually pay tax. Dividing into the 6 billion cost = $75.18 per tax return over however many years it took to put these signs up.

So, as far as cost benefit goes, what would you rather have---striping for $3 or little signs for $75??? I'm sure the maintenance on these little signs is more than that of the striping as well

And now for the coup de gras: The stated purpose of these markers, according to the US Highway Dept, is "to aid tow truck operators in locating disabled vehicles"
Now, if a professional tow truck operator cannot see a disabled vehicle from far further away than 1/10 mile, he certainly cannot read those little signs. And despite what I already posted , HE should be the one to stay off our MMPs

And I just thought it was a reflector hammered into the ground.
I'll be happy to pay $3 and another $2 per year for striping.

[buzzy]

Three years of reported accident data was used. You can't generate more past data out of thin air. And, you can't analyze the frequency of things that never happened. So the case can be made to hold-off on striping for the time being, and rigorously collect new data going forward for a given reasonable period of time. If the frequency of accidents increases over the test period, then proceed with striping. If the frequency stays the same, continue collecting data. If the frequency diminishes, then cancel striping.

[golfing eagles]

I have no idea how this general highway safety information below translates to safety improvements on TV MMPs, but for your dining pleasure........

HOW SAFE ARE OUR NATION’S HIGHWAYS?

In 2010, 32,885 people were killed on the nation’s highways, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the lowest number of deaths on American highways since 1949. Another 2.2 million were injured. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death of Americans between the ages of 1 and 24 years old. In 2010, motor vehicle accidents accounted for more than one out of every five deaths among this age group. (Source: Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report, Volume 60, Number 4, January 11, 2012, Table 7). Poor road conditions contribute to more than one-third of all highway fatalities, according to the NHTSA safety data. Better alignments, wider lanes, median barriers, improved signage and signals, turn lanes, crash cushions, wider shoulders, utility pole relocation and other highway improvements could save thousands of lives each year. Almost three-quarters of all fatal accidents occur on two-lane roads. (NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts, 2009) The Interstate Highways, despite high speeds, are the safest roads, with 0.78 fatalities per 100 million miles of travel. Wide lanes, gentle curves, long lines of sight, wide shoulders, barrier separated traffic and limited access points all contribute to the safety record. The worst are rural two-lane roads with a record of 3.08 fatalities per 100 million miles of travel (Highway Statistics 2009, Tables VM-2 and FL-30). Construction of the Interstate Highways has saved thousands of lives over the years. If all highway traffic were to occur today on same kinds of roads as we had in the 1950’s, the number of highway fatalities each year would exceed 165,000. NHTSA reports that highway crashes cost Americans more than $230 billion annually, including the cost of medical bills, lost wages, legal fees, auto repairs and delays. This is more than two percent of the nation’s total output of goods and services or Gross Domestic Product. The average cost per household is close to $2,000 per year. According to NHTSA, public revenues paid for almost 10 percent of crash costs, adding $200 annually to the tax bill of every household in the U.S.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by buzzy

Three years of reported accident data was used. You can't generate more past data out of thin air. And, you can't analyze the frequency of things that never happened. So the case can be made to hold-off on striping for the time being, and rigorously collect new data going forward for a given reasonable period of time. If the frequency of accidents increases over the test period, then proceed with striping. If the frequency stays the same, continue collecting data. If the frequency diminishes, then cancel striping.

Your post is very sensible. I hope it's taken constructively.

[bh5666]

At night oncoming carts with bright lights cause a real problem. To focus on side striping would surely help in these situations.

[bh5666]

Side striping would be very helpful at night when an oncoming cart has very bright lights.

[billethkid]

Those of you who keep proposing being willing to pay their dollar or two should be careful what you wish for and the precendent you are under taking.

At some point there will be other wants by "some" residents that will be proposed as only a few dollars per month. The trend ends up with ever increasing fees and or assessments or annua maintenace.....and a few dollars here and a few dollars there eventually we have fees that over the years become double what they used to be.

I have witnessed this creep into expenditures at other communities. Beware!!

[Xcuse]

Originally Posted by buzzy

Three years of reported accident data was used. You can't generate more past data out of thin air. And, you can't analyze the frequency of things that never happened. So the case can be made to hold-off on striping for the time being, and rigorously collect new data going forward for a given reasonable period of time. If the frequency of accidents increases over the test period, then proceed with striping. If the frequency stays the same, continue collecting data. If the frequency diminishes, then cancel striping.

