By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Even worse when I'm stuck behind, in front of, or near somebody at a red light and the smoke just keeps blowing in.
Sometimes I'll go out of my way to get in front of smoking drivers.
It's interesting, how cars were always designed with ashtrays, some with back-seat or even freakin BACK DOOR ashtrays (thinking of Audis at least). The accommodation of smoking (anywhere, anytime) was clearly a deeply entrenched part of everyday life. I like the trend I see in more recent designs, like my last car (2000 Nissan Maxima) which had a felt-covered storage compartment and plug cover in place of an an optional ashtray and lighter. Similar in my current car. I view this not as encouraging people to start forest fires, so much as encouraging people simply not to smoke in their cars.
When I got the Nissan used, it made the decision easy, because if there had been a used ashtray in the car, I wouldn't have wanted the car.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Well, since so many smokers tend not to use the ash tray, the easiest way to tell if a car has suffered a smoker is to close it up and heat up the interior. If it smells like an ash tray when you get in, run!
I have only rented a car once, and when I got in I about gagged. I went back to the rental desk and politely requested a different car. They told me none were available. After about 10 minutes of rambling about smoking, cars, health, etc., they finally conceded that one of the other 30 cars parked around that one was available. I thanked them, confirmed it was clean, and took it. Ugh. 9 days of driving my mom's car would have killed me. Literally, as I have nearly no tolerance to cigarette smoke (or the smell) and it makes me terribly ill. I used to dread going to my mother's house as a child because I was always sick for the next 2-3 days while I recovered from her incessant smoking.
Don't get behind me when me and the guys are coming back from the Tavern on Rush. :shades:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
And almost every rental car I've ever driven has had that stale ashtray smell. Which is funny, considering pretty much all of them are supposed to be non-smoking. It has led me to a theory that people smoking in rental cars is kinda like dogs pissing on every tree they can find (whether it's "there's" or not). It's some kind of primal "territory marking" thing, and there's probably a mild thrill associated because it's "against the rules" but it's hard to get caught. (Smell alone is probably not sufficient proof, legally speaking.)
Plus there's the whole "it's not mine so I don't care" mentality.
Sigh ... human behavior is funny sometimes. And this ties into the whole "inconsiderate drivers" discussion, because smoking in rental cars reflects the same kind of arrogant, oblivious selfishness that causes a lot of the problems we see on the road.
Okay, I can't spell. "Their," not "There."
There was no where to go because a race car trailer, motorhome, and pickemuptruck with race tires in back pulled on in front of us from Eldora Speedway. So there's no reason to get around me unless she's gonna pass a bunch of cars who are all going 55.
Gotta watch those old drivers in Civics.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
==
Today I was at a red light and a young lady in a 4runner came up behind me and stopped several inches behind me. And again and again, at consecutive red lights. She appeared to be writing a text message.
We're all used to that, but she did find a way to make herself special! At every red light that 4runner slowly and agonizingly screeched to a stop as bare steel hit the 4runner's brake rotors... I can only describe it as the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard.
(I notice noises a lot more now that I have the Miata, but a closed roof wouldn't have helped this time!)
On the hills of Seattle, a rollback is never the hittee's fault. The hitter doesn't keep his rig in control, he pays.
Nope you moved into them, it would be no different than if you put it in reverse and hit the gas.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Years ago, I worked with this girl who was stopped at a traffic light one time, second car back. When the light turned green the car in front actually went into REVERSE, slammed into her, and knocked her unconscious. She was driving something little like a Corolla and wasn't wearing her seatbelt. The other car just took off.
She reported it, but unfortunately since there were no witnesses, her insurance company said that if the other driver ever filed a claim, that she could be held responsible. Luckilly I don't think the other driver ever tried anything, but it sucks that they got away with it and left her with a crumpled up Toyota and a bruise on her forehead.
Personally though, I'd say the simple fact that the other driver left the scene of an accident speaks volumes to their guilt, but often in our legal system the innocent get screwed and the guilty get away with it. It's a sad way of life.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I once got backed into, in the fintail. At a flat intersection with yet another poorly sequenced (way too long) light, a seriously old man was in front of me in an 80s Toyota pickup. I noticed him put it in reverse, I was assuming maybe to keep it from moving foward at idle. When the light changed, he jerked back and bumped me at about 1 mph. Of course there was no chance of damage with the fintail's bumper guards and heavy bumpers. He got out of his truck kind of upset, but I didn't even get out of my car, I just told him not to worry and that there was no damage.
