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Comments
One right after the other. I was signaling to make a left had turn, pulled into the turn lane and was about to make my turn when the car making a left from the street I was turning onto decided he didn't want to wait for me to turn and decided to go directly in front of me...
Then when I was at the next intersection, I needed to make another left onto a one-way. Pulled up with my blinker on and was waiting for traffic to clear. I had been sitting there for several seconds with another vehicle pulled up on the other side, wanting to go straigt. When traffic clear I started to go, assuming I had the right of way since I had been there for quite some time before the other guy. He decides to just go and had I not been watching (I anticipated that he would probably go, thinking he had the right of way since he was going straight), it could have turned nasty. And it probably would have been deemed my fault since I didn't yield.
Number 3 came when I pulled into the Wal-mart parking lot by the Tire and Lube center and there was a truck with a trailer parked in an aisle blocking all the empty spaces and coincidnetly all the cars that were parked in those spaces as well. There was someone in the passenger seat of the truck, but no driver and the vehicle was not running. Granted there wasn't any other real place to park the thing except next to the garden center fence, but then that would have required skill to back it back out.
An old grade school nickname because I was the scrawniest kid and was coined to kind of make fun of me, but it stuck and that is what I have used as a screen name.
Unlike headlights, where you can immediately tell when one is out, or a turn signal, at least in GM cars where it blinks in rapid fashion, you can't tell that they are out. Even getting out a looking doesn't work, because they only come on when the car is in gear and the parking brake off. Stick it in drive and set the parking brake, they go off. The only way to tell is to put it in nuetral and hope the ground is level, or block the wheels and then get out and look... or have someone look while you have your foot on the brake. But it is a pretty good hassle to check.
Anyway, for better or for worse, I think DRL's are here to stay. They don't bother me, nor would I care if I didn't have them. It wouldn't be a deal breaker or maker for me.
He got to the bottom of the hill, and I watched him hit the gas and spin sideways. There was also a car parked right close to the bottom of where he came down at and I just knew he was going to spin around and nail the car. Well, he did just that. He spun around and slid right into the front corner of the car. It was pretty hilarious actually because he was trying to be cool and have fun in a snow covered parking lot.
He did get out a leave a note, but then he took off again and we watched him fishtail the whole way out to the parking lot. I half expected to find him off the side of the road somewhere along the way.
Do not go over 70 and when in doubt go 55. The signs are far and few between. I do know however that hwy 89 is 65 all the way down to Flagstaff except where it goes through the indian communities where is can drop as low as 45. If you go through Marble Canyon the best way is to head south like you planned to HWY 160 and then go through Tuba and then on to Kayenta where you can find lodging for Monument Valley. There isn't much in Tuba and niether Kayenta and if I had my choice I would stay in Kayenta. The prices this time of year should be more reasonable at the local hotels. I have stayed several times at both the Best Western and the Holiday Inn and the Holiday Inn is by far the best. At both places I never paid more than $100 a night for one person. That seems steep to me but it is the indian reservation and they cater to tourists. This time of year I would expect however the prices to me closer to $70 a night. I never stayed at the Hampton.
If you happen to come from Page, the best way to Kayenta is to take HWY 98 through Kaibeto and Shonto to HWY 160 and bypass Tuba and then on to Kayenta. That is the quickest and the roads are generally good. The speed limit is also 65 on both hwy 98 and hwy 160. After Kayenta and on your way to Chinle for Canyon de Chelly, just past Kayenta is the junction for HWY 59 to Many Farms. Take this route and it will save you several miles versus going all the way over to US 191.
In Chinle the best place to stay is the Best Western. Reasonalbe rates and a fairly good restaraunt. There again the road there is also 65, but be VERY careful as the Navaho Police patrol heavily. I wouldn't go above 65. Maybe 70, but I never wanted to chance it. The signs are far and few between so if in doubt go 55 as there are several places along the Indian reservation where it is only 55, but I think that they are the Indian Routes. The US routes are generaly 65....
Sorry for the long post... but hope this helps.
I was headed home today with both a migrane and an upset stomach with put me in a very foul mood. To top it off, I was about an hour from a cold dark room and so my mood was even fouler, meaning that I had absolutley no patience for stupidity.
