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That is the one that bugs me the most, probably because the vast majority of roadways on which I travel are of this type. In particular, I think I recounted a situation that involved this a few years back when hauling a 35' trailer down to Oregon.
In general, I tend to employ fintail's technique with those drivers - I just make a point to pass them anyway. If they keep driving fast in the double-lane area (which they often do not unless others are passing them as well), I am just sure to keep my speed up until the passing lane ends. After that, I resume the speed I wanted to drive originally and the pokey driver usually falls far behind over the next several miles.
I think it is just a space = comfort mentality. You can post a speed limit of 25 in a residential district, but if the road is wide and open, people will fly along at 40-50. Take that same road, shave off the shoulders, and line it with trees, and those same drivers will drive 20. Regardless of speed, you and I both know they would hit a child if one ran out in front of them because they are not paying attention... they're just using their auto-pilot presets. :P
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I almost forgot, the "death grip drivers" tend to operate out of fear and will try to control the ENTIRE freeway as happened to my wife and I as we tried to get by this male driver on I 5 at 35-40 mph in the left lane of a two lane freeway!
I think many of us here would rather have a courteous driver yield to us and allow us to pass/drive w/o their interference with us.
Oh I don't remember the exact figures, but in Ca, there are millions of drivers on the roadway w/o driver's licenses, underage/legally blind/revoked licenses/fill in here. And I am not kidding as to the millions. When I retired in 1980, the stats said about 3 million or more and they got to be more today.
One thing I noticed when my wife and I were visiting our son in Illinois was coming from OHare driving to Rockford, I observed many more troopers in that small space than I would note in Ca. during my entire trip to LA. I'll count the troopers again this Sept when we fly back to see the family and I'll bet there are still many more than here in Ca.
Good luck to all and stay safe this 4th July period.
jensad
Good luck to all and stay safe.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
It amazes me how many people express their dislike for Obama on these forums. It must have something to do with his automotive preferences, since this is a car discussion forum.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I'd like to get a Nissan Rogue and put a Palin sticker on it...she's about as rogue as a Rogue :shades:
One customer ordered up a whole bunch of "Impeach Clinton" bumper stickers... During the setup process, somehow a larger than usual number of set-up stickers were produced. There is always a small amount of setup printing involved to check ink quality, offsets, color matching etc, etc, but this was a plain white sticker with black lettering. Nothing fancy. I, as did a few other people, ended up with a stack of several hundred and a couple made it onto my vehicle and various others of my friends. These stickers floated around for months it seems... I never removed mine from the tailgate of my truck. I often wonder if it's still out there... :shades:
OK here is the story, I was stopped at a red light and I was talking to the passenger not really paying much attention. The light turned green but I didn't notice it at first. When I first noticed my light was green I started to go through when some clown on the cross street ran the red light. :sick:
The chances would have been good that we would have gotten into a accident if I went when the light changed.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
All joking aside, I am glad you are okay.
Speed limits seemed a bit low here at first but the roads are mostly narrow two lanes. 55 and 60 seem fine now that I'm used to it a bit. And I've noticed more cops that I see in Idaho.
I was approaching an intersection a mile away with some increased side road traffic this afternoon and as I was gradually slowing to the marked 45 mph speed limit, I was passed by a Texan still going 60. Late for his spa appointment, I'm sure.
Oh, driving down last week south of Salt Lake City on the interstate, 3 lanes had to merge in a construction zone because of emergency vehicles coming up behind us in the left lane, including a large fire truck. So everyone slowed and moved over and the ambulances and trucks got beyond us. Congestion was heavy - what was amazing was that as we approached the one car rollover on the median, everyone sped up. I still can't believe that no one braked or slowed to rubberneck the injury accident.
I would, however, place the famous quote by Mark Twain on my car. "Politicians and diapers should be changed often. And for the same reason." That seems to fit the most.
On the way home on Thursday, near the same spot but different side of the road, a couple police cars had the right lane partially blocked and there werre cops standing around. As I got closer, I could see that they had boxed in a small herd of 5 or 6 goats, and were trying to keep them out of the road!
Idiot award goes to the older small foreign car like an 80s Datsun or toyota, with two small motorcycles strapped on the back with bungie (spelling?) cords. There may have been other stuff on the outside top of the trunk with the scooters. AND the car had Florida plates. I was tempted to call the State Patrol to have them check that car for safety, but I didn't. Those small cycles were going to break those cords after several miles of bumps and shifts, resulting in the scooters falling off. I'd like to know how far they got before they lost the cycles.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
To all have a peaceful and sparkley 4th. God bless.
jensad
Yesterday I laid on the horn because a greybeard boomer in a jacked up diesel truck with his woman and dog (hard to tell them apart) in the front seat turned off a busy 35mph road at about 2mph, causing sharp and dangerous slowing. He had his window down, and shook his fist at me. How dare I ask him to drive like an actual person. These 60 year olds are going to be scarier than hell in about 20 more years. Present company excluded of course.
