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Forgot the TH rules again and starting to post about other posters again?
Please desist.
Forgot the TH rules again and starting to post about other posters again?
Please desist. "
Then stop yourself. Otherwise you seem to take the right to do the above, and all I am doing is pointing it out.
PF Flyer
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Anyway, this one was from Friday on the drive home from work, and your post reminded me of it so here goes:
"A PARK RANGER ON A POWER TRIP"
I have a 13.5 mile drive from work to home. The first 1.5 miles is on 30-40mph, controlled-intersection roads. After that, the next 7 miles are on 55 mph controlled intersection/limited access roads, and the remaining 5 miles are on non-controlled 55 mph roads (and my little 1 mile dirt road, but it's not part of this story). All roads (except my dirt road) are 4 laners, some divided median, some not. I am driving my '96 Subaru OBW and have all the windows down - temp was 75 degrees.
Okay, so I leave work at 1701 - good time for me as I usually don't leave until 20-30 minutes later. Traffic was light for this time of day, with maybe two dozen vehicles stopped at each light in the 40mph sections and all of them able to get through during each green. I reach the 55mph expressway and am traveling in the left lane (there are two lanes with exits intermixed on both the right and left). The traffic is flowing at 60 mph per usual. At about 3 miles from work, an onramp to the right offers up an F250 park ranger truck (complete with park ranger, lights, siren, etc - none activated) followed by two more full-size pickups. The F250 signals a lane change from the merging lane to the right lane. Before he can actually perform the maneuver, both trucks behind him gun it, cross the solid white, and whip all the way into the far LEFT lane (where I am). They effectively cut off me and the F250, but a little braking and patience and all was well. Both trucks immediately took the left exit that was about a 10th of a mile up the road (poor road design, here!). After this little fiasco, the F250 entered the right lane, then signaled to enter the left lane and did so just ahead of me. We are driving along in what seemed like perfect harmony for the next 4 miles. Then we reach the end of this expressway and turn left onto another one (via traffic light). There are two left turn lanes that generate from the left lane of the ending expressway, and both me and the F250 in front of me stay in the right left turn lane.
Light turns green, we turn onto the other expressway and are now in the right lane of that roadway. We go on like this for another mile, are stopped at the last traffic light of the drive (this is approximately 7 miles from work), and then continue through. The vehicle ahead of the F250 felt it was great to drive at 50 mph (SL is 55), so I planned to pass after the left lane cleared. There was one last vehicle coming up along side me, with the park ranger (F250) just ahead of me, when the F250 decides it is time to pass. He whips out (no signal), speeds up, and passes. I pulled in behind the vehicle that was already in the left lane. Both the F250 and the other vehicle pull back to the right, driving about 58 or 59. I decided that I liked 62, so I continued to pass. There were no vehicles behind me, and pretty much open road ahead with another slow vehicle visible about 1/4 mile ahead. I predicted that at my current speed, I would be able to overtake that slow-mover and then move to right lane and on to my exit (about 1.5 mile up the road) with no problem. So off I go. Slowly gaining on the F250, rapidly gaining on the slow-mover. About 4 car lengths ahead of me, the F250 whips out in front of me (using his signal as he moves.... so polite!) and SLOWS DOWN! such that he is BARELY going faster than the slow-mover. It is obvious to me that I will not make it past the slow-mover before the exit at this point, so I pull in behind and putt along until we reach the exit. At this point, the F250 whips across the road from left lane to right lane, across the white-lined area separating the exit ramp from the road, and onto the exit ramp.
So, poking along, we (the slow-mover and I) finally reach the bottom of the exit ramp and THANKFULLY the slow-mover is turning left... I am keeping to the right. The roadway clears and off I go... SL here is 40 mph for a short section before increasing to 55 and there are 4 lanes, undivided. I am driving at 45 mph with the F250 way up ahead - probably 2 tenths of a mile? Anyway, we reach the 55mph section and I accelerate to 60. The F250 is still driving at about 55 or so, so by the top of the first hill I pass. Just as I am passing the F250, he flips on his siren and about popped my eardrums! I couldn't believe it! Needless to say, I was rather pissed at his flagrant abuse of public property and MY EARS, so I just floored it to get away from him and hit 90 by the bottom of the hill. Once I had about 1/2 mile between us, I slowed back to 60 and finished out the last two miles of my trip on this road.
