I also got behind a couple of older women in a Legacy wagon who were the most timid things
Funny, I was following a 1st generation Legacy Friday afternoon, but it must have been a different driver... cruising on the highway to the coast at 65-70 mph. That may seem a bit fast for "two lane blacktop", but the road was clear, the weather was great, and traffic was almost non-existent.
I just followed along about a 1/4 mile back. He was driving quick and clean. No inconsiderate drivers in sight.
I stopped just past Elkton to by a used "Craigslist" rototiller and a chainsaw from a 50-something couple who were selling their excess possessions and "giving their house back to the bank". Hard times for some people now.
What's the limit? 60? Nothing wrong with 65-70 in a 60 on a nice low traffic day, seeing as that 60 was set to be safe for a drunk driving a double decker bus in a snowstorm.
It's actually 55, however, this also included going around corners marked 40-45.
We don't see a lot of double-decker buses around here, but your really have to watch out for the log trucks. That is, you USED to have to watch out for the log trucks before the economy went south and the mills closed down.
Which reminds me of the time that I saw a chip truck pass a car AND a moving-van on a blind corner on the coast road to Coos Bay. :surprise:
I just hung way back and said to myself, "No freaking way, that's CRAZY!". :sick:
My mother lives in a podunk area that had a lot of log truck traffic back in the day, and still might have a little, although another mill did just close. It's always been a regular occurrence for those guys to roll the rigs and lose the loads by going too fast in corners, even in residential areas. So many of those rigs would be shockingly unmaintained - bald tires and the whole lot.
Driving behind an overloaded chip truck was always fun, like it was snowing :shades:
What that woman did makes sense to me, not as a good driver, but as a driver that is unsure of what to do, so be "safe", i.e. stopping to make sure its safe.
I was trying to make a stop on a very slow driver near the Caldecott Tunnel which connects one county to another. No shoulders, just two lanes west bound at that time. I put the red light on about 1/2 mile before the tunnel. The driver just kept going and when she got into the tunnel, she just stopped in the slow lane.
Needless to say, what you mentioned, reminded me of that kind lady that stopped in the tunnel. Oh, and not to deny the men, there were times that they did the relatively same thing, sometimes in the FAST lane of a freeway!!! Oh what fun it was!!!!!!glad I am gone.
It makes me sad oregonboy to see people having to give up their homes. I hope we can get through this as a country and people can continue to keep their homes.
And fintail, I bet that woman did indeed fight, kick, bite, and complain about how the LA PD arrested her. She seems to need "anger management classes and/or therapy. I hope she comes out of it ok.
I see some scary stuff when a cop or ambulance is behind cars with their lights on, too. I do not envy emergency response drivers. People are either oblivious and don't move over, or they freeze and stop like you describe. Around here on divided roads, the opposite lane often stops as well if there is a car with its emergency lights heading the other way - even if there is a barrier or a deep median which no vehicle could cross.
"people can continue to keep their homes." is a nice sentiment.
However, OTOH, I find it difficult to generate sympathy for the home buyer who bought above his ability to pay at the peak of the market and is now trying to keep a $250,000 home while paying on a $400,000 mortgage.
Those who have been living at or below their means should not in any way shape or form be obligated and forced to bail out the undeserved mortagor.
Renting a down sized apartment is not a bad thing.
I was stopped yesterday at a light and one of those hugh oversized pickup trucks pulls up behind me. I quickly glance at it in my rear view mirror and saw no one in it. I looked again and saw just the very top of a grey head in both the drivers seat and passenger seat. But you could barely see them sitting in that truck.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I get to drive the big red truck about two shifts per month, sometimes more often. I could write a book...
And they pull to the left sometimes too...
Best thing I have found to do if the folks in front of me aren't figuring it out? I slow down a bit... gives them a chance to consider their options, gives me a chance to respond to their actions, and realistically, it probably doesn't delay my response time all that much - I'd probably be sitting on their bumpers waiting for them to make up their minds anyway.
