Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

pensfan83

jmonroe said:

That's what I do too. And it snowed in the Burgh last night, about 3 inches on the table on the deck. When we left to go out to breakfast this morning, Mrs. j's Subie showed no signs of salt because it rained on Sunday night while we were out so all the salt was washed off from the previous snow days and I even mentioned to Mrs. j that the car still beaded from the rain drops (I really like that wax I have been using for years now, but that's another subject), anyway, I now wait for another rain to clean off the painted surfaces and more importantly, the under side of the car. :@

jmonroe

So glad the roads in the south were clear by the time my wife left for work, otherwise my now very clean car would have been taken out in the slop since she's taken a liking to its prowess in the snow.

jmonroe

fintail said:

It's a limit on a sign, but most cars made in the past 70+ years will exceed it without issue. I have to question why it should not be exceeded - and if the people making the decisions can ante up when asked how they reached ab optimal number. Besides, most cops don't really enforce much within 10 or so over on the highway - no matter if a sometimes artificially low 55 (hello Oregon) or a more open 70, so it's moot, for me anyway, as I seldom drive faster than that 10 over.

Large pickups are also a good candidate for pace cars, at least around here - a feeling of invincibility, and maybe some kind of FOP badge or similar get out of jail/ticket free card, too.

The real issue is idiots in the left lane, a book can be written about that

jmonroe said:

WRONG may be a question to those who question if something is "fair" but a speed limit is just that, it's a LIMIT that should not be exceeded. And if it is exceeded you have broken the law which by definition is not legal. I don't agree with speed limits in a lot of areas but I'm not willing to take my chances in court saying, "judge, you know that is too low of a limit for that road". Yes, I drive over the limit most of the time but not so much that I draw attention to myself and as a result I have not gotten speeding tickets.

For the last 8 years that I worked I drove the PA Pike 40 miles round trip, it was a very easy drive. The speed limit then was 65 MPH and I did around 72 or 73 routinely with no problem. Not too long after I retired they raised the speed limit to 70 across the whole PA Pike. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I went to watch Grandson #3 play hockey yesterday and I took the PA Pike. I set the cruise to 77 and just sailed along but there were some cars and one semi that passed me. I don't know what you can get away with now that the limit is 70 but I don't want to push my luck.

I feel it is much more comfortable not having to be on the lookout for the cops all the time but I know others who don't mind doing that. Son #1 is one of those but he didn't learn that from me. I've been with him many times, especially when we go to Myrtle Beach, and I hear him say, "there's my pace car. Let's see how this goes". He lays back a couple hundred feet so as not to get caught in the fallout and off he goes. Only once has his "pace car" been pulled over and he just slows down and starts looking for his next "pace car". That's more work than I'm willing to put up with when I drive.

FWIW, the pace car is almost always a BMW, Mustang, Camaro or some other sporty type car. Not any common 4 door sedans that I can remember.

jmonroe

It seems you don't like "limits on a sign" and that is your choice as long as you are prepared to suffer the consequences although you have said you don't usually drive more than 10 MPH over the "limit" so that tells me that even you aren't willing to get caught, which is a good thing. Now, "left lane idiots", that's another subject and I agree with you completely about that. That just drives me nuts when I see it.

I'd say about 8 years ago I was standing behind a PA State Trooper at a Bob Evans type restaurant while driving to a hockey tournament with Son #1 and his 2 hockey players. It was raining and he was taking off his clear plastic parka and the thin clear covering on his Smokey hat. I stuck up a conversation with him and said, "I guess you don't like patrolling the roads on a day like this" and he replied, "it's part of the job but you're right I don't like it". I asked, "how much leeway do you he give drivers on a day like this"? He said, "just a little less than good days but if they are riding the left lane and are creating a hazard or are weaving in and out of traffic and I feel they are a hazard to other drivers, I have no choice so I have to pull them over". I said, "I guess if you pull them over on a day like today, they aren't going to be able to talk you out of a ticket, huh"? He smiled and said, "you got that right". I wanted to have some fun so I asked him if all of his fellow troopers felt the same way about having to get out of their patrol cars on a rainy day. Without a bit of hesitation and no sense of humor like he seemed to have had while we were talking, he moved a little close to me, looked me right in the eye and replied, "EVERY DAMN ONE OF US".

If you want an ally about left lane huggers, I'm all in on this with you on that.

jmonroe

fintail

That's the thing, there are no real consequences. It's a limit on a sign. For highways, the blue line has wisely chosen to give a ~10%/10mph leeway - a tacit admission that most limits are underposted. Exceeding 10 over here often makes one the fastest car, as people here dawdle. I don't like weaving around, nobody wants to stick out, and I am seldom in that much of a hurry, so it works. That doesn't mean I believe the posted speed is always the optimal speed, rather, often just a convenient number, sometimes for revenue, or to appease the wheel-clutching scaredy-cats.

Nice to hear a trooper targets left lane blockers. They claim to be doing so here, a couple highways (167 in particular) are notorious for them, maybe they really are.

jmonroe said:

It seems you don't like "limits on a sign" and that is your choice as long as you are prepared to suffer the consequences although you have said you don't usually drive more than 10 MPH over the "limit" so that tells me that even you aren't willing to get caught, which is a good thing. Now, "left lane idiots", that's another subject and I agree with you completely about that. That just drives me nuts when I see it.

