Westmorland entrance and exit safety tips
“WHY NO STOP LIGHT”
There is a reason for just a caution light at the Westmorland/Versailles Rd. intersection. Placing a signaling device at the entrance would cause unwarranted wait times and create a false sense of security. My Dad pounded into my thick skull when I was learning to drive; that just because you have the right of way, may make you dead right. Meaning in this case that pulling into an intersection when crossing traffic has the red light doesn’t always mean the other person is going to stop. West bound trucks will have to stop and start on a steep uphill grade creating additional noise for our neighbors. East bound traffic because of the curve may not perceive the traffic signal in time to stop safely and try to gun it on the yellow or red which could mean disaster for those turning east bound out of Westmorland partially because it is hard to see clearly to the west.
“EXITING WESTMORLAND”
Exiting east bound from Westmorland has been made rather painless with the installation of the east bound merge lane. It is long enough for someone to be able to accelerate from a standing start to 55/60 mph before reaching the end of the lane and merging to the inside lane just as if you were on a three-lane highway. If east bound traffic has a space of about two seconds to three seconds between cars there is enough room to accelerate when the lead car is about one second from you and be able to match their speed and merge between them. A car going 60 mph is covering the ground at 88 feet per second. Two seconds is about nine car lengths.
Exiting west bound is not as easy. The right turn is not smooth and easy and you cannot begin to accelerate to highway speeds until you are well into the west bound lane. Because of the curve to the east of the Westmorland entrance attempting to go west bound almost requires pulling out when no oncoming west bound cars are visible and you cannot tell if the oncoming car is in the outside lane or inside lane.
“ENTERING WESTMORLAND”
Turning into Westmorland: safety tip and request. When coming from Versailles heading east and turning left into Westmorland pull all the way down into the center of the intersection or past center, please. By staging yourself as if to say I am blocking exiting Westmorland vehicles is not entirely true. You are preparing yourself to quickly and easily make the turn as soon as there is an opening in the west bound traffic and those cars that are coming out of Westmorland to go east can turn behind you like a pirouette. Easy-peasy. East bound turning traffic have a better visual on west bound traffic and can pick a turning opportunity quicker. Starting to far back actually adds time for your turn because of the longer arc.
Coming from Lexington heading west and turning into Westmorland. The deceleration lane for west bound right turn into Westmorland is wider and smoother since the repaving. The white line separating the lane from the shoulder stops prematurely not providing additional guidance into the turn. Starting your turn to early will cause you to hit or brush the curb or carrying a little too much speed causing you to drift over into the opposite lane of traffic. By maintaining your direction parallel to the main driving lane and delaying your right turn until closer to the intersection will make for a smoother safer entrance into Westmorland.