Going through this small community the SL drops to 40 from 55 which is no problem because in reality the SL should be lower and I generally go a little slower because of the side street traffic and what not. Today was no exception. As I go through I notice some kids getting out of a vehicle parked on the side of the road. Another couple of kids are standing across the street. 3 of the kids stay be the car to let traffic clear as I was coming down the road and there was another vehicle coming from the opposite direction. One of the kids decides he is going to cross. Instead of bolting across the road like you would expect some one to do when he has to multi-ton vehicles that could sandwich him, he just saunters across, stops in the middle, turns around to talk to his buddies he just left and continues walking backwards towards the other side with no clue that he was about creamed by both a 3 ton work van and a large SUV. I luckily had noticed this and didn't have to slam on my brakes, but the SUV laid on his horn and the kid still didn't get a clue.... he just lazily finished his walk across as if he owned the road. Mind you this wasn't in a cross walk or in an area that has posted signs indicating pedestrians in which the entire roadway can become a crosswalk. It was a 2 lane highway.
Luckily I was too focused on keeping my stomach from relinquishing what was left of breakfast and my head from splitting in two to really spend any energy caring about the matter, but it was still aggravating.
Although I can see why he probably ran it. The intersection is a little confusing as traffic headed east doesn't have to stop. If you are going straight or turning left onto the freeway you just keep going, but traffic headed west has a stop sign, or a yield/merge if you happen to turn right to get onto the freeway. There's a sign, but it's easy to miss and the usual road lines are near to non-existent. So as I was approaching this interesection I could see him coming and didn't expect him to stop so had I been there at the same time, I would have been expecting him to run it and so I would have waited to make my turn.
The last time I let some one through they didn't check to make sure all traffic had stopped and they go nailed as they cross the right turn only lane.
The thing that I really noticed though is that a lot of these pull-overs have happened right in front of my house. Just in the past week I have noticed about 4 or so. During the day it's not so bad, but at night it's a little annoying when you're trying to eat dinner or watch T.V. and these red and blue lights are strobing into your house... Not really a big deal as the incident only lasts a few minutes and then it's gone, but it has happened several times now and I've started to wonder if my house is jinxed! ...
Oh well. At least there is enforcement to keep the speed down as I have noticed in the past that people have flown by at 40+ MPH on a residential street.
Then the limit jumped to 45 as it was leaving town and they increased thier speed to 35ish but no faster and then finally the limit jumped back to 55 but the car never went more than 40ish. All this with the police SUV still behind them and us behind the SUV.
And as luck would have it, just as the road gets ready to divide into 4 lanes for a short stretch, the car decides to turn off onto a side road. Also at that point after going all the way through town, the police SUV decides it's time to turn around....
Also noticed on the way home the OSP and County Sherrif were out in force. One section has construction going and the limit drops from 65 to 55. In the past this has rarely been adhered to by most everyone including myself as the road surface is really unchanged. Most work is going on in the median or off to the side. But recently I have started dropping my speed as I have started to notice on more than one occasion an OSP officer right near the begining (or end depending on direction) of this limit change. I figure, why risk it as it's only for about a mile and then the limit resumes and I lose what 30 secs of time?
Today however was a little different. I am headed home so the zapping point of this OSP is going to be coming up at the bottom of the hill right after the limit change. As I come down the hill and around the bend I look up and he's not there. Cool I thought, but then I looked ahead and saw him on the other side with his lights flashing. Whoops. Someone got nailed, but I am glad it's not me. At least he'll be busy I don't have to worry. (I really shouldn't have worried since I was barely doing 5 over, but you never know). But then I looked ahead and at the begining of the off ramp there is another OSP with another customer. Wow I thought. Two in the same place. And not 2 seconds later just 100 yds away is a County Sherrif!! An he has someone pulled over. The is 3 people all pulled over within 1/2 a mile. WOW!
Anyway, I continue homeward and don't think much of it till I get on the highway headed home which has a 45 MPH limit. This particular section of road is rare to see an OSP or Sherrif and the general flow of traffic is about 10+. Today seemed no different, but then there was another OSP with someone on the side of the road. I have now seen 4 people pulled over within 10 minutes of each other. It is not likely that the last OSP I saw was the same I saw on the freeway. I get home just in time to grab my daughter and head out again and traveling back along the same route, I see one more time an OSP with flashing lights. 5 seperate people with in 20 minutes of each other. It is possible that the last two were the same OSP since the incidents only happened about a mile apart on the same stretch of road.
