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If you feel that 100 mph is O.K., then more power to you. But if you come up on a pack of traffic that is going more or less the speed limit, YOU are the inconsiderate driver if you expect everyone else to move out of your way.
If I am in the left lane, on this stretch of highway, I am most likely in a pack. We are all trying to go our desired speed without others playing traffic police.
I am not the person who will try to passively-aggressively prevent you from speeding, but I see no reason to slow down 5 - 10 mph and move over just so you can speed quite a bit faster than literally everyone else. I will move over at my earliest convience. I will speed up to make it happen earlier, if possible. Just because you are trying to go 10 or 15 over the limit, when the majority isn't doesn't mean traffic should bend over to your whim. If I am in the back of a pack in the left lane, I will do absolutely nothing if you insist on tailgating, except slow down a little. Best not to wake up others highly developed immature sides for no reason.
With the exception of extreme cases, the police will pull over speeders, and ignore some of the more important safety aspects of highway travel. Going 80 in a 70? You're busted. Going 71 in the left lane for no reason, passing no traffic, no problem.
This rant is not aimed at any poster, including nightvzn!!
One thing I want to make perfectly clear is that I do not believe anybody in the left lane, who is following somebody else at a reasonable distance, has any obligation to yield to faster vehicles coming up from behind.
The only "obligation" I would attribute in that case is to make an effort to get past the pace-setter in front of you, passing on the right if need be, so a wagon-train of indefinite length doesn't grow in the left lane.
The scenario I am describing is when you're in the left lane with nobody in front of you for any appreciable distance. Effectively, at that point, you're setting the pace; this is when I make an effort to move right and yield to anybody who comes up behind me.
I hope nobody thought I was advocating yielding to speed demons when you're in the left lane traveling at a pace determined by the traffic in front of you. (Although invariably, somewhere some number of cars in front of you, somebody is setting the left lane pace and not yielding).
And no, I didn't think you were aiming your "rant" at me ... I neither drive 100 nor tailgate
If the left lane is the only choice to pass slower traffic, then obviously, that's the choice to make.
A frequent occurance is a semi in the right lane. Another truck is merging, so the semi moves to the center lane. Neither is going at my rate of speed, so I move to the left lane to overtake. I wont jam my way into faster traffic to do so, but if the coast is clear, here I come.
But, if someone is approaching me a half mile back in the left lane, going 15 or 20 over, I will not slow down and wait for you to pass. That person will wait for me to complete my pass. I will do everything in my power to keep their wait to a minimum. If that driver does anything other than slow down until the coast is clear, then he/she is the inconsiderate driver.
If the semi is going say, 69, and I'm trying to pass at 71, then I am the inconsiderate driver.
I am speaking of relatively heavy local traffic. I am much more lenient on the open road that includes most of Kansas.
Thanks.
That's a really key distinction and I'm glad you threw that in. Making a sincere effort to complete a pass in a reasonable length of time is key to considerate lane-sharing. I think that's where a lot of frustration comes from -- when people decline to do this.
It actually can and does at times. Especially if you are going much faster than the rest of traffic.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
IIRC most rental companies frown on unpaved roads and when I lived in alaska we had maybe 12-15 miles of paved roads and over 100 miles of unpaved roads ( and quite a few that most likely have had 3 vehicles on it since WWII).
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Don't get me started on left lane rules. When I flash my headlights, you better move. If my car cruises at 95, then I should be able to cruise at 95. If I get a ticket, then I get a ticket. I actually got one the three months ago for doing 88 in a 70. Big deal. It had been six years since I had had one. Because of my most recent ticket, I will be backing off and using cruise control to keep my speed down. Lesson learned, but I will draft other drivers and use them as blockers
By the way, I drive a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer, V-8 (5.3 liter), 300 hp, and it hauls!! :P
And that's the attitude about lane usage that causes problems. Perhaps in less populated and lighter traffic on the interstate multilane highways that attitude is approved by the citizens. In areas where the traffic needs to use all 3 lanes or more it causes roadrage and accidents. When the speed limit is 65 I estimate 85%ile of speeds on Cincy-Dayton I75 is 70 and lower. An outlier with speeds of 85 is the inconsiderate driver.
