# Does your town have "suicide lanes"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 11, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551 "2011-05-11T19:02:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/41 "2011-05-12T18:17:13Z")
Some of the streets here in Houston have them. We call them “chicken alleys”. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/42 "2011-05-12T19:02:20Z")
Other DC folks beat me here; worst traffic flow ever. The whole street can change from one-way to two-way or vice versa. I’ve always wondered what kind of chaos ensues at 9:29… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/43 "2011-05-12T19:06:32Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > Other DC folks beat me here; worst traffic flow ever. The whole street can change from one-way to two-way or vice versa. I’ve always wondered what kind of chaos ensues at 9:29… There are whole roads that are HOV only during rush hours! I stayed in Rosslyn the other month and on the day I left I didn’t check out until 10:30 for fear of trying to go the wrong way on an HOV only road. I guess it did it’s job then, of not clogging traffic during rush hour. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/44 "2011-05-12T19:08:59Z")
I’ve never heard it called that, but a busy stretch of our main road has a center lane that alternates directions. In the mornings, it goes downtown; otherwise, it comes \*out \*of downtown. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/45 "2011-05-12T19:12:57Z")
The Mid Hudson Bridge over the Hudson River has it. Freaks me out. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/46 "2011-05-12T20:12:47Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > There are whole roads that are HOV only during rush hours! I stayed in Rosslyn the other month and on the day I left I didn’t check out until 10:30 for fear of trying to go the wrong way on an HOV only road. I guess it did it’s job then, of not clogging traffic during rush hour. Oh yeah, you mean I-66? You just need one of these: [http://www.mannequinstore.com/male\_mannequins/bendable\_male\_mannequin.htm](http://www.mannequinstore.com/male_mannequins/bendable_male_mannequin.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/47 "2011-05-14T02:15:11Z")
WDC AREA: I’ve been beaten to it, but I back when I used to drive a vehicle the area near the Washington Zoo on Conn ave was a suicide zone. I never knew what time was the turn lane vs. what time was the left turn lane, etc… it was a nightmare. That’s not the only reason I stopped driving. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/48 "2011-05-14T03:07:23Z")
Phoenix here as well. I live right next to 7th street. Thankfully, I don’t drive on 7th street very often during the week. I wish they’d get rid of them. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/49 "2011-05-14T05:51:25Z")
At one time there were two highways with a sucide ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551/50 "2011-05-14T05:59:05Z")
At one time there were two highways with a suicide lanes. They were three land haigh ways. one land north one lane south and the middle lane for passing. When you wanted to pass the car infront of you, you checked the middle lane to besure no near cars were coming at you. You turned on your head lights pulled into the middle lane passed the car and back into the right lane. If two cars pulled out at the same time going opposite direction a head on could happen. In fact several times a year there was a major head on. Those sections of highway were called “Blood Alley”. One was highway 1 between Santa Cruz and Watsonville, the other was highway 101 between Morgan Hill and San Jose. In the late 60 they were cnverted into 4 lane highways [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-your-town-have-suicide-lanes/581551.md?page=2)