My guess is that she put it in neutral instead of park (Caddies back then didn't come with manuals) and took her foot of the brake when she went to look for whatever.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Here is the breakdown of how long those 7 miles will take me:
7 minutes @60mph
6 minutes @70mph
5 min 15 sec @80mph
I cannot justify the additional risk to save not even 2 minutes off of my commute. You save even less time on surface streets where the speed limit is lower, but every day idiots blow by me on their way to work.
Hahaha.... my wife nearly ran us into a large, log-hauling tractor in Canada on our trip in 1999. She was good at driving my '69 C20 about 90% of the time, but for some reason she forgot how to do the clutch-gas combination while stopped at this light on a hill. This truck is so beautifully simple to operate, as well, that I was really quite befuddled by the whole thing. There was probably 20 feet or more between that truck and ours as she tried to start the first time, but by the time she got it going there were less than inches remaining and the light had cycled 3 times. Granted, the tractor behind us was also try to "encourage" competency from her by nosing up little by little and laying on the horn incessantly. It was so terribly sad. She was a sobbing heap by the time the experience was over and would not drive the truck for weeks afterward.
At one point she asked me to take over but I refused and insisted she could do it. All she needed to do was relax and let out on that darned clutch. She finally did, and off we went.
The problem was that she was letting off the brake to hit the gas while still keeping the clutch fully engaged. Then she'd panic, and hit the brake again, each time going backward about a foot. I kept telling her, "let out the clutch until it starts to engage, then take your foot of the brake." :mad: Oy. I can still hear that horn blaring when I think about it. It must have been unnerving for her as it was a truck horn, not some little passenger car tooter.
Speaking of annoyances more than inconsiderates, now with cool and wet fall weather coming there will be less Harleys on the road here...yay!
I still drive my truck from time to time, but put maybe 1500 miles on it a year. Probably far less if I really think about it. I usually only use it to haul loads. It took me 6 trips to bring home all the materials for the 2nd floor of my house. One of those was 66 sheets of 5/8" OSB.... that was somwhere around 4800#. I sure enjoy that old truck - it is a real work horse. Hahha.... it is horrible to behold, but here is my mess yesterday morning:
Uh oh better start working....got another 6-8 weeks til the snow flies?
I'd rather have an old truck as a second/third rig for tough duties rather than buy a new one for a guzzling everyday car and use it for its intended purpose once every 6 months, too.
We are on the multi-year out-of-pocket plan. Shingles and insulation is the only thing left this year. doors, windows, etc., all that waits... and waits.... and waits...
Lately, I seem to find myself "holding up" drivers on my neighborhood's gravel feeder road. Apparently 30-35 is far too slow for a rough, bad sight distance, gravel road with a 30 SL. They tell me this by driving 20 feet off my rear and weaving back and forth. Oh well. These are the same drivers I will be pulling out of the ditch in a month. Maybe, instead of gratifying them, I should stop my car, get out, and say "Would you like me to pull you out?" When they respond with their typical gracious blathering I will say, "Well, then stop tailgating and next time you are in this situation I will be happy to oblige." Ah, one can only wish. :P
If she wants a manual, make her pay for it. Problem solved!
Hahahah... right. She would take me up on that and I would end up paying for it anyway. One way or another, these things always bite.
Like somehow my legs are always under my butt and I can't get them on the pedals in time to stop or shift gears (I always have a clutch in my dreams).
Then if I'm backing up, regardless of how slow I'm going, the brakes never fully stop the vehicle! Sometimes I have to put the car in first gear and accelerate to finally stop going backward!
BTW, I love the look of those '67-'72 Chevy pickups, and my favorite years are the '69 and '70 with that bar across the grille that houses the parking lights and turn signals.
I wonder what happens when you brake check someone on gravel. I bet they go into the ditch...maybe you should test it. Either that or gun it and try to smack some rocks into their windshield. I could never live on an unpaved road - my cars would get too dirty lol.
When you have a parking brake operated by the Left foot rather than the Left hand, I understand her challenge.
