To the black Jeep Wrangler that passed me on King’s hwy yesterday doing 70 then passed two more cars on McCauley’s road. Our EMS is great and Island Air can get what remains of you across quickly, but is that what you want? Drive carefully. We have bikers, atvs, deer and islanders. None of whom want to be hit by you. Save that mainland stuff for the other side.
Dr. Brad
This ain’t the mainland
Moderator: Gillespie
Re: This ain’t the mainland
Unfortunately it appears to becoming the mainland according to what I hear from my friends. There is nothing more effective than a few triple digit speeding tickets. Not that difficult to know who the speeders are with the deputy having a friendly initial discussion with them. The sheriff's department is going to have to rely on the public stepping up and do exactly what Doc has done here; identify those putting everyone at risk. My guess is that there are at least a dozen people who know the owner of the black Wrangler. 
Skull&CrossBones
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islandlife
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2021 2:38 pm
Re: This ain’t the mainland
I’m not sure how you would know they were doing 70. I’ve seen the problem from the other side where people are driving dangerously slow. If you were legally passed, what is the problem? This may not be the mainland, but it is still Michigan. By law, other than where it is posted 25 by town, the speed limit would be 55 on kings. It would be hard to determine the difference between 55 and 70 just by being passed, unless you were also going 70. Maybe we just let people drive how they want, and if they break the law, the authorities can handle it.
Re: This ain’t the mainland
I just left the island headed back to Key West and hopefully Cuba for a visit. I have to say that in the past year I noticed some big changes on Beaver Island; some good, some bad. Definitely more people and more vehicles traveling at a higher rate of speed than I've experienced over my 45 years. More pedestrians and bikers on the roads.
Islandlife brings up a good point, enforcement should be left to the authorities but with civilian input just as Doc has pointed out. If I were there, I would go to the sheriff's substation and ask for public information facts regarding the number of speeding tickets issued on the island last year and the number issued this year to date. That would provide everyone factual data to base individual opinions on relative to safety with an expanding population. Another interesting data point would be number of vehicular accidents reported last year and this year to date.
With those facts, everyone should be able to make their own judgement as the whether our island is becoming the mainland.
Would love to see some numbers posted here on the Forum. Anyone up to the challenge of getting factual information
Islandlife brings up a good point, enforcement should be left to the authorities but with civilian input just as Doc has pointed out. If I were there, I would go to the sheriff's substation and ask for public information facts regarding the number of speeding tickets issued on the island last year and the number issued this year to date. That would provide everyone factual data to base individual opinions on relative to safety with an expanding population. Another interesting data point would be number of vehicular accidents reported last year and this year to date.
With those facts, everyone should be able to make their own judgement as the whether our island is becoming the mainland.
Would love to see some numbers posted here on the Forum. Anyone up to the challenge of getting factual information
Skull&CrossBones
Re: This ain’t the mainland
This is just one person's opinion, but there are some facts included. You save exactly fifteen seconds driving 55 mph from the Four Corners instead of 35 mph. You save exactly four minutes driving 55 mph on Barney's Lake Road from Sloptown to the Four Corners instead of 30 mph. You save five and a half minutes driving 55 mph on Sloptown from the township airport to the King's Highway.
So, my question is really about safety. If you are passing people going more than 35 mph anywhere on Beaver Island, are you endangering others that might be on bicycles, cars, or other conveyances by raising a dust storm that no one can see through? Now, I realize that there isn't any dust raised on the King's Highway, but the issue is that driving fast on the King's Highway makes the driver drive faster on the gravel roads as well. The time saved by driving faster is NOT worth the endangerment of others.
Now, I've had to pull over every single time I'm passed because I can't see due to the dust storm raised by the passing vehicle. The only time this doesn't happen is the day after the dust control or the day after and the day of the rainstorm.
What is gained by driving faster? You get to your destination a few minutes earlier, but you are endangering others that you pass, as well as those in front of the blinded driver behind you. Personally, I don't care whether the legal speed limit is 55 mph or not. SLOW DOWN to protect others! You may not have the problems of seeing because the dust is behind your speeding vehicle, but you are possibly the cause of someone else's inability to see through the dust you generate. Dust is barely a problem at 35 mph, but at faster speeds, the people you pass can't see the roadway! They can't see the bicyclists that you passed either.
So, legal or not, PLEASE SLOW DOWN! If you are the cause of the accident, you may not be legally responsible, but you are morally responsible even if you don't know it happened.
Joe Moore
So, my question is really about safety. If you are passing people going more than 35 mph anywhere on Beaver Island, are you endangering others that might be on bicycles, cars, or other conveyances by raising a dust storm that no one can see through? Now, I realize that there isn't any dust raised on the King's Highway, but the issue is that driving fast on the King's Highway makes the driver drive faster on the gravel roads as well. The time saved by driving faster is NOT worth the endangerment of others.
Now, I've had to pull over every single time I'm passed because I can't see due to the dust storm raised by the passing vehicle. The only time this doesn't happen is the day after the dust control or the day after and the day of the rainstorm.
What is gained by driving faster? You get to your destination a few minutes earlier, but you are endangering others that you pass, as well as those in front of the blinded driver behind you. Personally, I don't care whether the legal speed limit is 55 mph or not. SLOW DOWN to protect others! You may not have the problems of seeing because the dust is behind your speeding vehicle, but you are possibly the cause of someone else's inability to see through the dust you generate. Dust is barely a problem at 35 mph, but at faster speeds, the people you pass can't see the roadway! They can't see the bicyclists that you passed either.
So, legal or not, PLEASE SLOW DOWN! If you are the cause of the accident, you may not be legally responsible, but you are morally responsible even if you don't know it happened.
Joe Moore