That's especially try when they use aggressive driving tactics on other drivers.
>These idiots will only get up to 40-45 mph when everyone else is doing 65 mph plus. People in the right line have to accomodate the merging vehicle by tapping the brakes,
And I wholeheartedly agree on this one. I think we've begun to expect to have to let the mergers fit in without effort on their part. I notice that truckers on I70 seem surprised when I come up a difficult merge ramp while they're coming down a hill and they pull over into the left lane to allow the ramp car to merge and instead I hit the gas and move my LeSabre out of the way and am up to speed. They are used to drivers not merging like we were taught in the olden days.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Percisely my point- less populated, less dense traffic areas where cars can and should be able to stretch out their legs. I would never drive or flash lights at drivers in congested traffic because of the potential riple effect
Sometimes its just impossible to get up to speed on some of the entrance ramps here. Some of the ntrence ramps here are less than 150 yards, not a lot of room to get up to speed (and some of them drop you off in the left lane :surprise: ).
There is something called sharing the road, that means you can always speed up or change lanes to let them in.
If my car cruises at 95, then I should be able to cruise at 95.
Then buy your own land and build your own roads. Those who say things like that are just as inconsiderate as anyone else on the road.
When I flash my headlights, you better move.
Here in Illinois thats illegal. It is also inconsiderate and akin to the guy pushing his way through a crowd because he is just so much more important.
Now if you were coming up on me like that you will just have to wait your turn. I will move over when I complete the pass and no sooner.
but I will draft other drivers and use them as blockers
talk about being inconsiderate. Anyway if you do that to me you will find that you will be going slower and slower until it dawns on you that tailgating is not going to get you there any faster. Because if I have to suddenly stop I would rather you hit me going a slower speed than a faster speed.
By the way, I drive a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer, V-8 (5.3 liter), 300 hp, and it hauls!!
I'll keep an eye on you in my rearview mirror. :P
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
And I'll say it again, with a different speed inserted...if you're the only person within a metro area who insists on going 95, then you're probably the inconsiderate driver.
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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I always wondered what it's like driving something like that. Maybe like the Queen Elizabeth II with a booster rocket strapped on top. Can you make those waterproof?
Although I think gmfan's rather "aggressive" post got pretty much the same response from everybody here, I do think (s)he (I don't recall a reference to a specific sex, dangerous potential preconceived notions aside) is referring less to metro-area-type driving and more to rural highways. I think this was confirmed in his/her subsequent post.
This reflects my own background since I grew up in a small city in a rural part of NY, which I think puts me in a different "default state" for interpreting lane-use discussions, until a context is specified. Because vehicle density does change the equation a bit.
And I'll agree that in areas where you see maybe one other car per mile on the interstate (a common frequency where I grew up), people should yield to faster-moving traffic no matter how fast it's going. Let the cops decide their fate.
It's completely different from crowded areas in which thousands of cars, densely packed, form some kind of organic whole, where cooperation, continuity, and symbiosis are far more conducive to success than aggression, antagonism, and selfishness.
The Caddy is 400 HP.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Most memorable was a woman wearing a shawl driving an old BMW 328 coupe who wouldn't follow closer than about 10 car lengths. And when she got behind a car at a light, she would wait about 10 seconds to go from the time the car ahead of her moved. Her car was also loaded up with crap, lots of pillows and plush animals. Motoring has become too dumbed down.
Here in Illinois thats illegal. It is also inconsiderate and akin to the guy pushing his way through a crowd because he is just so much more important.
It is illegal to use headlights as a bully maneuver in Illinois? That's an interesting law: difficult to enforce unless you use unmarked cars (wish Ohio did, but they passed a law long ago banning them because of abuse).
