I offer the following proposal to the NC Dept. of Transportation and Sen. Marc Basnight:
Proposed - that NC 12 ("the beach road") be changed to PA (as in Pennsylvania) 12, and be open only to cars with PA tags. This will alleviate much of the congestion and danger on US 158 for the following reasons:
- The speed limit on NC 12 is 35MPH. That is the maximum speed Pennsylvania drivers attain on 158, slowing everyone else down. They'll be far more comfortable on the beach road. Life for the rest of us will be able to proceed at a normal pace.
- There are only two lanes on NC 12. This means the number of left turns across 4 lanes of traffic, U turns and even 3 point turns on the bypass will be curtailed significantly. There is no turn lane in the middle of the beach road to confuse them. However, I am concerned that the bike path might be viewed as another traffic lane.
- There are fewer restaurants and retail outlets to cause them to slow down and gawk at. Such distractions make for hazardous driving conditions.
- By renaming it PA 12 the Keystone State would then be responsible for providing law enforcement and maintenance. Less taxes for us!
If you are a local here on the OBX and have some other great reasons to support the change, please let me know.
Believe it or not, after I wrote this, I was driving down NC 12 this morning and had to slow down because the car in front of me was, shall I say, driving below the speed limit. Guess what state they were from? It had to be.
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Hey now...I am a PA driver and do not think I would fall into that group of drivers...lol!! I do agree most of us PA drivers are...well...in need of new lessons.
Tricia :)
Neither do any of the PA drivers here this week. lol!! ("He must be talking about those people from western PA/eastern PA...")
And I'm not talking about the Amish in their buggies.
Oh my goodness - when I lived on the OBX I always thought PA drivers were the worst!! Then I moved to Pittsburgh and they weren't all that bad. Something about the beach brings out the worst in Pennsylvania drivers, for sure! And when you pull up and look at them, they all have that same look on their face....
"uh, you think we should turn around?"
Dana,
I really have no doubt they drive just fine when they're north of the Mason-Dixon. But I can only judge by what I see here every day in the summer.
I don't like this idea. I spend most of my summer driving on the beach road, and I'd hate to have to move to the highway even if all of the PA drivers are no longer there...
I think a big brain box at the west end of the bridge so they can find their brains easier on the way home from vacation. Sort of a courtesy from the property tax payers of Dare County.
I also thought shock collars that could read their mph on the by pass and then shock them a little when they went below the speed limit.
A giant parking lot on the other side of the bridge and make them all take public transit. This would alleviate traffic and provide some more jobs and revenue to our county.
Interesting to hear that other states think us Pennsylvanians drive so badly. We tend to think the people from other states (mainly NY, NJ and OH) all drive terribly.
Also interesting to hear that we drive slowly in your state - quite the opposite is true here, especially in southeast PA. There are certain roads here where you run the risk of being run off the road if you aren't doing *at least* 10 over the limit.
Maybe they think because we talk a little slower here that we drive that way, too?
Summer traffic on the OBX is something I really don't miss!
i'm from PA and i find this all very amusing... my SIL and family are headed to NC the end of july. she drives crazy fast. watch out for the gold dodge mini van w/ a paw print on the tailgate... i'll be praying for your congregation's traveling safeties. i love your blog... i really do. and nate's video on trunk or treat -- i laughed so hard i nearly peed. whenever in the south, we always go to sonic.
At the risk of dating myself....I remember when they were getting ready to put the by-pass in. My older brother and myself were caught playing on the heavy equipment that was used to clear and even out the ground before the asphalt was laid.
Everyone thought back then, what a pleasure it will be that we can drive from one end of the beach to the other without having to stop and wait for indecisive, rubber necking vistors trying to find the cottage where they were going to stay. Or the shop they were looking for. God forbid a vehicle wreck that could tie up traffic for what seemed like days.
Of course the locals knew that if the traffic got too bad with just the beachroad, you would just hit the beach and drive around it.
Now there are a lot of new cottages, more shops to look for,and things that just plain ole distract drivers while navigating the heavy traffic and stoplights dotted along the bypass. And of course everyone driving on the bypass seems to be intent to stay beside the car in the lane beside them, at 40 M.P.H., then doing a "brake" check at the precise time you happen to see a "green" light on the next 5 intersections.
Still all in all the traffic is not that bad, just remember find a empty spot in the traffic flow, hit the gas, then jam on the brakes, hit the gas again and then do a u-turn and throw everyone off as to where you are going.
I like Andy's ideas! And Terry, you are right, the by-pass really used to be a by-pass. There weren't even any traffic lights! Now the term by-pass doesn't really apply.
I'm with the other PA drivers... not sure what you're talking about, b/c PA drivers are insane! (minimum 10-15 mph over speed limit)Though not as bad as NJ/NY drivers....
The part about thinking the bike path on the side is another lane made me laugh though! I'm a PA transplant and it took a while to get used to going around someone on the right when they are too slow or turning left.
You PA drivers keep in mind we're talking about how PA drivers drive here, not at home!
Hi Rick! I'm from NJ and I have to say that those Pennsyl-tuckians drive me nuts! Not only do they drive slowly but they can't seem to work a turning signal either. Good luck with getting your suggestion through :-)
@momof2bz
We haven't even started talking about Jersey drivers yet. :0
it's not the Jersey drivers that are so much the problem...it's their roads. "Jug Handles" are just about the stupidest thing in the history of the DOT. And don't get me started on the fact that I can't pump my own gas... When you see a confused Jersey driver on the OBX, you can blame it more on the state of NJ than the people.
I'm a girl so I don't mind the not pumping my gas. Nate is correct though; our roads are pretty screwed up. You would think that with the taxes we pay that someone could fix them properly but..(another subject in itself) I personally would love to move down to NC or SC and would go in a nano second but it's just not possible at this time. For now, I'll sit here and wish that I too was part of your community. The whole trunk or treat thing looks awesome!
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