!!!!!!!!!! :P
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Would like to have a rocket launcher to wake some of these people up! And those clowns who during stop and go traffic feel the need to jump over into an entrance ramp, charge ahead, then cut back in all to pass a couple of cars. Morons.
Anyway, I managed to hit all 3 lights today. At each one was a stack of cars. There is a good half mile between each light and at least 3/4 between the 2nd and 3rd light. The speed limit is 55 the entire stretch. I don't think I got above 45. Not once before having to slow down for the light. The light would change and I traffic just SLOWLY, pulled away from the light like it was a Sunday afternoon or something. Eventually we all reached 40ish some odd miles an hour... oh then it was time to slow down for the light... 300 yards away.
I respect a motorcyclist like any other motorist, but only see few older guys usually on Harleys who respect and drive the way they are suppose to.
These young 20 somethings on crotch rockets play chicken and act irresponsibly. Then when they get maimed or wreck it's always the car drivers fault.
Like if a Rottweiler bites a chihuahua when the little dog instigates. The bigger is always blamed :P
Start seeing pedestrians. 87th Harlem plaza has speed bumps but people esp in SUVs try to run us down
Its like they are stuck. I sit there over 10 minutes nothing coming light stays red.
78th Ave Bridgeview is good for that as well as 111th/Roberts Palos Hills. 111th Roberts has red light cam also.
If they are going to install these invasive cams, regularly maintain these lights to make sure they are timed right
When I see that I speed up and stay ahead and/r stay back and hope the get off the freeway as they MAY cause an accident and not be in the accident they just caused.
Of all of the above, fear I think dominates many of the "bad drivers" out there.
Good luck to all and stay safe.
jensad
Young crotch rocket riders and their fathers on Nimitz-class Harleys are both best avoided, IMO.
I see in my area the stupid "85% of drivers" "thought speed limit doesn't apply to them" pseudo-traffic safety ad is back on the air...such ignorant alarmism...if I could meet the person who made that ad, I'd punch them in the mouth...and my tax money gets to pay for it :sick:
The intersection in front of our home is a four way stop with one road going off at an odd angle, so it's imperative that you know who is "next in line" as you proceed so you don't cut someone off.
As I leave the neighborhood, I always make it a point to come to a full and complete stop at this intersection and make sure it's clear before I proceed. Oftentimes, one car will not have cleared the intersection when the car behind it is already proceeding through, not even letting someone from one of the other streets have his rightful "turn."
Sure enough, a couple of weeks ago, I was leaving the neighborhood, pulled up to the stop sign, stopped and did the mental "one thousand one, one thousand two" count as another car approached from my right. I was definitely AT the intersection first. Before I could finish my two count, he passed by the stop sign, slowing down but not stopping at all.
I turned out into the street and followed him, but it was hard since he was also speeding. I was doing 35 MPH, the speed limit, and he was increasing the gap between us, so that's how I guessed he was speeding. When we got to the next intersection, I was able to snag his license plate and a description of his car.
I then turned him into our county police department using an online form for such complaints. The next day I got a call from an officer who told me they were tracking down the driver and were going to give him a call at work. They can't, of course, give him a ticket, but they CAN tell him, "You've been observed violating traffic laws at such and such location. Please be aware people are watching and drive more safely in the future." The officer just wanted me to know they take these complaints seriously and do investigate them when they are given all needed info. The officer even called back the next day to let me know he'd spoken to the driver who, of course, had no memory of the event. But the cop said I had the description of the car and driver correct so he didn't doubt I'd seen the guy.
Anyway, I bet the guy was trying to cover up, but no matter what, it must sure be sobering to get a call from a police officer like that. The cop didn't divulge my info to the driver, so I have no fear of repercussions, but I told the officer he could if need be.
I plan to try to capture tag numbers on cars more often now knowing the cops are happy to pay a visit or give a phone call where needed. I know this isn't the best solution to the problem, but since the cops can't be everywhere all the time, this is a good substitute.
I believe that MOST drivers commit a minor "roll on the stop", if there is no need to wait. It is easier on the equipment (slightly), saves fuel (slightly), is more comfortable for the passengers (slightly), and usually goes unpunished. I don't think that it is necessarily a bad thing, if done with care. :shades:
In the end that should make a few people more alert to doing the right thing at stops and speeding.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Runner up - "new resident" female in a Q7 making an insane U-turn on a fairly narrow street. Drivers licensing standards must be insanely low, or maybe some just buy their paperwork.
