I think I could have saved the Illinois Department of Transportation 49,000 of the $50,000 they are spending for a study on HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes on our expressways. These are lanes that do not allow vehicles with fewer than two people in them. Supposedly, this will encourage commuters to carpool and use the ”faster” HOV lanes.
For $1,000, I will fly to Los Angeles with my video camera, rent a car and proceed to drive around their freeway system and record how much faster their traffic flows! Look what HOV lanes did for their system.
Again, we have government deciding what is good for us by punishing us for making our own decisions. Rather than increasing the capacity of our highway system for all users, IDOT has decided to penalize those that, for whatever reason-and it certainly is none of government`s business-elect to drive alone by making their driving life miserable.
Let IDOT build roads based on demand, not on what they think is fashionable and/or ”environmentally sensitive.” The environmentally sensitive answer would be to alleviate traffic jams, thereby saving time and reducing pollution.