I have empathy for people who purchased a home, and then develop an inability to make payments due to maybe dishonest realitors/job loss/disability, fill in here, and then lose their home. That is all I was saying.
We almost lost our home due to my injury, and having to bring an action at law to win a salary continuation untill I was retired. Then I received my monthly retirement renumeration.
I just wanted to say in my previous post that I have empathy for people who may/do lose their homes. JMO.
I hope I did not offended anyone but that is how I feel. Good luck to all and stay safe.
a chip truck hauls away the sawdust and "leavings" from processing the lumber? maybe takes it to another mill/factory to make it into OSB and pressboard?
a chip truck hauls away the sawdust and "leavings" from processing the lumber? maybe takes it to another mill/factory to make it into OSB and pressboard?
I'm thinking of something that I always called an "Asplundh truck", usually a medium-duty flatbed with a cover, with a chipper shredder in tow. Haven't seen that company's trucks around these parts in ages, though. They were a 2-tone orange/black, as I recall, and you always saw them trimming trees and branches around telephone lines.
Tazereli is correct re: chip trucks. They are large box semi trailers that are filled with small wood chips - when uncovered they become airborne and litter the road behind the truck. I think the chips are used for pressboard and composite products.
We have Asplundh trucks here too, used in some kind of landscaping function.
I've worked in the wood-products industry for 18 years and, yes chips are primarily used for paper pulp. The same trucks are used to haul sawdust, planer shavings, and plywood trim, all of which are used for pressboard, (and Presto-Logs, I suppose) but not paper. Chips are generally too expensive to be used in pressboard (particleboard, hardboard, and MDF)
An interesting thing about the chip trailers is the design of the bottom, which is visible from the side. It is sloped in such a way that when they tip up the entire truck, the chips all slide out the back of the trailer.
Yes, the do pick up the entire truck-trailer combo to a near vertical position. :surprise: Too cool.
To be on-topic, a truck hauling a load of our chips cut a corner too closely at a railroad crossing and clipped a rail car that was parked there. The contact tore a the side of the trailer open and a large portion of the chips poured out on the road... very inconsiderate!
I did a canoe shuttle in Quebec a decade ago using the minivan and the driver we hired hooked up a CB. Every kilometer he would grab the mike and announce our "mile" marker; the logging trucks did likewise. You didn't want to meet one unexpectedly on the narrow gravel road and we were told they have the right of way up there.
Just got back from a round trip to Indianapolis -- home now in central VA. Over 1,000 miles and I didn't use the horn once. We took our time and avoided the interstates for the most part, the main exception being I-64 in Virginia and eastern West Virginia.
It always amazes me how deserted the "back" roads are. US 11 in VA parallels the always-busy I-81 and is 3 or 4 lanes in most places with a max 55 mph speed limit. US 60 in WV is a twisty mountain 2-lane road that's fun to drive on. Much of US 35 in Ohio is built to interstate standards with the same 65-mph limit but has very little traffic. US 40 in Indiana is 4-lane divided with a 60 mph max limit. It passes through several neat little towns between the Ohio border and Indy. So much more to see, enjoy, and photograph and FAR fewer semis to deal with!
"Officials say New Jersey has become the first state to require new drivers to display identifying decals on their vehicles in an attempt to curb teen driving deaths.
Motor vehicle officials say the decals will probably be a small reflective rectangle attached to the front and rear license plates to help police enforce restrictions for provisional drivers."
The question now is how do you make sure that teens only drive cars with those decals? The decal tags the car not the driver.
Now lets say that I have a teenage driver buy s/he drives the family car, does that car need the decal even though s/he will drive it only say 10-20% of the time?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
We have some "specific to teenage drivers" here in CA state. The fact is it is done on the honor system and nobody really knows the teen "cheating rate". Penalties when caught however can be plenty severe. I do know when my daughters were teen drivers, we more importantly, they self policed and strictly observed it. I should know, they called ME after hours to pick them up.