I'd say about 8 years ago I was standing behind a PA State Trooper at a Bob Evans type restaurant while driving to a hockey tournament with Son #1 and his 2 hockey players. It was raining and he was taking off his clear plastic parka and the thin clear covering on his Smokey hat. I stuck up a conversation with him and said, "I guess you don't like patrolling the roads on a day like this" and he replied, "it's part of the job but you're right I don't like it". I asked, "how much leeway do you he give drivers on a day like this"? He said, "just a little less than good days but if they are riding the left lane and are creating a hazard or are weaving in and out of traffic and I feel they are a hazard to other drivers, I have no choice so I have to pull them over". I said, "I guess if you pull them over on a day like today, they aren't going to be able to talk you out of a ticket, huh"? He smiled and said, "you got that right". I wanted to have some fun so I asked him if all of his fellow troopers felt the same way about having to get out of their patrol cars on a rainy day. Without a bit of hesitation and no sense of humor like he seemed to have had while we were talking, he moved a little close to me, looked me right in the eye and replied, "EVERY DAMN ONE OF US".

If you want an ally about left lane huggers, I'm all in on this with you on that.

jmonroe

ab348

When you consider how much more capable cars of today are compared to those of the 1960s when the Interstate system was constructed for cars having sloppy suspensions, slow steering and numb brakes, I can understand the argument that limits now should be higher. The issue for me is that driving skill and reaction times haven't changed, and at higher speeds those become more critical.

andres3

jmonroe said:

andres3 said:

jmonroe said:

andres3 said:

I hereby propose, a Federal National Traffic Citation/Ticket Immunity law be implemented effective immediately by Executive Order and Legislative Act.

If an American Citizen has a driving record with no at-fault accidents totaling more than $500 in damages in the last 7 years, they shall have 3-strike immunity from Traffic Fines. This means they would have to be pulled over 4 times in one year in order to begin accumulating tickets/fines.

The incentive to not "goof off" is that if you don't maintain your pristine "no accident" driving record, you will lose the 3-strike immunity/year benefit for at least 7 years as you re-establish your good record.

Therefore, the law self-corrects. Those that drive unsafely will undoubtedly receive little benefit. Good drivers will be incentivized and rewarded for driving safely over the long-run.

I may allow for some exceptions, or perhaps 3-strikes-in-one violations, such as DUI, texting while driving, and left lane camping. Probably anything over .16 BAC would be 4-strikes in one.

For sure, my plan will reduce accidents and revenue streams from traffic tickets. Judges will have to survive with wood-laminate instead of mahogany finished courtrooms, and the Police will be more free to concentrate on serious crimes. The shortcomings of "Officer Discretion" will be corrected. The system will be improved. The status quo will be advanced.

I know you will do what you want but most people would just obey the traffic laws and avoid getting as many tickets as you get. Another benefit is spending your hard earned money for family expenses and yet another benefit would be having more time for friends and family. Maybe even see you in here more often. But, we live in a free country so you're free to do it your way.

jmonroe

Yeah, I don't see that happening with the caliber of law enforcement in my State (low), and the amount of miles I drive every year (high).

That's what I like about the $99 lawyer. He might be in cahoots with the prosecution and deliver minimal results, but at least I don't have to waste my time in court. He appears on your behalf, and he is effective at delaying the fine a maximum amount of time.

I guess $99 for a lawyer isn't bad and it sounds like you got your money's worth but I would rather have had that 99 bucks to spend the way I wanted to spend it; like on the $100 oil change I got today. But like I said, "free country so we can do what we want, sorta".

I spent my money for something legal, whereas you spent yours because you got caught doing something that wasn't legal.

jmonroe

Just wait until the leftists outlaw oil changes unless you have a minimum of 20,000 mile intervals! We'll see if you maintain your Mr. Law-Abider attitude then!

I'd rather spend the $99 (and more, the fine money) on other things too, which is why I proposed my legislation that fixes the problem.

Remember, time is money. I value my time too much to drive 55.

andres3

ab348 said:

When you consider how much more capable cars of today are compared to those of the 1960s when the Interstate system was constructed for cars having sloppy suspensions, slow steering and numb brakes, I can understand the argument that limits now should be higher. The issue for me is that driving skill and reaction times haven't changed, and at higher speeds those become more critical.

I know this has been argued before, but those factors your arguing is really grasping for straws. The chances a wreck is caused that would have otherwise been avoided if they were going 5 or 10 MPH slower is so negligible, that it is irrelevant. Even in cases where it might be true, there is usually some other more important factor at play, like following too closely behind a big truck that took away your sight lines.

andres3

fintail said:

That's the thing, there are no real consequences. It's a limit on a sign. For highways, the blue line has wisely chosen to give a ~10%/10mph leeway - a tacit admission that most limits are underposted. Exceeding 10 over here often makes one the fastest car, as people here dawdle. I don't like weaving around, nobody wants to stick out, and I am seldom in that much of a hurry, so it works. That doesn't mean I believe the posted speed is always the optimal speed, rather, often just a convenient number, sometimes for revenue, or to appease the wheel-clutching scaredy-cats.

Nice to hear a trooper targets left lane blockers. They claim to be doing so here, a couple highways (167 in particular) are notorious for them, maybe they really are.

jmonroe said:

It seems you don't like "limits on a sign" and that is your choice as long as you are prepared to suffer the consequences although you have said you don't usually drive more than 10 MPH over the "limit" so that tells me that even you aren't willing to get caught, which is a good thing. Now, "left lane idiots", that's another subject and I agree with you completely about that. That just drives me nuts when I see it.