I think that while he did get his just due and probably deserved it for driving drunk, I probably would not have purposefully tried to cause him to wreck. I would have moved over, let him pass me and called it in. I probably would have followed him and given an update to the dispatch as to location and also to make sure that he doesn't inadvertently cause an accident, but I woud not have intentionally done what you did.
Or since you don't want to impeded traffic, you end up passing the street because you don't want to surprise the person behind you with a sudden sharp braking manuver and late turn signal.
The ones that got me that I noticed was the one BEHIND the stopsign. Traffic on the cross street could tell what street they were on, but I couldn't because as I pulled up to the street, the street sign was mounted behind the sign. Then there was the street signs mounted on traffic lights, but instead of in a highly visible location, they were mounted low and again behind the poles. Then there were the ones that were mounted back from the road and buried in bushes or trees. Some intersections had signs missing altogether. Others, while not completely the fault of sign placement, happened when the intersecton was odd and had angled streets meeting each other or street name changes in the middle of the intersection. I guess if I were to get to know the town better this would irritate me less, but still, it's annoying having to constantly back track or second guess where I am.
I guess it's time to TOM TOM.
While a vehicle coasting in nuetral isn't as dangerous, I still think it inhibits the forward motion of the vehicle and would make it more difficult if an evasive manuever needed to be performed if such an occurance happened while coasting down a hill.
SL 65 on 4 lane divided freeway. Several trucks and slower vehicles in the right lane, but right as I got onto the freeway, I ended up behind a couple of cars that were going about 62. I was patient for about a mile or so as they crept past a couple of slower moving trucks, but wished they would find the gas pedal and at leat do the SL. Then when they got past those trucks, there was another bunch about 1/2 mile away, but they chose not to move over, but stay in the left lane and continue at thier 62 MPH. As such they created a blockage in that I couldn't pass on the right even if I tried because of the way they were spaced.
This goes on for several miles. Traffic was indeed a little heavy in the right lane, but there were plenty of opportunities for a quick jump over to the right lane. They weren't moving much faster than the right lane anyway. It wasn't until we crested a hill and started to come down thaty I was able to get by one of them on the right, but had to immediately move back over so that I wouldn't get stuck behind the next set of semi's that happened to be on the road. After passing that one car, I again gave ample opportunity for the car in front to move over. I didn't tailgate, but I did let my presence be known (it's also kind of hard to miss a 3/4 work van), but to no avail. I ended up passing this one on the right as well.
As I continued my journey I kept tabs on the situation until it was too far behind for me to tell, but I wasn't the only one who ended up passing both vehicles on the right. Also as I passed both of these cars, I glanced over and was hoping to give them a "what gives" look, but I didn't even get that pleasure. They were both intently staring ahead oblivious to anything going on around them. Figures....
A few moments later however, I glance in my rearview mirror and I see him getting ready to pull onto the road. I thought that maybe he had a change of heart since it was pretty light traffic and maybe he was bored. But then I noticed in my rear view mirror a silver Grand Prix gaining fast on my. I dutifully moved over (yes, I was in the left lane) and watched this Grand Prix whiz by me. I was going 73, and judging by how fast she went by me, she had to be going at leat 80. Sure enough she was the target as not a few seconds later the OSP whizzed by and flipped on the lights.
On the way home on surface streets I had an older Land Cruiser driven by a teeny-bopper pull out in front of me as I switched from right to left lanes. I thought she had seen my switch lanes and so she was just going to pull into the right lane, but she cut over to the left and then refused to accelerate. As fortune would have it, she crawled at 20 mph to the light where I needed to turn left (hence my real reason for moving to the left lane), and decided at the last second that she also needed to turn left. After turning left onto a road with a limit of 45 she never topped 40. Thankfully she decided to turn left again at the next light while I went straight.
At the next light where I needed to turn left I ended up behind a long line of cars at the the light which doesn't have a dedicated left turn arrow and at time through out the day sorely needs one. There are several occasions where only one or two cars can make it through the light leaving the next ten or so to keep on waiting. I was behind a Dodge Dually and we crept foward and it looked like I might actually get to make it, but I wasn't planning on it. The Dodge crept out into the intersection and then the light turned yellow and then red. Instead of going like she should have since she was already completely past the lines and for all intents and purposes "in the intersection", (her back bumper was a good foot in front of the crosswalk), she decided to pop it in reverse and try and back up. I was still a few inches away from intersection marking line and saw what she wanted to do, but there wasn't a whole lot I could do since there were already several cars behind me. Luckily it was a fairly large intersection and while she looked like a complete dufus, she made it through, though she is lucky that an 18 wheeler or large gravel truck wasn't turning left from the cross traffic.