Honorable mention - accident involving a C-class and a cyclist. I only saw the aftermath...ambulance left empty, so apparently nothing serious. Knowing some of the aggressive [non-permissible content removed] cyclists in the area of the incident, I'll bet a good sum of money that the bike cut in front of the car.
Regarding calling in the scofflaws...it's good in principle, but IMO too easy to abuse unless you are tailing a suspected drunk and can point out the bad driver in action. And a good reason to have an unlisted number or no landline at all. If I got a call or a letter about an anonymous voice calling in an unspecified infraction committed by me, I'd laugh and hang up and/or put the paper in the recycle bin.
I don't need a dedicated arrow to tell me when it is safe to turn (helpful at BUSY intersections) a right turn only because it is "unsafe" to turn left so now i have to go WAY out of the way just to make that left, a speed limit that says I can only go so fast on a wide open stretch of highway, etc, etc,.....
I do however go slow in school zones, make my complete stops at 4-ways, don't speed egregiously and pass only when deemed safe to do so (often not coincided with markings on the road).I don't think I am an unsafe driver, just one who refuses to be inhibited by so called "safe laws" and those who think they actually know better. Not that I know better than they do, but I do know my limits and abilities and my vehicle's limits and abilities so I feel that I have a pretty good idea of what is safe and what is not...
also one can install a car-vid-camera and capture the plate #s later, and provide a video to the cops and your local TV station or bad-driver dot com web site.
"it happens!"
ps - Al sounds like you and I drive similarly... See you at the 4-way stop where we may be the only two who actually come to a complete stop, utterly baffling all the other drivers.
Taking video of every bad driver is a slippery slope - should we then have cameras every 50 feet like the Orwellian nightmare of Britain (where it is about both control issues and revenue)? And the right to confront an accuser? There's not enough server space in the world to document every idiot driver.
This is a residential area, and I have no problem with people cutting through our nice residential streets to save a few minutes. I only ask that they observe the traffic laws. We know it's bad at this intersection because we can hear the horn honking of folks who've been cut off throughout the morning and the afternoon rush hours.
At the same time, I do get frustrated when I have to wait 2 - 3 minutes at a light for it to change when there's no traffic whatsoever. I have been known to make a legal right turn on red, drive down one block, and then make a legal U-turn, proceed back to the intersection and turn right to continue on my way.
Of course, I have found that if I can find something to occupy myself at a red light, the time passes quickly. In the spring time, I'll shut the engine off on my Expedition to see if I can go 30 seconds with no engine running. It's supposed to start saving gas at that time versus idling. They key is paying attention to when the cross-traffic signal goes yellow so I can crank my car back up so I am ready to go. But there's always the fear it won't start :P
Oh well...thanks for listening!
In my former profession I observed drivers just keep on going and disregard the school crossing person, and the children and apparently did not see my patrol car. So they got zapped.
In retirement I have observed the wonderful crossing persons go out of their way to protect the children due to "inattentive" or irresponsible drivers that sometimes barely miss hitting the crossing people. I respect and value these crossing people.
Thks the_big_al for bringing that up as it it to me, an important reminder of caring for our children.
Good luck to all and stay safe.
jensad
We were the first car in line since we missed the pilot car by a few minutes. As we got close to the first "slow down" flagger, she held out a red flag and pointed it to the left lane. So I moved over. The "stop" flagger waved me back over. I commented to her that the other flagger's signal was confusing.
So a few minutes go by and there's now about 10 cars behind us, and we can see the pilot car approaching. All of a sudden the flagger stops chit-chatting with us, steps out into the left lane a bit and starts waving her stop sign emphatically. Sure enough, someone coming up got "diverted" to the left lane, passed all of us stopped cars and was heading for a head-on with the pilot car when the flagger reeled them in and made them cut in front of us and stop.
Good trick to get to the head of the line I suppose.
Today while on a deserted 35mph road I had a dirty 3-series pull out from a side road right in front of me, line of sight good for at least half a mile and nobody behind me. When I went around them at an intersection ahead, they got to hear my horn...if I only owned an Uzi :shades:
I just returned from my annual fishing trip on the Kasilof River... and actually did not come across any notable roadway lunatics! That says a lot, you know, given summer traffic on the Seward Highway! As for the people at the beach itself, well, best not to discuss that on this forum. :P
Although, the guy in the jacked-up, big-tired F250 that decided to go onto the soft sand of the beach pulling is 20' RV trailer was pretty hilarious.... That fella was a special breed of stupid.
Are they still using those big honking John Deere 4x4 tractors to launch boats down there? That may have been Clam Gulch or a bit further south.