I'd say about 8 years ago I was standing behind a PA State Trooper at a Bob Evans type restaurant while driving to a hockey tournament with Son #1 and his 2 hockey players. It was raining and he was taking off his clear plastic parka and the thin clear covering on his Smokey hat. I stuck up a conversation with him and said, "I guess you don't like patrolling the roads on a day like this" and he replied, "it's part of the job but you're right I don't like it". I asked, "how much leeway do you he give drivers on a day like this"? He said, "just a little less than good days but if they are riding the left lane and are creating a hazard or are weaving in and out of traffic and I feel they are a hazard to other drivers, I have no choice so I have to pull them over". I said, "I guess if you pull them over on a day like today, they aren't going to be able to talk you out of a ticket, huh"? He smiled and said, "you got that right". I wanted to have some fun so I asked him if all of his fellow troopers felt the same way about having to get out of their patrol cars on a rainy day. Without a bit of hesitation and no sense of humor like he seemed to have had while we were talking, he moved a little close to me, looked me right in the eye and replied, "EVERY DAMN ONE OF US".

If you want an ally about left lane huggers, I'm all in on this with you on that.

jmonroe

Funny, my Father said I should try Washington or Oregon as the first "guinea pigs" for my immunity law idea. I told him I thought they were much too "surveillance-nanny" States to accept my idea. Maybe.

andres3

oldfarmer50 said:

This report is for Sandman.

Just finished a 13 hour first day with Enterprise. Mainly older guys like me with one being 81 whose been with them 20 years. He walks with a cane so they don't discriminate. Very easy job, not even a drug test. The group was very supportive and showed me how everything worked. I had a choice of showing up anytime between 5:30 and 6:45 and I took the early bird today. It seem the early arrivals get the longer trips and boy did we travel. South throughout the Hudson Valley and then west to Syracuse. First I drove an 18' Sentra with under 500 miles.Not a bad little car, pretty peppy and crisp handling but the seats weren't supportive of my back. Not a long distance car.

After I dropped the Sentra off we were assigned to bring a bunch back north. I got a Jeep but on advice of my coworkers refused to drive it because the registration was 4 months expired. Then then sent us across the Hudson to pick up a Hyundai Elantra but that one had a 10 month expired registration. The boss back at the office then assigned me to a Ford Focus but the local staff told me they had sent it back across to where we just left. So I rode in the chase vehicle back north to pick up a Chevy Cruse. Unfortunately, the Chevy was missing a wheel. I now had my knick-name.....The Jinx. Back to the main office.

Once there we were assigned a fleet of 2017 Pacificas going to the auction. We traveled as a group out to an auction yard north of Syracuse. The Pacifica wasn't as nimble but the ride was a lot more comfortable. Supportive leather seats were nice and it was filled with goodies like Nav, heated seats and blind spot monitoring. I can see how the BSM could come in handy. We piled back in the chase vehicle for the 3 hours trip back.

This Enterprise branch seems to do a lot of collecting of cars going out of service to be wholesale, retailed or returned to manufacturers after some kind of lease. Very low key with plenty of coffee/bathroom breaks as long as the job got done. I guess the only down side is the length of the work day. I now know how they give you 25 hours for two days work.

Sandy, is that the kind of information you wanted?

You found an 18 foot Sentra to be a little car?

explorerx4

Found this in a closet not too long ago.
Forgot I had it.

andres3

fintail said:

Of course, not being legal doesn't necessarily mean it is wrong (and vice versa). I know some people in the money trail will disagree, but speed limits don't appear to only be about safety.

I think Andres should maybe just break the traffic laws that aren't enforced, which seems to be most of them excluding speeding. The stuff I see on the roads has me doubting human evolution, and it isn't speeders.

jmonroe said:

I guess $99 for a lawyer isn't bad and it sounds like you got your money's worth but I would rather have had that 99 bucks to spend the way I wanted to spend it; like on the $100 oil change I got today. But like I said, "free country so we can do what we want, sorta".

I spent my money for something legal, whereas you spent yours because you got caught doing something that wasn't legal.

jmonroe

You mean like texting on my cell phone while driving? Unsignaled lane changes? Merging at half the speed limit?

Unsafe lane changes? Making right or left turns that cause the car behind me to slam the brakes?

My method is citation expensive but at-fault cheap. Better than at-fault expensive and citation cheap. Especially since I don't like "fixed/restored/repaired" cars.

andres3

fintail said:

Of course, not being legal doesn't necessarily mean it is wrong (and vice versa). I know some people in the money trail will disagree, but speed limits don't appear to only be about safety.

I think Andres should maybe just break the traffic laws that aren't enforced, which seems to be most of them excluding speeding. The stuff I see on the roads has me doubting human evolution, and it isn't speeders.

jmonroe said:

I guess $99 for a lawyer isn't bad and it sounds like you got your money's worth but I would rather have had that 99 bucks to spend the way I wanted to spend it; like on the $100 oil change I got today. But like I said, "free country so we can do what we want, sorta".

I spent my money for something legal, whereas you spent yours because you got caught doing something that wasn't legal.

jmonroe

Worse, it has me doubting the usefulness of "officer discretion."