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Its illegal to have your brights on when your within a certain distance behind someone. The law make no exceptions for flashing your brights to pass.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
If you're driving in the fast lane all the time but expect others to dart in and out of middle lane small gaps requiring speed down and careful merges, don't expect me to bend over backwards to yield the fast lane. But when I see that true "share the road driving" of using multiple lanes himself, then I'm more anxious to let you be bear bait.
Don't assume I'm an LLCer. As I've posted my most fun trips to Cincy or Indiana have been at 55 mph or 60 in the right lane and just watching the people who (need to be) are in a hurry duke it out for 100 foot gains. The truck limit (in Ohio) is 55 so that usually works. Occasionally I move to middle lane instead of right lane to let a truck move on through without slowing down; I've gotten an occasional light blink thank you for not having them move to middle lane to pass.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
By the way, I drive a 2006 Chevy Trailblazer, V-8 (5.3 liter), 300 hp, and it hauls!!
So, I guess you’re saying ‘might makes right’. I imagine that those 300 HP can get you from 0-95 pretty fast but how fast can you go from 95-0, that’s the number that I’m concerned with when I see people like you driving near me.
From what you have said, ALL of us normals have to keep an eye on people like you and yes I mean ALL of us.
Talk about consideration.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Why, is your name Charleton Heston, and the highway is your Red Sea?
Now I'm not one to advocate left lane camping, in fact I hate it with a passion. But in my definition, left lane camping is when a person in the left lane is driving at a speed below the flow of traffic, forcing people to pass on the right. So if a traffic in the right lane is doing 55 and a car in the left lane is passing them at 60, don't expect to come up on them at 95 mph and expect them to immediately move out of your way. Now they should get over to let you pass when it is safe to do so, but nowhere is it written that you can drive 95 mph and expect everybody to immediately clear out.
Now one extenuating circumstance might be if there are two cars doing 55 in the right lane and you're about to pass, but the moment you're about to, the second car decides to cut over in front of you and pass at a snail's pace, forcing you to nail the brakes. But even in a case like this, I don't think I'd want to pass other cars with a 40 mph speed difference! At a speed like that, you can come up on them so fast that they never have a chance to see you, and it's just asking for trouble.
I really don't know why she has to block my or anyones driveway. There is plenty of space along the road where you can park without blocking anything.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I poked around and found figures as low as 133 and as high as 154 feet. That about the same or slightly longer that the 130 or so feet for the accord. Add to that the approximately 45+ feet you will travel during your reaction time and wham.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
This is what you said in post 10366, " Lesson learned, but I will draft other drivers and use them as blockers." I don't think 109 feet is near good enough in 'drafting' situations, do you? I wouldn't want an Accord or any other car doing this to me or anyone else for that matter.
Take care,
I will but I'll still be lookin for ya.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Gmfan
That explains some of it but it's still not the way to think of it.
Try this on for size, you run into someone and there are injuries. Do you think your immaturity will help the injured or how you would feel knowing this?
What would you think if someone in your family was injured by an immature driver?
Please try to think ahead!!!
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Don
WWW.PLATEWIRE.COM
Don
Oh I agree, bicyclists can sometimes be one of the worst offenders. In fact, on that night about two weeks ago when my truck got rear-ended in DC, about 10 minutes before it, I was stopped at a red light before a traffic circle, 3 or 4 cars back, when something smacked my mirror! It was a college-aged dude on a bike! He was cutting between the lanes, ended up running the red light, and cut across the sidewalk on the traffic circle.
Somehow I ended up beating him to the other side of the traffic circle, and I was going to wait for him, but I probably scared him because he ducked off a side street real fast.
Come to think of it, there was another time a couple months ago when I was in DC, stopped at a red light in a line of traffic, when this chick on a bike cut through the traffic, started to lose her balance, and braced herself against my truck!
It's a shame that the cops don't crack down on the pedestrians and bicyclists more. The simple reality of it isn't that the cars aren't killing them...they're getting themselves killed!
I've also had instances where I'll stop at a stop sign, and a bicyclist will come up behind me and blow past me on the left without even stopping! And then they get in front of me and try to take the whole lane so I can't pass them once I get up to cruising speed.