Oddly, just beyond my left turn from the main road to my community road, there was road construction and a flagger was stopping traffic. It was almost backed up to my intersection. The F250 must have sped up to catch back up to me because by the time (remember, this was only 2 miles and he was 1/2 mile behind!) I was turning on to my road, he was right behind me (well, not tailgating, but 2-3 seconds back). I turned onto my road and as I was maneuvering the horrid washboard, I glance in my rearview to see him stopped in the roadway above, just STARING at me!
What the heck? I think this guy just couldn't let go of the incident back at mile 3 and decided he was going to take it out on me. I wish I would have had the foresight to get the E# of his vehicle to report to the park service. :mad:
As digital videocameras become more common, I hope people like that get exposed and have their careers destroyed....if not more
No, it showed that higher speeds on limited access highways do not cause accidents or fatalities to increase. Which, as you will recall, was your original assertion, made several times, without any qualifications or exceptions.
Li_Sailor: In any case, please provide some rationale to support the notion that accidents at 85 are not more likely or not less severe in outcome than at 55. AFAIK, none exist and you have certainly not offered any.
Just as you have not offered any proof that, in the real world, higher speeds on limited access highways have led to more deaths and accidents. Looks like a stalemate, now doesn't it?
Li_Sailor: This is what you have to refute: at 85, reaction time is less, vehicle stability is less and the forces involved in an actual collision are worse.
And this is what you must prove - that higher speed on limited access highways has lead to more accidents and fatalities. Which, it has not.
Li_Sailor: In some they declined, in some they increased. We've done this dance before.
Which punches a hole in your previous assertions, made without qualifications or exceptions, that speed kills, or that higher speed limits lead to higher fatality rates, more accidents and more severe accidents.
On limited access highways, focusing on speed reduction to improve safety is a waste of resources.
Wanna speed recklessly, go to a race-track and get it out of your system.
No matter what one says here, someone will disagree, no matter how innocuous the post.
We'll just have to agree to disagree.
Just as you have not offered any proof that, in the real world, higher speeds on limited access highways have led to more deaths and accidents. Looks like a stalemate, now doesn't it?
Not quite. I cited less reaction time, lower stability and greater impact forces to back up my contention. You cited....nothing.
I disagree completely with that.
Oh well. I agree to fully disclose my disagreement next time. :sick:
I think we all should agree that a car moving faster poses a higher risk to the occupants and its surroundings than one moving slower. That presupposes a road appropriate for either speed, and completely empty. Can we agree with that?
That means that 85 mph is inherently riskier than 75. It also means that 45 is riskier than 35, and in fact 1 moreso than 0. Considering that we are all trying to go somewhere, we accept certain speeds as a reasonable risk to achieve the desired purpose. Agreed so far?
So what we are discussing is what speed is acceptable. The introduction of a "speed limit" into the equasion tends to set the acceptable speed relative to that point, since most all drivers' expectations are based on that. Even the fastest, most excessive speeders refer to their speed as "N over" the limit.
I maintain that the introduction of other cars sharing the road changes things even more, since they pose the single greatest danger to other drivers. I set my speed accordingly, to limit my interraction with others, to get away from other cars as much as possible, and to limit closing speeds when passing or being passed. I drive the speeds necessary to put myself in a safer situation, up to maybe 15 over in short bursts, but rarely more than 10 over.
By so doing I believe I reduce the danger to others, rather than increase it.
Now to restore your faith, the idiot got pulled over.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Like has been pointed out several times. Closing speed on rural 55 mph 2 lane highways is at least 110mph, if someone can't handle my passing them at 10mph faster than they are travelling they need to stop driving.
I always wonder when driving, on two-lanes especially, whether or not I could react in time, even when I concentrate with 99+ % attention to oncoming traffic, and steer out of trouble of a wayward centerline crosser. There have been numerous posts in the last weeks about cellphone usage, conversations in the car, etc. and the distraction those contribute. It goes without saying that the cellphone user has less of a chance to react to a centerline crosser.
And, two-lane roads are not unique to crossover collisions. The interstate highway in our area only has a depressed grass median. No cable and no concrete barriers. Over last 5-10 years, there have been many crossovers, mainly cars, sometimes semis, with deadly results for opposing traffic lanes.
Super Wal-Mart Shopping Center and rolled
down the car windows to make sure my
Labrador Retriever Pup had fresh air.
*
She was stretched full-out on the back seat
and I wanted to impress upon her that she must
remain there. I walked to the curb backward,
pointing my finger at the car and saying emphatically,
"Now you stay. Do you hear me?"
"Stay! Stay!"
*
The driver of a nearby car, a pretty blonde young lady,
gave me a strange look and said,
"Why don't you just put it in park?"
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Actually, I think she knew what you were doing and was just trying to pick you up. How considerate.