Couldn't he see that I hit the brakes 300 yards before crossing his path? If I can spot him from that distance with his radar gun out (even though fairly hidden behind a planter), I can surely spot that 3-year old running out into the street from the same distance. Sigh!

Thankfully, some Officers will wait for the oblivious speeder to pass them by without even noticing them in plain sight to issue a ticket, but my rookie sheriff didn't get that memo!

andres3

driver100 said:

andres3 said:

imidazol97 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I just watched a segment on PBS Motor Week which was talking about a device that police would plug into your cell phone after an accident to determine if the device was being used at the time. It would only reveal use not content thus muting concern over privacy.

While it seems like a great idea I wonder about the 4th amendment implications and wouldn't police still need a warrant?.

I saw that. The purveyor of the device just pictures the policeman plugging it into the power connection on your phone while you are "allowed" to still hold your phone, therefore they claim there's no violation of rights? LOL

The push for the device came from a father whose son was killed by a driver who, after months of trying to get phone logs, was allegedly on his phone on or about the time of the incident.

While I like the idea of punishing negligents that were using their cell phone at the time of an accident, I too, see it as problematic for a free society.

Cell phones and car black boxes should fall under 5th Amendment Self-Incrimination protection as you own your car and its black box of data, as well as your cell phone.

IF it happens too often people will soon figure out that their cell phone should land inside of the fire pit when it "flew out" the car window during the major accident. I would think anyone with half a brain would "lose" their cell phone, and not remember where they put it.

They can trace your calls....they don't need your actual cell phone!

I'm sure they can, but that requires just a bit more work on their part than running a special App on your phone.

jmonroe

andres3 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

This report is for Sandman.

Just finished a 13 hour first day with Enterprise. Mainly older guys like me with one being 81 whose been with them 20 years. He walks with a cane so they don't discriminate. Very easy job, not even a drug test. The group was very supportive and showed me how everything worked. I had a choice of showing up anytime between 5:30 and 6:45 and I took the early bird today. It seem the early arrivals get the longer trips and boy did we travel. South throughout the Hudson Valley and then west to Syracuse. First I drove an 18' Sentra with under 500 miles.Not a bad little car, pretty peppy and crisp handling but the seats weren't supportive of my back. Not a long distance car.

After I dropped the Sentra off we were assigned to bring a bunch back north. I got a Jeep but on advice of my coworkers refused to drive it because the registration was 4 months expired. Then then sent us across the Hudson to pick up a Hyundai Elantra but that one had a 10 month expired registration. The boss back at the office then assigned me to a Ford Focus but the local staff told me they had sent it back across to where we just left. So I rode in the chase vehicle back north to pick up a Chevy Cruse. Unfortunately, the Chevy was missing a wheel. I now had my knick-name.....The Jinx. Back to the main office.

Once there we were assigned a fleet of 2017 Pacificas going to the auction. We traveled as a group out to an auction yard north of Syracuse. The Pacifica wasn't as nimble but the ride was a lot more comfortable. Supportive leather seats were nice and it was filled with goodies like Nav, heated seats and blind spot monitoring. I can see how the BSM could come in handy. We piled back in the chase vehicle for the 3 hours trip back.

This Enterprise branch seems to do a lot of collecting of cars going out of service to be wholesale, retailed or returned to manufacturers after some kind of lease. Very low key with plenty of coffee/bathroom breaks as long as the job got done. I guess the only down side is the length of the work day. I now know how they give you 25 hours for two days work.

Sandy, is that the kind of information you wanted?

You found an 18 foot Sentra to be a little car?

I'm sure @oldfarmer50 will chime in on this but compared to the Bluebirds he was driving, 18 feet is a shorty.

jmonroe

andres3

fintail said:

Sadly, the amount that society is free might be overestimated.

On the surface, I have no issue with black boxes or phone records being used against a negligent driver, but I also can't say I have complete faith in those doing the analysis.

Another fun thing, records don't rely on a physical phone.

andres3 said:

While I like the idea of punishing negligents that were using their cell phone at the time of an accident, I too, see it as problematic for a free society.

Cell phones and car black boxes should fall under 5th Amendment Self-Incrimination protection as you own your car and its black box of data, as well as your cell phone.

IF it happens too often people will soon figure out that their cell phone should land inside of the fire pit when it "flew out" the car window during the major accident. I would think anyone with half a brain would "lose" their cell phone, and not remember where they put it.

I agree. I'm conflicted as well about black boxes. I want negligent drivers punished more severely (let's stop calling them "accidents"). Negligent homicide. Negligent manslaughter.

However, the offense committed by a drunk driver that rams a Fiat with a F-150 and kills someone is really no different than the drunk driver that rams an F-150 with a Fiat at the same speed and hurts no one. Our laws need to punish the negligence more, rather than only using the "results" of that negligence against them.

oldfarmer50

andres3 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

This report is for Sandman.

Just finished a 13 hour first day with Enterprise. Mainly older guys like me with one being 81 whose been with them 20 years. He walks with a cane so they don't discriminate. Very easy job, not even a drug test. The group was very supportive and showed me how everything worked. I had a choice of showing up anytime between 5:30 and 6:45 and I took the early bird today. It seem the early arrivals get the longer trips and boy did we travel. South throughout the Hudson Valley and then west to Syracuse. First I drove an 18' Sentra with under 500 miles.Not a bad little car, pretty peppy and crisp handling but the seats weren't supportive of my back. Not a long distance car.

