DATE: Thursday, September 11, 1997          TAG: 9709110532

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   69 lines

COMMUTERS WORRY ABOUT PASSING TIME ON BRIDGE BAY BRIDGE-TUNNEL DRIVERS GENERALLY FALL INTO TWO GROUPS: WORK COMMUTERS AND SIGHTSEERS. THE FORMER ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE LATTER.

An impending ban on passing on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel may save lives, frequent crossers of the span said Wednesday, but it will also create a lot of headaches.

Commuters said they welcomed the safety benefits of prohibiting drivers from passing on the narrow, two-lane span. But they expect to spend a lot of time stuck behind sightseers, trailers and timid drivers.

``I don't think they have a choice,'' said Dr. John Sheppard, one of many who commute from the Eastern Shore to work in Hampton Roads.

``Objectively, I approve,'' he said. ``But subjectively it drives me nuts, because I can't stand following slow vehicles.''

Six people have died in accidents on the bridge-tunnel since June, including five over the Labor Day weekend in the span's deadliest-ever accident. Twenty people have died in crashes there in the last five years, and 72 since the span opened in 1964.

On Monday, the bridge-tunnel commission voted 8-2 to ban passing on the 17-mile crossing. They expect the new rule to be in effect about two weeks from now, after no-passing signs can be posted and solid center lines painted.

``I think it's a step in the right direction,'' said Jack White, chairman of the Northampton County board of supervisors. He commuted daily for seven years, and said he has had some ``hair-raising'' experiences on the bridge.

Between 4,000 and 20,000 vehicles cross the bridge-tunnel each day, depending on the season. According to a study done for the bridge-tunnel commission in 1991, slightly less than 60 percent of the passenger vehicles crossing the bridge are vacationers. The rest cross for work, personal business or shopping.

Commuters say that it's the mix of tourists and business-trippers that make crossing the two-lane bridge dangerous.

``People who are new to the area slow right down. Others are in a hurry to get to an appointment,'' said Al Shreaves of Exmore. ``You've got to be on your toes. The people who do it every day are very conscious of it.''

Shreaves has crossed the Bay on weekends since 1967 and commuted every day for three years when he worked near Waterside. He's not sure the ban will work.

``In theory, safetywise, it's the best that can be done,'' he said. ``But, practically, people are going to pass anyway.''

Tom Smaw, a truck driver for Wendell Distributing Co. in Cape Charles, has crossed the Bay Bridge-Tunnel ``just about every other day since the bridge was built.'' He thinks the passing ban will reduce the number of head-on collisions, but is concerned that some people are in too big of a hurry, and others are too slow.

``If they had a certain speed you had to drive, it would be nice,'' said Smaw. Bridge-tunnel officials say they will strictly enforce the 45 mph minimum and 55 mph maximum speeds.

Jim Brookshire, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District, said that's going to be a difficult thing to do. There aren't a lot of places for police to park.

``Slow movers are going to be a bigger problem now,'' Brookshire said. ``We'll just have to do the best we can.''

And commuters like John Sheppard say they have no option but to go with the flow. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

NHAT MEYER/The Virginian-Pilot

Cars enter and exit the Thimble Shoal Channel...

Photo

NHAT MEYER/The Virginian-Pilot

Traffic on Wednesday moves...

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