Something strange happened this last Labor Day on I-25.  I had the pleasure of beginning a new job in downtown Denver selling bling bling for an incredible vendor*.  This development placed me on I-25 during each 4 days of heavy holiday Labor Day traffic.
     My shift began at 4:00 p.m.  I knew I would find heavy traffic on I-25.  Each day presented different traffic difficulties not seen in the previous day.  Each day I dreaded being in the midst of hairy driving conditions and consoled myself by telling myself it couldn't get worse.  However, each successive day provided worsening events.

Day 1 Friday  Unusual heavy, heavy traffic with semi's, horse trailers, motor homes, trucks with trailers packed with off road toys, and other various over sized vehicular nemeses.  No real complaints with my fellow drivers except the few large scale auto-assemblies who failed or refused to notice their own slow speeds.  These particular autos were driving too slow.  The result: slowing incredible masses of other smaller scaled, but more importantly, faster moving automobiles.  See the paragraph below on police efforts to understand the affects of traffic moving too slow, in order to understand why this is not a sound idea.

Day 2 Saturday  An incredible, and I mean incredibly high number of motorcycles on the interstate.  I calculated seeing over 500 motorcycles in an hour drive from Greeley to Denver.  This is the gist of my post and I will delve into the issue below.      

Day 3 Sunday  A large amount of slow moving traffic.  Although the number of vehicles on I-25 was not as large as day 1, it was still very heavy traffic.  And for some strange reason approximately one quarter of all traffic was driving at speeds of 60 to 70 miles per hour.  This reduced speed among large amounts of heavy traffic provided for unnecessary hazards.   Many of these slow drivers remained in the left lane despite open spaces in the right hand lane.  This scene repeated itself over and over.   It is now Colorado state law that one only use the left hand lane for passing, obviously not observed much on I-25 this day.

Day 4 Monday   Accidents that reduced the speed on I-25 to approximately 2 miles per hour for 50 minutes at a stretch.  I'm not going to attempt to discuss the nature of accidents but rather the means that the emergency staff handle the problem in the midst of so much heavy traffic.
     I am sure that emergency staff has evaluated and trained for this scenario.  I would imagine it is a well thought out plan in action.  However, I would like to suggest that the methods that have been determined as best practices, be re-thought.
     When finally coming up upon the accident that stopped massive amounts of traffic, one can see emergency personnel and law enforcement sitting around, laying in wait for.. for what I'm not sure.  To document the accident?  To give other emergency vehicles the room they will need if others are coming in?  I don't know why.  But it was certain that a fair amount of people at the scene of the accident had very little to do.  So why shouldn't their efforts be directed to better organizing the scene to regain semi normal traffic conditions on an interstate?  Why is the accident scene treated with far more importance, than the huge amount of traffic surrounding them?  Don't these two situations understand that they occupy the same area and need to work well with each other?  Just a suggestion.
     All four days had an additional hazard.  The police.  When the police have some drivers pulled over, lights flashing, huge amounts of traffic slows down when finally coming up upon them.  Now this event used to keep traffic in line with posted speed limits.  Those days are gone.  Today thick traffic is moving at 75 miles an hour and the flashing lights slow heavy, heavy traffic below speed limits.  The chain reaction lasts for miles and ends up pushing speeds well below the limit.  This sounds like it may not necessarily be a bad effect.  However, in conditions that are so incredibly heavy, it is not a good idea.  It forces fast moving, organized groups of vehicles to become wary of each other as each regauges the conditions around them, each making adjustments, each regauging over and over as their fellow traveler regauges and readjusts.  A once well working interstate then becomes a group of sketchy drivers.  All for the purposes of generating revenue.

     Now that I have described the basic dilemmas for each day, let me describe Day 2 in further detail.  As stated, this day included incredibly high numbers of cyclers on the road.  This means group after group of motorcycles almost always traveling side by side in the right lane.  Each group was rarely less than 4 and frequently meant 6 to 8 motorcycles.  Their presence could have been considered normal if not for the repeated behavior of the left motorcycle driving 2 inches to the right of the dotted line.  It looked and felt as if the left motorcycle was driving DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE INTERSTATE.  The left lane on I-25 had to slow down and move to the left, going around the motorcycles driving down the middle of I-25.  Group after group of motorcycles behaved in this manner.   It was a strange, strange thing to witness.
     Is it the pleasure of splitting lanes during rush hour  that invites strange behavior?  I've talked with several motorcycle owners who have informed me that the reason motorcycles drive in this manner is to miss the rut in the road.  I'm from Wyoming and drove many a time for several hours from town to town among long running ruts on I-25.  Colorado I-25 ruts are nothing compared to Wyoming interstate ruts.  Nonetheless, motorcycle drivers CANNOT drive in this manner on heavy, heavy traffic days on I-25.  Unless of course they are in Wyoming where the nearest car is several hilltops away (not an unusual occasion in Wyoming).
     So I think we should cut  Howie on Alice 105.9  a break.  His knee-jerk remarks should be regarded as a warning of some newly witnessed, phenomenally high volume, phenomena of six pack motorcyclers driving down the middle of I-25.  His reaction should be taken as a warning towards something that needs to be addressed.  Maybe a motorcycler's apology would be in order, before new laws and regulations find their way into the situation.

Good things to come out of this:

1. We all rethink our own driving personalities and habits.   I am not referring to normal driving on I-25, but rather heavy holiday traffic days.  I'm sure we all put on our best driving habits for holiday I-25 driving.  I'm not talking about that.  I'm trying to suggest that we can see a significant difference on I-25 in just the immediate past.  I'm saying we need to develop different habits to match the ever increasing numbers of autos not previously seen in the last couple years on I-25.  We need new habits now, to match the newly increased traffic.

2. Emergency response efforts rethink their methods to the madness.  I certainly do not have the educational background nor expertise to offer suggestions.  However, it is clear that efforts could be regrouped and generate different outcomes from the present standing still policy we all witness as we progress past an accident.

3. Police revenue generating efforts reassess their efforts as well.  Its just too hazardous while performed in the middle of heavy traffic like this.  Think tank something new.  You won't see police revenue generation in heavy holiday traffic on California roads (San Juaquin valley specifically).  Maybe Colorado traffic now matches California masses.

4. We all go beyond our own personal safety and think of the safety of the masses .  We each need to think about not only what is safe procedures for our own vehicle, but how our actions affect the safety of massive amounts of drivers around us.  We need to go beyond ultra cautious by being ultra considerate on the road.  We need to take the time TO STAY FOCUSED ON BEING ULTRA CONSIDERATE while on the road.

5. Apologies where needed.  Shall I begin with a pre-apology for anyone who takes offense at the wooden head motorcycle photographs below?  Please take no offense, they are not meant to incite anger, but rather laughter.  Let's all lighten up, respect one another, and pony up some apologies.  (suggest not request)