I didn't think much of this morning, except that this guy is extremely rude thinking he can park here, but I didn't have time to hunt him down or go ask the neighbors if they knew anything about the car and I thought it might be gone by the time I got home anyway. Well it's not, and I tried the nieghbors, but no one seems to be home. I don't know if theyl'll know anything anyway, since the car is more on my propety than theirs and if this car belonged to them why didn't they park in front of thier house?
So now I am wondering do I call the police and have it tagged with a nasty sticker that's a pain in the butt to get off, do I kindly loosen a couple of valve stems on his tires so he thinks he has a flat, do I call a tow truck and have the thing towed, or I can get really nasty a leave a nice long key mark along his door...
Now I really wouldn't do the key thing, but the tire thing is really tempting right now and I am really wondering what kind of recourse I might have?? Can I really have it towed? Of course if it is the neighbors, or a friend of the neighbors, I don't really want to create a rift between us, although his buddy (if indeed the car is a buddy of my neighbor) isn't helping the matter by parking blocking my driveway....
ANd if the car isn't a buddy of my neighbor, to heck with it and I will flatten a tire. I guess that's what it all hinges on... if the guy is a buddy of the neighbor, I might can let it slide provided he doesn't do it again. If not, then I would probably flatten a tire or two...
See more Car Pictures at CarSpace.com
It's rough and crude but hopefully it explains better than what I wrote ?? :sick:
As of this morning the car is still there. If it is still there when I get home this afternoon, I'll call the police and have it towed.
Why the Police didn't impound it or at least move it I don't know, but it was gone be yesterday afternoon. At least I have my full driveway back again. I doubt it would have done much good to call the police anyway since it was Sunday and this is a fairly small town. The last time I needed to call the police on a Sunday I couldn't get a hold of anybody unless I dialed 9-1-1. I wasn't about to do that since this wasn't (neither was the last time) a "real" emergency...
The LLC thing has been beat to death, but I had one today. Granted traffic was fairly heavy, but I tend to think it was the LLC that helped attribute to the problem. I merged onto the freeway and was instantly in a line of cars the was trying to pass several semis and motorhomes. Unfortunately, a couple of semis also decided that they wanted to pass as well. I happened to get stuck in the middle of all this mess with the right lane going about 50 in a 65, with the trucker's speed set at 55 and the left lane stuck at about 60. The trucks would make it past what they were trying to pass and pull back over, yet traffic was still moving at about 60 MPH.
I try seeing further ahead to see what the hold up is. I see a Buick Lucerne about 6 or so cars ahead with no cars in front of it. It was still trying to pass a motor home so I decided to be patient and then hopefully it'll move over and traffic can then resume normal flow. Yet when it gets past the motor home it fails to move over. Further ahead, but still about 1/2 mile or so is another truck, but still plenty of room to move over and let faster traffic past. The 1st couple of cars give him a few moments to move over and when he does not, they proceed to try and pass on the right.
When they do this, the Buick speeds up to about 70ish and thus only one car is able to get past on the right before the gap closes because of the semi in the right lane. Then passing the semi, the Buick slows down to 60 MPH again and mopes past the truck. Yet when it gets past, he jumps the speed back up to 70-75 MPH and won't move over. Another cars decides to pass on the right and probably hit 90 to get by him before the gap closed again. Once again while passing another set of trucks he slows down to 60 and when he gets past, he speeds back up to 70ish and won't move over.
After about the 4th time I am finally the one directly behind him and as he finishes his pass, I'll admit that I tailgated a little closer than I probably should have, but I was actually preparing to floor it and get past him on the right. I knew that it was going to take all I could muster out of my 17 year old 3/4 ton van to get it past this will imposing dufus and then back over before the next semi in the right lane. I must have scared him with the image of this montrous vehicle in his rear view mirror because he finally moved over right as I was flipping my signal and getting ready to hit the gas to pass on the right.
