Passing in a no passing zone poll
 

When driving a car, do you pass in a no passing zone?

Where's the poll?

Because one thread discussing such nonsense is not enough.

Oh, and isn't it disingenuous to not include the context of passing a slow-moving object?

That thread doesn't have a poll.

But then again, neither does this one.

Fail.

:(

are you talking about passing a cyclist?? or another car/motorcycle?? farm implements??

Passing any vehicle.

Misses a couple of options: 1) I will pass a slow moving vehicle in a no passing zone when it's safe to do so under the circumstances;


2) I'll move partially over a solid yellow line passing a cyclist, to give room, where it is safe to do so.

"Frequently" and "rarely" are options. If you do those things just indicate if it is frequent or rare.

So my answers which are not available in the poll would be:


1) I frequently pass slow moving vehicles, such as farm tractors, and cyclists, where it is safe to do so under the circumstances (speeds and sight distance)


2) I frequently straddle a yellow line to allow additional room to pass a cyclist where it is safe to do so under the circumstances.


3) I never pass a vehicle moving anywhere close to the speed of traffic in a no passing zone.

pretty much where I fall.

if its safe to pass a farm tractor I will do so. a cyclist will get passed as well. very slow moving vehicles in general as long as its safe.

that too.

I would hope that no one here passes other cars that are not moving at very slow rate of speed in a no passing zone.


Assuming that to be true, the poll results will be greatly skewed on the question that I am presuming from the other thread which would be:

Whether people cross solid yellow lines to pass cyclists.




A more reasonable poll might be:


As a motorist, do you cross a solid yellow line to pass cyclists?


With options being:


1) no;


2) yes, as a matter of course;


3) yes if I believe it is safe under the conditions ( i.e. vehicle speeds, speed limit, available sight distance)

If she tells me not to make a pass, I don't make a pass. After all, "no" means no.

Of course if your car does 0-60 in 3.6 seconds, you don't need very long passing zones.

In Texas (and I believe most US states) the law doesn't differentiate bikes from other vehicles, and neither does this poll. The no passing zone applies to all of them. If someone rarely or frequently passes bikes in a no passing zone, they should answer this poll "rarely" or "frequently".

Poor poll. "Frequent" and "rarely" may have more to do with opportunity rather than willingness. The fact that this was spurred by the discussion of passing cyclists (and other slow-moving vehicles), and that that context isn't present in the poll, isn't exactly evenhanded, either.

You're assuming the premise you're trying to prove.


This all started with your position that no passing zones are no passing zones, and you shouldn't pass bikes across a solid yellow line.


And my position that it's ok to pass a bike in a no passing zone if the speeds and sight distance make it safe under the circumstances.


By presuming it doesn't matter if its a slow moving cyclist, or a car moving at the speed limit, you're presuming your way right past the question at issue.

Y'all can start polls, too, if you don't like this one. I was just curious how often people on here pass in no passing zones. I never do it. My guess (as I said before) is that most people are like me, but I wanted to test my guess.

I rarely drive, so I'm not sure how to vote either.

But this poll does expose the real problem, which is that most drivers (and cyclists too I guess) don't know what the rules are; and in some cases the laws are different in each state. So you've got some folks who ignore the zone, some who won't ever cross a double yellow, and others that go case-by-case. And problems happen when multiple folks at the same time have different ideas about what to do.

If this isn't a poll in the context of passing cyclists, then it has no business here.

which gives rise to a real problem with blindly following a never cross a solid yellow line approach. As Melochs has pointed out, you do that on a long section of solid yellow where everyone can see its safe to pass you get a long train of po'd motorists.


One or more of those drivers eventually passes car,or cars, and bike, and you get at a minimum po'd motorists, and at worst dead cyclists.


If you pass when safe to do so, you're not negatively affecting other vehicle operators or creating a dangerous situation.


And the ambiguity of the situation is the reason for statutory reform as advocated by IamTraffic, and adopted in 8 states.

Where I live, there is about zero opportunity to ever pass a motor vehicle on a two-lane road, regardless of "do not pass". As far as passing cyclists (and slow moving mopeds), I have never seen anyone not pass regardless of "do not pass" provided no on-coming traffic. And I don't care a lick, except in certain areas where I am going downhill 30 mph+ with sidewinds that move me around a bit in the lane. The typical "straddle the double-yellow" on the pass doesn't work well on these sections.

scott s.
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I'll allow it on occasion. BillyD is an amiable soul.