Down here in Disneyland I'm seeing more people cutting into the exit ramps at the last minute. Even when the lane is clear and certain exits do back up, people will wait to the very end then slow down or even stop and block the through lane on the freeway to try to get over. Drives me nuts.
Ok it's late Sunday afternoon overcast with light rain but bright enough to see well. Two lane road in distant suburbs (built up but with plenty of open space) coming up to a T intersection with me on the through road. Traffic light is out but a stop sign is up and clearly visible. As I am approaching (about a half mile or so before the intersection) a van comes up on my rear fast (SL is 45 I am doing about 50).
I slow down and prepare to stop and I see someone on the terminating road do the same thing. Now I am turning right so I get into a right turn lane as 1.) the car on the other road proceeds to go through the intersection and 2.) the van behind me gunned it and blew past me and the stop sign.
Of course the van rams right into the front end of the car :sick:
Everyone seems ok.
I called the police and stayed around and gave my eye witness account.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Oh! Yikes - I bet that was not pretty at all. At least it worked out well for the occupants; that one could have been quite a nasty crash. It is amazing how obvious things can seem, yet other drivers in the same conditions, same road, etc., see completely different things.
My family is currently driving from Fairbanks, AK, down to Pennsylvania. So far, after about 2700 miles, we have encountered very little in the way of inconsiderate drivers. One driver did give me a bit of a scare two days ago in Alberta, though.
We were driving on a 110-kph limited two laner between Grand Prairie and Edmonton. I was driving 70 mph, and there was a large Dodge dually with a trailer behind me traveling the same speed. Behind that Dodge was a small gold-colored car with blacked-out windows, but I did not know that car was there initially.
This road was rather interesting, as every place there was a left turn, there would be a "tacked on" lane that would open up to the right of the main traveling lane to allow traffic around any vehicles turning left at the intersection.
At this particular spot, I wanted to turn left toward a provincial park. I signaled my turn and began slowing. The Dodge used the "go around" lane on the right. I continued to slow. As a matter of habit, I checked my rearview mirror as I was at around 30 mph.... Surprise! There was this gold-colored car, bearing down fast (probably 70+). Just about that time, I hear its tires lock up. Lucky for me, the oncoming lane was clear so I ducked to the left into the oncoming lane; the little car behind me skidded up beside me then goosed the throttle and took off.
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
I am still amazed what a split second, i.e. one second can do to change the direction of a person's life. Your post and snakeweasel's post reminds me of what one second can mean to an accident vs. safety. Both of you posted, at least to me, a picture I could see as it brought back memories for me too.
A set of doubles going thru a stop sign must have really clobbered that other car, and the yellow car really could have mangled your car xwesx. Glad that both of you are safe.
Have a safe trip xwesx. Good luck to all and stay SAFE.
"The zigzag lines, painted right down the middle of each lane, will certainly cause drivers to focus on the road and probably cause them to slow down."
Almost as lame as the WSDOT and WSP teaming up in a hurricane of overpaid idiocy to spend tens of thousands to put big dots on I5 to make people mindful of following distances...it did nothing but create bottlenecks and gridlock. It's a special kind of lobotomy that is used as a credential to get people these transportation planning jobs.
> put big dots on I5 to make people mindful of following distances...
How was that supposed to work.
Here in the midwest we just count seconds to see if adequate stopping time exists after the preceding vehicle passes a fixed object. Of course many people don't pay any attention to that.
I think people were supposed to count the time between dots. As if counting the distance between a road marker etc. was too tough. The end result was like the zigzags on the road - a huge distraction that took focus away from actually driving.
Around here on the highway people either drive 2 feet behind the car in front of them, or a quarter mile behind the car in front of them, increasing the distance and slowing down more each time a car invades their comfort zone.
My guess is that the dots were set apart at a proper distance that if you were following at the proper distance one dot would disappear under your hood as the next dot would appear from under the car infront of you. Hence if you always see at least one dot you are ok, but if you occasionally do not see a dot you are to close.
