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Safety on the Roads, by Dave Werner

EVs’ heavy weight may compromise others’ safety

We are all aware that all-electric vehicles are heavier than internal combustion vehicles because of the weight of their batteries. Many of the current generation of EVs exceed 6,000 pounds, with the GMC Hummer EV weighing around 9,500 pounds. When two vehicles collide, the heavier vehicle ...

Responses favor mileage-based exit numbering

Last month, one of these weekly columns posed the question: “Should interstate exit numbers be changed?” I asked for responses with opinions to the question. Although I did not receive many responses, the ones that I did get were good ones. The majority favored mileage-based numbering, like ...

Overhead light bar use not permitted on highway

There seem to be more and more pickup trucks and jeeps driving on streets, roads and highways with an off-road light bar mounted on the roof and the lights illuminated. This is illegal. Off-road light bars themselves are not illegal, but driving on any public roadway with the lights on is ...

Unintended consequences of safety technology

Many advanced technologies can reduce the number of lives lost on U.S. roads, but full or partial automation is not a silver bullet for safety, David Harkey, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said in a virtual Capitol Hill briefing March 7. “We firmly believe in ...

Keep right except to pass

The Adirondack Northway (I-87) is four lanes, two in each direction, north of Lake George — but six lanes south of that village. As you drive where this highway is six lanes, do you drive in the center lane most of the time, unless you are passing another vehicle? If so, you are likely ...

Should interstate exit numbers change?

Exit numbers on interstate highways like the Northway and the Thruway in New York state are numbered sequentially, starting at exit 1 and continuing sequentially to the end of the interstate highway or until it gets to another state’s border. For example, the Northway begins in Albany at an ...