Comparing Dollars TO Tin Donuts...

My previous post has garnered quite the attention, and has caused me to think about it a bit more... Because at first thought, what comes to my mind when I think of differential speed limits is I-5, those long lines of cars trying to pass the trucks that are going slower. But when you start really thinking about it, as my good friend has pointed out, you can't compare the two. While the amount of traffic on I-80 is great compared to what is on US 14 between Cody and Sheridan, or on the road between Cody and Billings, it is still no where near what is going through the system there in the Golden State. I have looked over all kinds of data recently comparing traffic counts between Wyoming and California, and to be honest, it is like comparing a row boat to the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth the Second. Here are some good order of magnitude type numbers, they aren't exact, but the order of magnitude is what is important.

Population of CA: Roughly 34,000,000
Population of WY: Roughly 480,000

CA average vehicle per lane mile: Roughly 800,000
WY average vehicle per lane mile: Roughly 300

See what I mean? Can't compare it. Doesn't make sense to. I have only made myself look like an arrogant idiot by trying to relate the two. But, I am a big enough man to take a step back and look at something from the other direction.

If I had stopped to think about it a bit more before writing about it, I probably would have written that differently, or quite possibly only written about the parking structure at UW. Even if trucks are going slower, there still aren't enough of them to impede the rest of the traffic through Wyoming. It will undoubtedly make things safer, by only increasing the time to traverse the state about an hour. Small price to pay for a little bit of extra safety for everyone. I'll admit it, I drive too fast sometimes, I try to do it only when it is safe to do so, but the fact of the matter still remains, slower speeds are safer. Like it or not... (and as a driver of a BMW, I don't like it, but there isn't anything that I can do about it, but come to the harsh realization that I too should slow down)

As for the city councilman in Laramie, I think I know why he has the position he does on this subject. During the summer of 2004, there was a terrible pile up on I-80 between Laramie and Cheyenne that claimed many lives and hurt a lot of people. The pile up was so terrible that there are people that are still unaccounted for, meaning that they burned up in the fires that ensued after the accident. That section of I-80 was closed for several days while the mess was removed and the investigation was conducted. I am not sure what the actual outcome was, but the fog and limited visibility was definitely the major contributing factor. This scared a lot of people thoughout the area when it happened, and I can see why they would be for lower speed limts for trucks. So I take back what I said about the councilman being an effing idiot.

The bottom line is this everyone, I am not anti-trucker, I am not pro-trucker, I just want everyone to be able to make it home at the end of their trip.