After I dropped the Sentra off we were assigned to bring a bunch back north. I got a Jeep but on advice of my coworkers refused to drive it because the registration was 4 months expired. Then then sent us across the Hudson to pick up a Hyundai Elantra but that one had a 10 month expired registration. The boss back at the office then assigned me to a Ford Focus but the local staff told me they had sent it back across to where we just left. So I rode in the chase vehicle back north to pick up a Chevy Cruse. Unfortunately, the Chevy was missing a wheel. I now had my knick-name.....The Jinx. Back to the main office.

Once there we were assigned a fleet of 2017 Pacificas going to the auction. We traveled as a group out to an auction yard north of Syracuse. The Pacifica wasn't as nimble but the ride was a lot more comfortable. Supportive leather seats were nice and it was filled with goodies like Nav, heated seats and blind spot monitoring. I can see how the BSM could come in handy. We piled back in the chase vehicle for the 3 hours trip back.

This Enterprise branch seems to do a lot of collecting of cars going out of service to be wholesale, retailed or returned to manufacturers after some kind of lease. Very low key with plenty of coffee/bathroom breaks as long as the job got done. I guess the only down side is the length of the work day. I now know how they give you 25 hours for two days work.

Sandy, is that the kind of information you wanted?

You found an 18 foot Sentra to be a little car?

I suppose that's one way of interpreting my post.

andres3

driver100 said:

Drivers Rule On Speed Limit:
10% over the limit is OK....odds of getting a ticket are pretty slim.
(in Canada 20% because of kilometers)

The limit is what it is because they expect people will go at least 10% more than what is posted. If they raise 70 mph to 80 people will be driving 90!

That solves that problem.

That argument that people will always go 10 over just isn't a good argument. Make the speed limit 125 MPH. Good luck to the Prius/clunker/hooptie drivers in getting their cars up to 135 MPH

andres3

suydam said:

Well the limit on the sign isn’t posted just for fun. It’s the law. Whether it should be or not is irrelevant. Most people drive 5-10 over. Police are looking for those who really exceed the limit. It’s dangerous for police to pull over a car; many have been killed doing so. If I get a ticket I was going too fast. I can be bummed out about it, but ultimately it’s my fault and that’s that. All that energy poured into righteous indignation towards a cop doing his or her job, trying to Game the system (and paying fines)seems like it could go towards more productive uses, but you seem to enjoy it.

I personally hate the fact I have to waste time or money on these tickets. On one hand, I have the cheap lawyer who saves me time, but not money.

On the other hand, I've been more successful when I personally fight and appear, but it is so draining and time-consuming!

If they changed everything to a non-point violation and just called it a "TAX" I could better live with it.

andres3

ab348 said:

While we have many roads that are designed like expressways with a 50ph (80 km.h) limit, those are within urban areas with a lot of entry/exit traffic so I get it. Even those are routinely driven 15% over the limit or more with no problem. As was said, it is when you draw attention you yourself that it becomes a problem.

I find myself uncomfortable once I get much above 70mph. It isn't the car but me. Any twitch of the wheel due to momentary distraction or unexpected hazard on the road happens much more quickly and the odds of something bad happening are greater at high speed. Plus if there are other characters doing the same or greater speed around you that adds to the risk. 70 just seems the right number for me to feel comfortable.

I find it hard to believe you feel the same comfort driving your old Olds at 70 MPH as you do the ATS?

Try driving a fully-loaded double-decker bus in the rain, at night, with bald tires. Then 70 might not seem so comfy.

I suppose I need to buy a wallowy Camry to keep my speeds down. The Kia tall 7th gear doesn't help keep my speeds down. It handles competently even at super-legal speeds.

andres3

stickguy said:

At this point, I’m happy keeping below 75. Still getvwhere I am going, with a lot less stress.

My last two speed-related tickets were for 75 and 70

andres3

oldfarmer50 said:

Michaell said:

I find that as I get older, I'm less inclined to speed. I'll still do 5 over on I-25 in Denver, and find I'm one of the slower cars on the road.

On longer road trips, I'll set the cruise at 7-8 over the posted limit (usually 75), and find that I'm passed as often as I'm passing others.

I'm like that too. All those years obsessively being careful not to speed at work made me pretty docile. That may change as my chase vehicle was doing 75 in a 65 yesterday (he claimed 72.)

Well, your not driving buses anymore!

Although I think I've seen Enterprise get into the truck rental business.

andres3

I'd say about 8 years ago I was standing behind a PA State Trooper at a Bob Evans type restaurant while driving to a hockey tournament with Son #1 and his 2 hockey players. It was raining and he was taking off his clear plastic parka and the thin clear covering on his Smokey hat. I stuck up a conversation with him and said, "I guess you don't like patrolling the roads on a day like this" and he replied, "it's part of the job but you're right I don't like it". I asked, "how much leeway do you he give drivers on a day like this"? He said, "just a little less than good days but if they are riding the left lane and are creating a hazard or are weaving in and out of traffic and I feel they are a hazard to other drivers, I have no choice so I have to pull them over". I said, "I guess if you pull them over on a day like today, they aren't going to be able to talk you out of a ticket, huh"? He smiled and said, "you got that right". I wanted to have some fun so I asked him if all of his fellow troopers felt the same way about having to get out of their patrol cars on a rainy day. Without a bit of hesitation and no sense of humor like he seemed to have had while we were talking, he moved a little close to me, looked me right in the eye and replied, "EVERY DAMN ONE OF US".