It would have been funny to see her, in tears, tell the trucker, "Let me blow the horn while you try to make it go." :mad:
No, could not leave it open. Forget wet, it actually gets cold here. Really cold. :P We will be blocking in the windows for now, just like is done on the garage doors on floor #1 (where we are currently living). That 4x6 window behind my truck is set in the midst of temporary framing that will come out here in a few more years with the pulling of a few nails and a solid *thunk* of a mallet. Ugh. If I am on a 15 year trajectory, I will sell the darned thing and do something else. We have a fair bit of equity in it now, so I would not feel bad letting it go. That was the plan from day 1, though after it was finished!
Fin - the thought has crossed my mind for sure regarding the rocks and/or brakes, but I posted a while back what happened when I did brake-check a pushy cabby and I realized then that annoying driving habits were not worth bringing someone to harm, so I will leave them to their own devices. I cannot kick up rocks in my Subaru - darned thing just has too good of traction. I could kick a few from a standstill, but not once moving. I have been known to do that once or twice in my truck, but they have to catch me on a bad day, as I am usually quite tolerant.
Hand brake - good idea, if you have one. Foot brakes are a bit more tricky as you just have to pull the lever when ready, but I have used mine to help with hill traction from time to time when my open differential slips.
Delray - What frustrating dreams! Ever feel like you are not quite in control?
That is 10', right?
I thought a car length was the length of a car... which is usually anywhere from 13 to 17 feet. So let's call it 15 feet.
My point was that the "1 car length per 10 mph" following distance is a bit close, since it amounts to a 1 second rule... at ANY speed.
A little math here...
(10 mph* 5280 ft/mile)/(3600 sec/hr)= 14.7 ft/s or about 1 car length per second
I'm shocked that rule is still in anyone's driver's manual!
Either way tho, redmaxx missed my point.
Anyway, even figuring 20 feet for a car length, at 60 mph, that means you should be about 120 feet back. Well, I remember that 55 mph is 88 feet per second. So if you're following 120 feet behind another car at 60 mph and, by some freak of nature, that car stops IMMEDIATELY, that give you about a second and a half to stop. Most cars stop from 60 in about 120-130 feet, so unless you can swerve around it, chances are, you're going to hit it.
Fortunately though, it's very rare, if not almost impossible, for a car to stop immediately from 60 mph. Maybe if it hits a tree or t-bones a dump truck. But hopefully if that happens, you weren't following the car off the road into the tree, or you saw the dumptruck run the red light, so you slowed down ahead of time, instead of just barrelling into it at the same speed as the dolt in front of you!
I first overtook the old silver Isuzu pickup with the brush guard near Sutherlin Oregon on I-5 north bound, about 200 miles south of the Oregon/Washington border. I had my cruise set at 74. It was about 7pm on a Monday night.
As I passed him, he picked up his speed to match mine and hung just off my right rear corner. This went on for a mile or so. I prefer not to drive in close proximity to others, so I upped my speed to close to 90 just long enough to put about half a mile between us, and resumed my 74 mph cruise.
A few miles down the road he passed me going about 80. He went on down the road. I thought no more about it... until I re-passed him north of Albany, about 100 miles beyond where I first saw him. I was still cruising 74. He re-passed within a mile or so and disappeared into the distance.
I didn't even see when I passed him next. It could have been a clump of traffic that I passed on the right, or it may have been the Salem, Commercial Street exit "shortcut" that I took, but he re-passed me again in the 60 zone on the north end of Salem. I had reduced my speed. He breezed on by.
Fifty miles later, about 10pm, I stopped for a bite to eat in Portland, then continued north into Washington. Once beyond the urban area, the limit increased to 70 mph and traffic all but disappeared. I set my cruise for 79 and settled in for the last 125 miles of my trip.
I noticed a set of lights gaining on me. I had just passed a slower vehicle that was cruising in the center lane of three. So I signaled and moved to the right. As the overtaking vehicle pulled alongside, it began to slow. I glanced to the left and saw a grill guard... no, a pushbar (COP!).
A couple of quick taps on the cruise stalk and my speed dropped by 3-4 miles per hour. Apparently that was good enough for the cop. I was paying attention and I didn't freak-out, so he must have figured I was okay. He sped back up to maybe 85, then at the first opportunity pulled off onto the center-median, emergency-vehicle crossover road.