The other day, I'm walking from the train to my car and I step off the curb into the x-walk...I see a car approaching from the left, normal speed, about 50 feet from the intersection. As I continue, I see that it's not stopping. Being a NYC person, I do not flinch, but seek eye contact...still not stopping, I step in front of the car, forcing him to stop. Without stopping, I point to the crosswalk line and say to him (his window is open) "It's called a crosswalk". He says nothing, I keep going.
This was extreme, but I see it all the time...drivers that just whip around corners without regard for peds in crosswalks, thinking that they own the street and that any peds should just scamper...of course, peds almost always (certainly in x-walks) have the ROW.
Of course fintail is right, pedestrians have their own ways to be inconsiderate. In a mall parking lot, when I stop for them they will often cross on a diagonal, taking the longest route to make me wait as long as possible. I can never decide whether it's an in-your-face maneuver, or just mindlessness.
This guy then just gave us a dirty look as he walked around us.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I guess the responses I'm seeing here (it's the peds that are at fault!) kinda reinforces my point. Most drivers think they own the roads, peds should stay outa the way and I got yer ROW right here :=)
Actually, I think most drivers have no idea that they must yield ROW to a ped in a crosswalk. Even where there is no stop sign or light. Of course, that's NY law, some states (prob the ones that are promoting Intelligent Design) may not be so civilized.
I agree that drivers are a bigger problem in most places, except in major urban areas. Downtown Boston is a pedestrian city, and they routinely take control of intersections, and just mob it, stopping all vehicular traffic. Like anywhere else in life, when people don't share it causes problems.
What really gets me are parking lots..... Nothing irks me more than a driver that fails to yeild ROW to pedestrians in a parking lot. The worst are those that whip through the lot at 15+ (sometimes WAY +++!) and have the nerve to blow their horn at pedestrians who are crossing the lane (not wandering down them, but purposefully crossing them) or other drivers who rightfully yield ROW to the pedestrians..... all the while doing their level best to not slow down come hell or high water.
Me, too. And in the case I cited, I was walking pretty fast. As you say, sometimes, I even trot a little to be considerate. But in this case, he deserved none...I slowed a little as I pointed, pointedly.
Some people ask for trouble.
And some have it come to them, undeservedly.
Yeah, it was...you proks are all the same...
:=)
And your insurance didn't go after him (or his parents) to recover the deductable?
Yesterday was LLC day on 405. I've never seen it so bad. It's like people got lobotomies before they left home. There was one black Escalade going about 40-45 in the left lane (in a 60) that FINALLY moved over after a train of maybe 15 cars passed on the right. No signal either, of course. Another winner was a chain smoking woman in a clapped out Ford Ranger who would vary her speed between about 20 under and 20 over, with no logical pattern. Smoking and driving needs to be controlled as much as eating or phone talking.
I rarely go more than 10 over...usually it is 5-10 over, where you can usually be safe from all but the most extremely zealous revenue collectors/law enforcement "professionals". I've also never had a ticket. Those speeds here are enough to let you pass 90% of drivers. Now and then for a short spurt I will go faster, but usually just to pass some idiots, and I do it when I know there's no speedtrap ahead.
Well any ways there was a pretty long space behind me vacant of cars and I noticed the car behind the car behind me drifting off onto the shoulder (as if to check out traffic ahead of the car in front of him). Well later on I looked into my rearview mirror one of the cars was right on my rear with right arm outstretched middle finger extended and the other right next to him in the middle lane.
Not sure what was going on but it worried me that they were right behind me on a crowded expressway where I couldn't get away.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Anyone whose gone to Wal-mart, knows the chaos of people, cars, girl-scouts and shopping carts directly in front of their store.
I personally make it a habit to avoid driving through that area because you spend several minutes waiting for people to cross, etc. However, it never fails when walking into Wal-mart, a Dodge Ram will be revving anxiously to get through, and then floor it afterwards... only to stop abruptly because some old woman is jay-walking in it's path.
This weeks bad driver story happened to my niece. She was in the left lane in steady moving traffic. A man in a truck decided he needed to turn left from the right hand lane. He was even with my niece's back door when he cut hard and plowed into her. Which sent her spinning into the right lane. The man continued across the two on coming lanes and left the scene.
There had been some discussion earlier about being rear ended and pushed into oncoming traffic if you had your wheels turned. I have been rear ended twice. Both times my car was punted like a foot ball...I don't think the wheels made any difference. maybe in a low speed hit that just shoves you... I can see that might be the case. But if it is a hard hit... it doesn't matter.