If you want an ally about left lane huggers, I'm all in on this with you on that.

jmonroe

__________________

That's a true story. I use it to prove my point that none of my tickets were warranted, because I've never been given a ticket while it was raining!!!!! !!!!

And that doesn't surprise me one bit!!!!

An officer has to be VERY bored, severely under the monthly quota, or just plain dumb to bother with me. Hence, why I've never been bothered with in foul weather!

When the CHP Officer talks about how they are busy chasing the bad guys down for DUI's, among other things (had defensive driver training per my company policy every year just the other day), it just doesn't compute how they have any time to spend or waste on little ol' me!

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IAb4v4YeS0A

oldfarmer50

andres3 said:

I'd say about 8 years ago I was standing behind a PA State Trooper at a Bob Evans type restaurant while driving to a hockey tournament with Son #1 and his 2 hockey players. It was raining and he was taking off his clear plastic parka and the thin clear covering on his Smokey hat. I stuck up a conversation with him and said, "I guess you don't like patrolling the roads on a day like this" and he replied, "it's part of the job but you're right I don't like it". I asked, "how much leeway do you he give drivers on a day like this"? He said, "just a little less than good days but if they are riding the left lane and are creating a hazard or are weaving in and out of traffic and I feel they are a hazard to other drivers, I have no choice so I have to pull them over". I said, "I guess if you pull them over on a day like today, they aren't going to be able to talk you out of a ticket, huh"? He smiled and said, "you got that right". I wanted to have some fun so I asked him if all of his fellow troopers felt the same way about having to get out of their patrol cars on a rainy day. Without a bit of hesitation and no sense of humor like he seemed to have had while we were talking, he moved a little close to me, looked me right in the eye and replied, "EVERY DAMN ONE OF US".

If you want an ally about left lane huggers, I'm all in on this with you on that.

jmonroe

__________________

That's a true story. I use it to prove my point that none of my tickets were warranted, because I've never been given a ticket while it was raining!!!!! !!!!

And that doesn't surprise me one bit!!!!

An officer has to be VERY bored, severely under the monthly quota, or just plain dumb to bother with me. Hence, why I've never been bothered with in foul weather!

When the CHP Officer talks about how they are busy chasing the bad guys down for DUI's, among other things (had defensive driver training per my company policy every year just the other day), it just doesn't compute how they have any time to spend or waste on little ol' me!


I've heard that the rain interferes with the radar.

explorerx4

If you can make to the nearest overpass, you might get away with a warning.

abacomike

@andres3:

I believe you broke the all time record for the number of posted comments on a single page here on Edmunds.  You even broke driver’s record - impressive andres - impressive! 

14 posts and 7 consecutive posts.  Wow!

fintail

I'm not sure if I buy the 5th amendment defense either, as you aren't incriminating yourself - your negligent use of tech is incriminating you.

I agree the negligent driving laws need more teeth - that might combat what seem as a valid excuse to keep limits low via increased 21st century distractions. I don't think lowering limits will solve anything - casualties seem to be increasing again, if I recall right. But putting some actual punishment for distracted idiocy in the sometimes ironically named "criminal justice system" rather than just going after speeders and soft drug offenses might actually save a few lives and make driving better in general.

I also like the idea of progressive fines, but that inflames some Randians, so I won't say more

I agree. I'm conflicted as well about black boxes. I want negligent drivers punished more severely (let's stop calling them "accidents"). Negligent homicide. Negligent manslaughter.

However, the offense committed by a drunk driver that rams a Fiat with a F-150 and kills someone is really no different than the drunk driver that rams an F-150 with a Fiat at the same speed and hurts no one. Our laws need to punish the negligence more, rather than only using the "results" of that negligence against them.

fintail

In a 40?

andres3 said:

My last two speed-related tickets were for 75 and 70

fintail

Exactly. If one drove in my area, they'd think signals weren't required here. Nor would they believe we have a phone use law as a primary offense. Nor would they believe crosswalks are protected zones when the signal is green.

I wonder how many more casualties are caused by crosswalk runners than someone going 11 over.

andres3 said:

You mean like texting on my cell phone while driving? Unsignaled lane changes? Merging at half the speed limit?

Unsafe lane changes? Making right or left turns that cause the car behind me to slam the brakes?

My method is citation expensive but at-fault cheap. Better than at-fault expensive and citation cheap. Especially since I don't like "fixed/restored/repaired" cars.

stickguy

oh there are definitely more problems at lower speeds from reckless or oblivious drivers IMO. 10-15 over on a nice wide, low traffic, interstate on a clear day is about as safe as it can get.

that is also my biggest question about the autonomous (driverless) car revolution. Won't people that want to get someplace be upset when the car is programmed to not exceed the SL? Because I can't see how the makers could possibly get away with building in law violations into the software. The captains of industry won't be happy when great granny in a 1995 Crown Vic blows past them on the highway.

jmonroe

I'm surprised no one has mentioned what seems to be the latest trend for driving at night at least here in the eastern Burgh suburbs. This bugs the hell out of me and it's not funny. Too many people drive with their lights out. I'm not talking when they are in mall or parking lot areas that are pretty well lit, I'm talking about when they are well down the road driving along oblivious to everything. When I'm about to pull out onto a road at night, I look more than twice I'll tell you that.