Of course that would only work at one set speed.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Dont' want to sound like an old grouch but am I ever getting sick of them.
And this area (Seattle) has to be th bicycle capital of the world. Every day, I have to pass, leterally dozens of them. They wobble weave sometimes and I fear they will topple over in front of me. Sometimes instead of riding single file, they will ride next to each other blocking the lanes.
And some of the riders are so arrogant I want to set them on their butts sometimes.
took a vacation into NJ. A state full of inconsiderate drivers. After a few days there, I was leaving, finally. As I headed west on I-80 to the delaware water gap, I came upon the toll booths at the border to Pa. Finally I can get out of this state I was thinking. As I slowed to throw coins in the basket to pay my toll, I was beeped at one last time by someone behind me who was annoyed that my Astro's rear center pillar was keeping me from seeing their angry expression. They were angry because I couldn't throw coins at 10 mph and had to almost stop to throw them in the basket. As they beeped at me, I was interupted in telling my family how glad I was to be leaving NJ because of the inconsiderate drivers..
And some of the riders are so arrogant I want to set them on their butts sometimes.
Arrogant and inconsiderate. That time of year now until October, where pleasure bicyclists come to our area on Saturdays and Sundays and try to take over the roads by riding 2, 3, 4 abreast, blow through stop signs, etc. Sometimes you might find some who ride single file. Why don't they just walk or jog, which is far superior excercise than riding a bike. They can ride bikes or walk/jog in their own neighborhood and don't have to waste gas driving their vehicles, with bikes aboard, to another area.
I also think that bicycle riders can also fall into self righteous attitudinal traps. Anyone can speculate anyone else's matrix of reasons. I think financial responsibility laws and actual enforcement should straigten em out to at least the level of where passenger cars are.
Last week I had to pass a couiple of bicycles only to have them catch with me as the traffic slowed. they passed me and they decided to take the bus.
Well the buses here have bicycle racks mounted on the front to encourage this.
The bicyclists could'nt figure out how to mount the bicycles so the bus driver had to get out and show them how. Meanwhile traffic backed up over a block!
Comments
Funny, I was following a 1st generation Legacy Friday afternoon, but it must have been a different driver... cruising on the highway to the coast at 65-70 mph. That may seem a bit fast for "two lane blacktop", but the road was clear, the weather was great, and traffic was almost non-existent.
I just followed along about a 1/4 mile back. He was driving quick and clean. No inconsiderate drivers in sight.
I stopped just past Elkton to by a used "Craigslist" rototiller and a chainsaw from a 50-something couple who were selling their excess possessions and "giving their house back to the bank". Hard times for some people now.
We don't see a lot of double-decker buses around here, but your really have to watch out for the log trucks. That is, you USED to have to watch out for the log trucks before the economy went south and the mills closed down.
Which reminds me of the time that I saw a chip truck pass a car AND a moving-van on a blind corner on the coast road to Coos Bay. :surprise:
I just hung way back and said to myself, "No freaking way, that's CRAZY!". :sick:
Driving behind an overloaded chip truck was always fun, like it was snowing :shades:
I was trying to make a stop on a very slow driver near the Caldecott Tunnel which connects one county to another. No shoulders, just two lanes west bound at that time. I put the red light on about 1/2 mile before the tunnel. The driver just kept going and when she got into the tunnel, she just stopped in the slow lane.
Needless to say, what you mentioned, reminded me of that kind lady that stopped in the tunnel. Oh, and not to deny the men, there were times that they did the relatively same thing, sometimes in the FAST lane of a freeway!!! Oh what fun it was!!!!!!glad I am gone.
It makes me sad oregonboy to see people having to give up their homes. I hope we can get through this as a country and people can continue to keep their homes.
And fintail, I bet that woman did indeed fight, kick, bite, and complain about how the LA PD arrested her. She seems to need "anger management classes and/or therapy. I hope she comes out of it ok.