I think bicyclists are actually a double threat, because they ride out in traffic and expect the cars to yield to them, but then they get up on the sidewalk and expect pedestrians to do the same! Then they want to whine about how a 30 pound Schwinn is no match against a two ton Buick! My advice? Don't run your Schwinn into my Buick! :P
It sounds good in theory, but let's face it, a website like that would be abused. And it would probably open up the webmaster of said site to the potential of all sorts of libel/slander/harrassment suits.
I have seen cops come down on pedestrians in Naperville, IL a rather large suburb in the far western burbs of Chicago. It has a real nice downtown area and some nights and weekends cops are out directing traffic. I have seen them many times stop pedestrians getting themselves in trouble.
I have also seen it during rush hour in the Loop (Downtown Chicago).
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
gfman, regular Trailblazers (non SS) don't brake from 60 in 109 ft, that's the SS with upgraded brakes, larger wheel/tire package and lowered suspension tuning (Saab 9-7x chassis tuning but with huge brakes and 20"s rims). I don't have my mags handy but I would bet its north of 135 ft from 60 for garden variety TBs/Envoys.
But you should see the trail of crashes he left behind. :P
Now that I have nav, I can illustrate my hell. The arrow with the circle around it is my car. The "U" shaped road is where I left. The slightly skewed vertical road almost at center is what I was turning on to. The rectangle at bottom left is the scale, representing 1/10 mile. It took me over 20 mins to get to the road from my position on that map. No accidents, no blockages...just rain, volume, and incompetence. And yes, I took a pic with a phone while using the nav...a double whammy. However, traffic was so bad that I actually put the car in park to stretch my foot.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
...plug these coordinates into Google Earth.
39 01.54' N, 125 45.13' E
You can be guaranteed to find absolutely no traffic at any time of the day or night.
:P
The first post I ever read in this forum has hit really close to home. Ouch ! I cycle around a city that is just beginning to accommodate bicycles in its transportation planning. I ride away from busy streets, or streets entirely, if possible. Stopping at every stop sign, just because motorists are required to do so, not only begs a primary reason to ride, but really increases vulnerability of a rider to be hit due to their lack of size and visibility and ability to accelerate very quickly. Bicycles do mostly have "license" to act as motor vehicles (in my state, anyway). This can translate to occupying an entire lane at well below the speed limit, which will not be appreciated by motorists at even moderate traffic levels. When bicyclists ride on sidewalks, road shoulders, or at the fog line; they are being being very courteous, in fact. I personally have no patience with the "Bicycle Pharisees" that exercise their right to hold up traffic while obeying all the laws to a tee.
If a bicycle happens to break a rule and ticks you off, you might also see what inconveniences the rider is imposing on himself for the betterment of vehicular traffic flow, too. Give and take is fair.
Of course, they are all out shooting enemies of the state
Here are a couple of roads I have been down that had few if any other traffic.
57 38 59.15 N 152 26 56.15 W
Almost flipped an ambulance on that turn
20 36 58.23 N 156 16 21.46 W
Took this road a few years ago and didn't see another car on this road. Most of the road, prior to this part, was very primitive and not for the faint of heart.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Just as he did that, the light turned green and he sped off. The Honda driver put down her window and re-aligned the mirror. She honked her horn at the guy as he sped off.
Nothing scares me more that when I'm on the freeway and traffic starts to slow and motorcycles start weaving between cars. I know one day I'm not going to see one running up on me and hit them.
In California, pedestrians and bicyclists seem to have a all the rights in the world (which is a good thing). Bicyclists are not allowed on most sidewalks. They have to be traveling in the street with the flow of traffic. But, I have seen them blow right through traffic lights as if the red light does not pertain to them (as someone mentioned in a previous post).
The moment a pedestrian puts their foot in a crosswalk, it is the law that a motorist must stop. The local police will set up "cross walk" stings to catch drivers who won't stop.
Mark156