I still hit the gas, but stayed in the left lane, but wouldn't you know it, he sped up as well and I was doing almost 80 before I could get past him. By then I was doing 15 over and it was good enough for a ticket, but the road was flat and straight, and I didn't want to get stuck behind this guy in yet another passing fiasco. So I kept the it floored and made it past and then put some distance between myself and Mr Buick.... Then I slowed it back down to my usual 70ish in the 65 which is the normal flow of traffic.
Have a great Day!!!!
How to Drive in Phoenix
1. You must first learn to pronounce the city name. It is "FEE-NICKS".
2. The morning rush hour is from 5:00am to noon. The evening rush hour is
from noon to 7:00pm. Friday's rush hour starts on Thursday morning.
3. The minimum acceptable speed on most freeways is 85 mph. On Loop 101,
your speed is expected to match the highway number. Anything less is
considered "wussy".
4. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Phoenix has its own
version of traffic rules. For example, cars/trucks with the loudest muffler
go first at a four-way stop; the trucks with the biggest tires go second.
However, East Valley , SUV-driving, cell phone-talking moms ALWAYS have the
right of way.
5. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear ended, cussed
out, and possibly shot.
6. Never honk at anyone...ever! Seriously! It's another offense that can get
you shot.
7. Road construction is permanent and continuous in Phoenix . Detour barrels
are moved around for your entertainment pleasure during the middle of the
night to make the next day's driving a bit more exciting.
8. Watch carefully for road hazards such as drunks, skunks, dogs, barrels,
cones, cows, horses, cats, mattresses, shredded tires, squirrels, rabbits,
crows, vultures, javelinas, roadrunners, and the coyotes feeding on any of
these items.
9. Maricopa Freeway, Papago Freeway and the "I-10" are the same road.
SR-202 is the same road as The Red Mountain FWY. Dunlap and Olive are the
same street, too. Jefferson becomes Washington , but they are not the same
street. I-17 is also called The Black Canyon Freeway, as well as, The
Veterans Memorial Highway, and if all that isn't enough to remember, SR-51
has recently been renamed Piestewa Freeway because Squaw Peak Parkway was
too easy pronounce. SR-101 is also the Pima FWY, except west of I-17, which
is also The Black Canyon FWY, and The Veterans Memorial HWY, west of I-17,
it is known as the Agua Fria FWY. Lastly, Thunderbird Rd. becomes Cactus Rd.
, but Cactus Rd. does not become Thunderbird Rd. because it dead-ends at a
mountain.
10. If someone actually has their turn signal on, wave them to the shoulder
immediately to let them know it has been "accidentally activated."
11. If you are in the left lane and only driving 70 in a 55-65 mph zone, you
are considered a road hazard and will be "flipped off" accordingly. If you
return the flip, you'll be shot.
12. For summer driving, it is advisable to wear potholders on your hands
in lane closures, if people could just learn to zipper merge that would be the simplest way.
I had a car wave at me today at a 4-way stop. I even watched him come to a complete stop while I was still waiting for the car in front me to go. Then I pulled to the line and he waved me through. Since it was just him and me there I just went. I'm not going to sit around and wave him back just so I can keep to the 1st come rule...
Had there been a red light camera there, should I have been ticketed???
Instead, as I was checking my mirrors, I saw him wave me over (I had yet to put on my signal as I wasn't ready to switch lanes until he passed). I stuck my hand out the window, gave him a wave back, hit the signal and gas and went around the truck and kept on my merry way...
That doesn't happen to often. Usually, it's wait for the car to creep past you, then creep past the semi, then wait for ever to get back over and then once over, hitting the gas to repeat the cycle all over again at the next truck...
Which surprises me that they are not policing the school zones very heavily. I would have thought that with the start of school, the police would be out making sure people are slowing down and not hitting some poor kid... And this is one place where I wouldn't argue with more enforcement. Last thing we need is a hit kid by some moron who failed to notice a school sign let alone a kid in a crosswalk.
While I think it would also be neat to use to keep an eye on kids and how fast they are driving and where they are and being able control the vehicle, I know how I would feel if this kind of technology had been around when I was a driving teen and I wouldn't have liked it one bit.
I much prefer to be able to trust my kids when they get to that age... but then again they ain't there yet. So I guess I'll sit on the fence on this one for a while.