Good luck to all and stay safe.
jensad
However, OTOH, I find it difficult to generate sympathy for the home buyer who bought above his ability to pay at the peak of the market and is now trying to keep a $250,000 home while paying on a $400,000 mortgage.
Those who have been living at or below their means should not in any way shape or form be obligated and forced to bail out the undeserved mortagor.
Renting a down sized apartment is not a bad thing.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
And they pull to the left sometimes too...
Best thing I have found to do if the folks in front of me aren't figuring it out?
I slow down a bit... gives them a chance to consider their options, gives me a chance to respond to their actions, and realistically, it probably doesn't delay my response time all that much - I'd probably be sitting on their bumpers waiting for them to make up their minds anyway.
Cheers!
Paul
We almost lost our home due to my injury, and having to bring an action at law to win a salary continuation untill I was retired. Then I received my monthly retirement renumeration.
I just wanted to say in my previous post that I have empathy for people who may/do lose their homes. JMO.
I hope I did not offended anyone but that is how I feel. Good luck to all and stay safe.
jensad
Kyle
from the right coast in Philly...
I'm thinking of something that I always called an "Asplundh truck", usually a medium-duty flatbed with a cover, with a chipper shredder in tow. Haven't seen that company's trucks around these parts in ages, though. They were a 2-tone orange/black, as I recall, and you always saw them trimming trees and branches around telephone lines.
We have Asplundh trucks here too, used in some kind of landscaping function.
An interesting thing about the chip trailers is the design of the bottom, which is visible from the side. It is sloped in such a way that when they tip up the entire truck, the chips all slide out the back of the trailer.
Yes, the do pick up the entire truck-trailer combo to a near vertical position. :surprise:
Too cool.
To be on-topic, a truck hauling a load of our chips cut a corner too closely at a railroad crossing and clipped a rail car that was parked there. The contact tore a the side of the trailer open and a large portion of the chips poured out on the road... very inconsiderate!
I did a canoe shuttle in Quebec a decade ago using the minivan and the driver we hired hooked up a CB. Every kilometer he would grab the mike and announce our "mile" marker; the logging trucks did likewise. You didn't want to meet one unexpectedly on the narrow gravel road and we were told they have the right of way up there.
Just got back from a round trip to Indianapolis -- home now in central VA. Over 1,000 miles and I didn't use the horn once. We took our time and avoided the interstates for the most part, the main exception being I-64 in Virginia and eastern West Virginia.
It always amazes me how deserted the "back" roads are. US 11 in VA parallels the always-busy I-81 and is 3 or 4 lanes in most places with a max 55 mph speed limit. US 60 in WV is a twisty mountain 2-lane road that's fun to drive on. Much of US 35 in Ohio is built to interstate standards with the same 65-mph limit but has very little traffic. US 40 in Indiana is 4-lane divided with a 60 mph max limit. It passes through several neat little towns between the Ohio border and Indy. So much more to see, enjoy, and photograph and FAR fewer semis to deal with!
Motor vehicle officials say the decals will probably be a small reflective rectangle attached to the front and rear license plates to help police enforce restrictions for provisional drivers."
NJ tags novice drivers with identifying decal (AP)
Substitute inconsiderate for provisional and watch the number of triangles grow.
Now lets say that I have a teenage driver buy s/he drives the family car, does that car need the decal even though s/he will drive it only say 10-20% of the time?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Down here in Disneyland I'm seeing more people cutting into the exit ramps at the last minute. Even when the lane is clear and certain exits do back up, people will wait to the very end then slow down or even stop and block the through lane on the freeway to try to get over. Drives me nuts.
I slow down and prepare to stop and I see someone on the terminating road do the same thing. Now I am turning right so I get into a right turn lane as 1.) the car on the other road proceeds to go through the intersection and 2.) the van behind me gunned it and blew past me and the stop sign.
Of course the van rams right into the front end of the car :sick:
Everyone seems ok.