This seems like a reasonable course of action. Use actual data and not just subjective perceptions.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

There are always financial constraints to be considered. The number stated in the thread, accurate or not, was $300,000 to install striping and $100,000 per year maintenance. Divide by about 50,000 homes and this is 50 cents/ month for 1 year and 17 cents/ month thereafter.

Now consider this:
Ever notice those little highway millage markers every 1/10 mile on interstates, US highways, and most state highways?
There are 46,876 miles of interstates, with signs in both directions every 1/10 mile, for a total of 937,520 of them
There are an additional 175,514 miles in the National Highway system= another 3,510,280 signs
There are 780,000 miles of state highways = another 15,600,000 signs
Total 20,047,800 of these little markers

According to the Illinois Dept of highways, it costs $125 to MANUFACTURE each of the signs and more to install them, so lets assume a low number 0f $300/sign. This makes a total cost for these signs, installed, of 6.014 BILLION dollars. God only knows the yearly maintenance cost.

According to the IRS, there are 243 million adult Americans, of which 122 million pay federal income tax (which in and of itself is a different problem). Just under 1/2 of the returns are joint filings, so let's assume 80 million distinct 1040's that actually pay tax. Dividing into the 6 billion cost = $75.18 per tax return over however many years it took to put these signs up.

So, as far as cost benefit goes, what would you rather have---striping for $3 or little signs for $75??? I'm sure the maintenance on these little signs is more than that of the striping as well

And now for the coup de gras: The stated purpose of these markers, according to the US Highway Dept, is "to aid tow truck operators in locating disabled vehicles"
Now, if a professional tow truck operator cannot see a disabled vehicle from far further away than 1/10 mile, he certainly cannot read those little signs. And despite what I already posted , HE should be the one to stay off our MMPs

When a sudden blown tire at 70 mph on an interstate caused my TR6 to lose control, bottom out in the median, take to the air across two lanes of opposing traffic and land up against a billboard, the people who stopped to help knew exactly how to pinpoint my location to the EMS by the mile marker.

Also, the quicker you can get disabled vehicles off the highway, the safer it is for motorists and occupants of the disabled vehicle.

I am not a careless driver, speeder, drunk driver, any of those things some are saying "Too bad, stay off the road" to. To this day I wonder if in my shock I ever even stepped on the brakes. I don't remember.

To me it's a matter of making the roads as safe as possible for every kind of driver. Back in the '70s it was a big deal to tally up the road deaths after holiday weekends. Cars and the roads have been made so safe you don't hear that much anymore.

And as for the poll... pick a torrential downpour after dark, take the pollsters out and let them navigate both marked and unmarked trails. Then let them vote.

[golfing eagles]

"When a sudden blown tire at 70 mph on an interstate caused my TR6 to lose control, bottom out in the median, take to the air across two lanes of opposing traffic and land up against a billboard, the people who stopped to help knew exactly how to pinpoint my location to the EMS by the mile marker."

So , if there was a marker every 1/4 miles instead of tenth, you'd never be more than 220 yards from one, and we would save 60% of 6 billion.

My point was that we already paid for/are paying for something far more expensive than striping that has very little direct benefit to residents of TV.
And of course that's just the tip of the iceberg, I just wanted to pick an example that was completely asinine

I also agree they help make pinpointing your location easier, but that was not the goal the US Highway Dept stated. Apparently they spent 6+ billion to aid blind tow truck operators

[tomwed]

So if you do get in a golf cart fender bender what phone number do you call to report the data?

[asianthree]

Originally Posted by tomwed

So if you do get in a golf cart fender bender what phone number do you call to report the data?

Your spouse

[mickey100]

Originally Posted by buzzy

Three years of reported accident data was used. You can't generate more past data out of thin air. And, you can't analyze the frequency of things that never happened. So the case can be made to hold-off on striping for the time being, and rigorously collect new data going forward for a given reasonable period of time. If the frequency of accidents increases over the test period, then proceed with striping. If the frequency stays the same, continue collecting data. If the frequency diminishes, then cancel striping.

Good common sense approach.

[looneycat]

Originally Posted by Walter123

Another ridiculous comparison between 20 mph golf carts and 70 mph cars.

you obviously never saw how much damage 2 cars hitting each other at 20mph

(creating a 40mph collision) can cause....and cars have airbags and frames designed to protect the passengers, golf carts have nothing.

[outlaw]

Many of you may not realize there are various sections of cart paths with dashed center lines. Some are so old that the lines have faded to almost invisible. Some have been repainted recently. So the dashed center line stripe is not something new for cart/MMP paths.