I think it might be because with today's cars vs. the cars of the 80's and earlier, the dash lights up on cars today even though your lights are out, not a good excuse but maybe this is why. Then again today's cars have the "auto-lights" ON feature so I don't know why people turn that off.

More than likely the auto-lights ON feature was incorporated for just these types of idiots so now maybe we need a mandatory installed "kick-in-the-[non-permissible content removed]-driver's-seat", to wake up these idiots so they turn their light ON. I just saw this again while out tonight. I was behind this idiot and he/she drove for about 2 miles before he/she turned off onto a street just past where I live. I have no idea how long he/she drove like that before I got behind him/her at a left turn lane. I hope something is done before too many people are wiped out because of this.

Maybe some of the guys in here have their own ideas about this. I just gave you mine.

jmonroe

explorerx4

@jmonroe,
Regarding the automatic lights being turned off, this has happened a few times to my wife and I.
Brought the car in for service and they turn the automatic lights off.

stickguy

Lots of cars still don't have auto lights. My Jetta doesn't (and really is annoying when I have to drive that one!). You are correct, the digital dash is a big part of the problem. You don't get that visual reminder. Plus, now there are DRLs, so you do get some front illumination. Not hard to not realize especially in a well lit area.

jmonroe

explorerx4 said:

@jmonroe,
Regarding the automatic lights being turned off, this has happened a few times to my wife and I.
Brought the car in for service and they turn the automatic lights off.

I ran into that too when the Genny went in for the oil change yesterday. I don't know why they have to touch that but they do. They even turned off the fog lights. I caught it before I got to the light pulling out of the dealership and it was noon when I had the oil change. I can almost understand this when I take my cars in for PA safety inspections once a year but not for an oil change. If I remember, I'm going to ask about this at my next oil change.

jmonroe

driver100

andres3 said:

stickguy said:

At this point, I’m happy keeping below 75. Still getvwhere I am going, with a lot less stress.

My last two speed-related tickets were for 75 and 70

In a 35 and a 30 mph zone?

driver100

JMonroe...I notice a lot of cars don't have their headlights on when it gets dark. In one group of cars I saw 3 out of 5 didn't have their lights on.

I think these morons don't know they have an automatic headlight feature and they turn their light switch to the off position.

Back home, cars have to have running lights which use the headlights. At least if they forget to use headlights they have running lights.........they still won't have tail lights though....but, that isn't quite as bad.

I think that is the second thing in 10 years we ever agreed on!

jmonroe

stickguy said:

Lots of cars still don't have auto lights. My Jetta doesn't (and really is annoying when I have to drive that one!). You are correct, the digital dash is a big part of the problem. You don't get that visual reminder. Plus, now there are DRLs, so you do get some front illumination. Not hard to not realize especially in a well lit area.

If the cars I'm complaining about had DRL's, I'd see those cars. Since I'd see those cars, I guess I'm giving them credit for having their lights on. That being the case there are probably many more cars driving around without their lights being on. Kinda scary when you think about it. I know your tail lights are not on when you have DRL's but the idiot I was behind tonight did not have DRL's because I moved over as far as I could, even went over the center line, just to see if there were any lights on in front of that car and I could not see any light whatsoever.

jmonroe

jmonroe

driver100 said:

JMonroe...I notice a lot of cars don't have their headlights on when it gets dark. In one group of cars I saw 3 out of 5 didn't have their lights on.

I think these morons don't know they have an automatic headlight feature and they turn their light switch to the off position.

Back home, cars have to have running lights which use the headlights. At least if they forget to use headlights they have running lights.........they still won't have tail lights though....but, that isn't quite as bad.

I think that is the second thing in 10 years we ever agreed on!

OK, I'll do my best to stop doing that. :@

jmonroe

fintail

I started posting about the cars I see without lights in the dark (and around here, often rain) but was even mocked for it. It's a disease here, in the land of the oblivious driver. I see it a lot in Toyolex products - maybe partially because those are simply so common on the road here, but also because they might attract a driver who dinks around with settings and doesn't know what they are doing.

jmonroe said:

OK, I'll do my best to stop doing that. :@

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:

@jmonroe,
Regarding the automatic lights being turned off, this has happened a few times to my wife and I.
Brought the car in for service and they turn the automatic lights off.

I ran into that too when the Genny went in for the oil change yesterday. I don't know why they have to touch that but they do. They even turned off the fog lights. I caught it before I got to the light pulling out of the dealership and it was noon when I had the oil change. I can almost understand this when I take my cars in for PA safety inspections once a year but not for an oil change. If I remember, I'm going to ask about this at my next oil change.

jmonroe

It's probably so that when the lot boy takes your car out joy riding the lights don't attract the attention of the police.

suydam

It’s happened to me once or twice when I’ve taken the car in for service and employees have turned off the Auto lights setting. My last rental also had the Auto lights off, and I didn’t realize it for awhile. I think many people assume the lights are automatic and don’t realize that feature has been turned off.

roadburner

If we have reached the point that we have to design cars for people who are too inept to turn on their headlights then I fear that our civilization is doomed.

Michaell

One of the things I like about my minimally equipped Jetta are the lights. Yes, there are DRL's, but the switch on the dash is either on or off. If off, then the dashboard lights are not illuminated. Good reminder for me to turn them on.