I called the police and stayed around and gave my eye witness account.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
My family is currently driving from Fairbanks, AK, down to Pennsylvania. So far, after about 2700 miles, we have encountered very little in the way of inconsiderate drivers. One driver did give me a bit of a scare two days ago in Alberta, though.
We were driving on a 110-kph limited two laner between Grand Prairie and Edmonton. I was driving 70 mph, and there was a large Dodge dually with a trailer behind me traveling the same speed. Behind that Dodge was a small gold-colored car with blacked-out windows, but I did not know that car was there initially.
This road was rather interesting, as every place there was a left turn, there would be a "tacked on" lane that would open up to the right of the main traveling lane to allow traffic around any vehicles turning left at the intersection.
At this particular spot, I wanted to turn left toward a provincial park. I signaled my turn and began slowing. The Dodge used the "go around" lane on the right. I continued to slow. As a matter of habit, I checked my rearview mirror as I was at around 30 mph.... Surprise! There was this gold-colored car, bearing down fast (probably 70+). Just about that time, I hear its tires lock up. Lucky for me, the oncoming lane was clear so I ducked to the left into the oncoming lane; the little car behind me skidded up beside me then goosed the throttle and took off.
A set of doubles going thru a stop sign must have really clobbered that other car, and the yellow car really could have mangled your car xwesx. Glad that both of you are safe.
Have a safe trip xwesx. Good luck to all and stay SAFE.
jensad
VDOT Tries Paint to Promote Road Safety (Washington Post)
How was that supposed to work.
Here in the midwest we just count seconds to see if adequate stopping time exists after the preceding vehicle passes a fixed object. Of course many people don't pay any attention to that.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Around here on the highway people either drive 2 feet behind the car in front of them, or a quarter mile behind the car in front of them, increasing the distance and slowing down more each time a car invades their comfort zone.
I just think it was a combination of ignorance of the rules of the road and a "Its my road" attitude.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
My guess is that the dots were set apart at a proper distance that if you were following at the proper distance one dot would disappear under your hood as the next dot would appear from under the car infront of you. Hence if you always see at least one dot you are ok, but if you occasionally do not see a dot you are to close.
Of course that would only work at one set speed.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
And this area (Seattle) has to be th bicycle capital of the world. Every day, I have to pass, leterally dozens of them. They wobble weave sometimes and I fear they will topple over in front of me. Sometimes instead of riding single file, they will ride next to each other blocking the lanes.
And some of the riders are so arrogant I want to set them on their butts sometimes.
OK, I'm better now!
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Ohhh ahh hhahhahahhahahh!!!!! :P :sick:
Arrogant and inconsiderate. That time of year now until October, where pleasure bicyclists come to our area on Saturdays and Sundays and try to take over the roads by riding 2, 3, 4 abreast, blow through stop signs, etc. Sometimes you might find some who ride single file. Why don't they just walk or jog, which is far superior excercise than riding a bike. They can ride bikes or walk/jog in their own neighborhood and don't have to waste gas driving their vehicles, with bikes aboard, to another area.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Well the buses here have bicycle racks mounted on the front to encourage this.
The bicyclists could'nt figure out how to mount the bicycles so the bus driver had to get out and show them how. Meanwhile traffic backed up over a block!
Funny how we cater to them?
Hey now, don't lump us all into the same category, there are plenty of us bicyclists who are considerate and follow the rules of the road.
Why don't they just walk or jog, which is far superior exercise than riding a bike.
You have never excercized on a bike with me. Also note that running and jogging will damage your feet and knees, biking doesn't.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
My feet and knees suffered no damage...but...
I use clipless pedals so no slipping.
or have it freewheel while you were standing up?
Nope.
My feet and knees suffered no damage
How long have you been running? Some people suffer damage in less than a year, some may take 20+ years.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
If you've ever done that, you would remember.
I have had gears slip but never had it cause anything near hitting any part of the bike.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D