About 75 miles later, somewhere south of Olympia... another grill guard... this time it WAS attached to the silver Isuzu pickup. Amazing. He passed me again. I repassed him later as he got stuck behind slow traffic in the left and center lanes. I cruised by in the right lane.
The last I saw of him, he passed me in the Olympia 60 zone. My cruise was set for 8 over. He was pulling away by at least 5 mph. I've gotten tickets in that area. I'm more careful now.
Anyone who has read this far must be wondering: what the heck was the point of all that rambling. Only this, it seemed really strange that without trying, I repeatedly encountered another vehicle over the course of a 325 mile trip... including a stop for me, and perhaps the other driver as well.
That and I was having a slow afternoon and felt like telling a story.
james
Same here. Apparently humor does not translate well as text... even using emotorcons!
The only interesting driver behavior I witnessed in the last few days was on Sunday. I was taking home 5 bales of insulation, plus a few rolls of housewrap and some loose bundles of insulation to boot, all neatly packed on my truck in an 8'x4'x6' block. As a rarity, I was actually driving along at 10 over (65 in 55), a speed at which I would normally pass nearly every other vehicle on this stretch of road. But, true to form, folks were making quite an effort to pass me, then, of course, would slow back down in front of me because they really did not want to go that fast. Quite annoying, really, but it made for a fun game of hopscotch. Makes me wonder why they do not just let up a bit and let the gap between us widen... :sick:
I've had that happen to me on occasion when I've driven my '85 Silverado with a large, bulky, readily visible load on it. I think it's because when people see you loaded down like that, they just assume you're going slow even if you're not, and don't want to be stuck behind you. They associate you with a slow-moving bus or big truck or whatever, and nevermind the fact that you're actually moving at a decent clip, they just get it in their mind that they MUST get around you!
A few years back I was taking a big load to the dump, and I really couldn't go too fast, so I stayed off the main roads as much as possible. I would've been fine at 45-50, which was the speed limit, but most of the traffic would've wanted to do more like 60-70. So I cut through a residential neighborhood. Probably doing the speed limit, maybe 5 above. I remember this woman in an early 90's Cavalier got right on my bumper. And worse, she'd move over to the right so I could only see her in my right-side mirror. The load was high enough that it blocked the rear view mirror. I swear that she was close enough at times that if something fell off the truck, it would have gone right onto her hood and not even touched the road first!
People just seem to lose all common sense sometimes, especially when it puts them in harm's way. I'm sure that Cavalier would've looked really good with a 70 gallon water heater on its hood! Talk about getting Rheemed! :P
The other possibility, with my truck anyway, is the smell of the exhaust. I notice that when I get behind an older vehicle , even if it is running well, it just has an odor not present with most modern vehicles. My typical response is just to back off a bit more or swap air modes so it is not so unpleasant unless passing is a viable option (meaning I can put the vehicle behind and comfortably keep it there).
Ah.... The human psyche is so fascinating.
You earned the Pun-of-the-Day award. Pick up your prize between 8 and 5 at the front desk.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Many of us have run over objects that fell out of a pickup's bed. We have no faith in their owners to tie things down properly.
My old Sentra's bumper is attached to the car with zipties after such an occasion. It was a cardboard box with something hard in it that fell off a pickup in the next lane over. I didn't expect it to tumble into my lane, and there were cars in the lanes next to mine, so I couldn't do anything other than a tiny bit of braking... it went under the right third of my bumper and popped every connection point other than on the bumper's left end.
Even attentive drivers like you make mistakes from time to time. Maybe we'll get the truck driver's post on this forum in a little while. Stay tuned...
In my neighborhood other people drive on the wrong side of the road all the time. Most streets allow parking on one side, and lots of people drive down the middle of the road, moving right for oncoming traffic (hopefully). Tonight I followed an SUV which completely drove on the left side of a two-way street, while I stayed to the right and well behind them. Personally, I think people shouldn't drive if they can't visualize the four corners of their car in 3-D. That's just my opinion and I acknowledge that the law sets a different standard. I'm glad I was going in the same direction as the road hog this time.
I used to have a sign that read "I'm using cruise control whats your problem?".
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
For heavens sake don't do anything that drastic, just recalibrate that speedometer.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D