In the past, I've had cars where the dash lights come on, even if the main headlights are off. That's dumb, to me. Especially in rental cars, where you may not be familiar with how everything interconnects (or doesn't, as the case may be).

Mr_Shiftright

I was watching Doug De Muro's review of the new $100,000K (!) Lincoln Navigator. I don't see how people are going to use all the features in that car. Not only do the seats have all these adjustments, heating and cooling and massage, etc, but THEN you can go drill into the dash screen menus and did up MORE adjustments, including left and right thigh/leg supports, and isolated sections of the backrest-within-the-backrest adjustments. Even the headrests not only go up and down, but in and out. There's a button in the tailgate area that not only lowers the second row seats, but raises them. There's a little panoramic mirror that drops from the headliner so that you can pan across the 2nd and 3rd row seats. The second row seating even has its own display screen. And on and on.

imidazol97

Mr_Shiftright said:

I was watching Doug De Muro's review of the new $y (!) Lincoln Navigator. I don't see how people are going to use all the features in that car. Not only do the seats have all these adjustments, heating and cooling and massage, etc, but THEN you can go drill into the dash screen menus and did up MORE adjustments, including left and right thigh/leg supports, and isolated sections of the backrest-within-the-backrest adjustments. Even the headrests not only go up and down, but in and out. There's a button in the tailgate area that not only lowers the second row seats, but raises them. There's a little panoramic mirror that drops from the headliner so that you can pan across the 2nd and 3rd row seats. The second row seating even has its own display screen. And on and on.

sounds like a dream for service techs as all these things go wrong.

ab348

I don't think I've ever turned my auto lights off ever since my first car with them in 2003 came along. I remember being surprised with my Intrigue back then the first time I drove into a parkade during a sunny day and finding the lights suddenly turn on.

Aren't automatic lights standard on most cars now?

Up here the big gripe I hear on radio shows is that you need to turn on your lights even if they are automatic to make your taillights come on so you can be seen better in traffic. Again, I don't understand that.

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

I was watching Doug De Muro's review of the new $100,000K (!) Lincoln Navigator. I don't see how people are going to use all the features in that car. Not only do the seats have all these adjustments, heating and cooling and massage, etc, but THEN you can go drill into the dash screen menus and did up MORE adjustments, including left and right thigh/leg supports, and isolated sections of the backrest-within-the-backrest adjustments. Even the headrests not only go up and down, but in and out. There's a button in the tailgate area that not only lowers the second row seats, but raises them. There's a little panoramic mirror that drops from the headliner so that you can pan across the 2nd and 3rd row seats. The second row seating even has its own display screen. And on and on.

As my dearly departed Mom would have said, "Just more to go wrong!".

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

I was watching Doug De Muro's review of the new $100,000K (!) Lincoln Navigator. I don't see how people are going to use all the features in that car. Not only do the seats have all these adjustments, heating and cooling and massage, etc, but THEN you can go drill into the dash screen menus and did up MORE adjustments, including left and right thigh/leg supports, and isolated sections of the backrest-within-the-backrest adjustments. Even the headrests not only go up and down, but in and out. There's a button in the tailgate area that not only lowers the second row seats, but raises them. There's a little panoramic mirror that drops from the headliner so that you can pan across the 2nd and 3rd row seats. The second row seating even has its own display screen. And on and on.

I wonder if that is the same deal on those seats they advertise in the Continental commercial. 

Can you get a lifetime warranty for a Lincoln?

ab348

Could some of the NY/NJ/PA peeps in here do a better job than the author of this piece did of explaining how this situation came to be, how the before and after matches up, whether the new road will be any better, and why it has been so apparently messed up for so long? I found the article very confusing and it raised more questions than answers for me.

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2018/01/30/i-95-is-almost-complete-60-years-late/

abacomike

I was over at the local Mercedes dealership this morning to meet with the service manager - a friend of mine. I asked him about the value of purchasing a 2-year pre-paid maintenance program for the S450. He said that since there is a 5 month pull-ahead program with leases from Mercedes Benz Financial, I probably will only need to have services done twice, one A service and one B service. He said it would not benefit me since he can price the two services at a discount to me which would be far less than purchasing a pre-paid 2 year maintenance package. So much for that - it is because I get a discount on service and parts due to the fact that I belong to the Mercedes Benz Club of America.

The next question I asked had to do with replacing the right wiper arm - there was a little paint chipped off. He looked at the wiper arm and said he will order one for me at no charge and no cost for labor. Since I had a minor complaint with the S450 within the first 6 months of ownership/lease, he has available to him, through MBNA, up to $1000 in what he called "WOW" money in order to keep high-end consumers happy about their Mercedes Benz experiences. Thus, within the next three months, I need to come up with how I want to use the thousand dollars - in the form of restaurants, TV's, etc. Interesting approach to making sure Mercedes Benz clients are WOWED by their experiences.

He also mentioned that since I will be servicing my car at their dealership, I can bring it in anytime for a carwash whenever they are open. Nice to be treated better by my servicing dealer's service department than where I bought the car.

pensfan83

qbrozen said:

I wonder if that is the same deal on those seats they advertise in the Continental commercial. 

Can you get a lifetime warranty for a Lincoln?

I was wondering the same....30 way seats in the Continental, right? I want to go test drive that car just to try the seats.