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Comments
um, yeah, i feel for the big rig drivers because i see all the time someone hanging out in their blind spot. get on the gas and pass already. sometimes in multi-lane hwy traffic in atlanta, this isn't possible though.
i've seen lots of rig drivers trying to help the little guy during rush hour, letting them sneak in front, etc... i try to return the favor, when i see a rig in the lane to my left signaling to come right into my lane in stop and go, i know he / she needs to get over. often i slow to let the lane open so they can get in as i don't see them trying to jockey for lanes like all the small vehicles just to arrive at their destination 2 seconds sooner.
can't tell you the number of times i see the opening disappear as someone from the other lane on my right cuts in to assume the opening spot i'm creating in front of me, as if they can't tell it's being opened for a rig with the blinker on.
also - i try to leave good following distance, and invariably, someone comes into it, and i have to drop back.
In Fort Wayne in the late 1970's a driver got her car on the tracks with a car ahead and behind. A number of people blamed the driver behind her who did not back up, but no one reported on who behind that vehicle wouldn't back and so forth.
What was not explained was why, with a locomotive bearing down on her, train horn no doubt blowing, she did not exit the car as her passenger did.
If only all the cars ahead of all the other cars had gotten out of the way of the very considerate woman who parked on the tracks - They would all have gotten past the RR crossing before the train came. Perhaps they stopped short to teach her a lesson.
Of course, I might have just thought she was tailgating me, or misinterpreted, or some other type of insanity. I am sure it was just me.
I also had a late model Porsche Turbo S convertible back out of a driveway right in front of me, as the fintail was bearing down on it at 25mph. He promptly returned to his driveway, realizing his error, and I didn't have to swerve. Maybe the chrome or the sky blue color of my car confused him....it was just me, too.
Thanks for my laugh for the day. Somehow I don't picture you imagining people are tailgating because you're paranoid.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
First, lots of people in my residential neighborhood drive down the middle of the road and move to their right only when they see oncoming traffic. This isn't too bad when they are paying attention and move over early, but it can be scary when they aren't paying attention or rounding a curve and don't see me until we are fairly close. I drive on the right and don't need to adjust for oncoming traffic in its own lane. I would like others to do the same.
Second, lots of people park on the left side of a two-way street, that is, with the left wheels against the curb. Although it is illegal, this really doesn't bother me too much, except that people get so used to doing it that they sometimes make the maneuver in the face on oncoming traffic (i.e. me!) A few months ago, an SUV drove half a short block on her left side of the road to park where she wanted. I stopped my car to be cautious, and she passed me on my right going the other direction. When I went back to ask her what she was doing driving on the wrong side of the road, she answered, "I was only parking!"
It seems the problem has migrated onto the main roads. Tonight I was traveling on the major commercial artery in my area, a two-way street, bearing left into a left-turn only lane. I was forced to stop because of a car stopped in my lane facing me, on my side of a double-yellow line. I gestured for him to go back on his side of the street, passing me on my left. He would not. He gestured that he wanted to turn to his left into a car dealership, which he could not because the dealership was closed and the entrance was chained. He gestured for me to pass him on his right, which would have been into oncoming traffic. He gestured for me to pass him on his left, which I could have done but refused as there was no traffic in his direction to impede him from re-entering the correct flow of traffic. Finally, he crossed his arms to indicate that he was not going to move out of my lane. He reconsidered when I picked up my cell phone to call the police. He re-entered his lane but stopped next to me to have words, but I had no interest. I moved on and made my left-hand turn.
There is no question that I am animated in some of these situations, but I don't make obscene gestures or call people names. Although I get upset, I don't think I need to apologize for insisting on my right-of-way. Shouldn't it be clear that everyone drives on his own right side of the road? I am interested to see what others may think. Thanks for reading.
Why do you refuse to listen? I was warning the other driver of impending danger, not because I was angry.
Don't do anything to other drivers you won't do to Police and the world will be a more considerate place.
Nope, sorry, if you've had the encounters I've had with AZ DPS and Phoenix police, you learn to not only be on your best behavior, but to avoid anything that might even look wrong. Maybe police are different in your area, but not here.
That double-yellow story is a good one. The traffic departments thought it was such a good idea to mark center turn lanes that many think any double line is ok to cross. I've nearly gone head-on with moms dropping off their kids when they come into the left-turn only lane near where I work - the center turn lane starts after the school entrance. Many also think it is an accelleration lane, which can also be exciting.
MoDOT has started teaching passing on the left - Britain style - with the new highway interchanges. They've replaced cloverleafs with a new, stupid design that requires cars to drive to the left of on-coming cars. The brilliant design also helps because headlights are aimed to produce the most glare to the left, so getting blinded at night while awaiting the signal change is pretty common. And they tilt the approaches up to enhance the glare.
The other happy-camper drivers are those who head the wrong way down parking lot lanes - They give a great glare as if the fact that no parking spaces line up with them, while all parking spaces line up with you, is your fault.
That Sprinter is looking better all the time.
Today's driving has been completely without a bump...so far.
Oops, I forgot to put down my crackpipe. Was she in a Honda Civic perchance? Or a soft-road SUV?
Today I got behind a transit bus going 10 over...40 in a 30 (I paced it)...it was kind of odd.
Yesterday someone else was not that lucky. All their local stations showed it - the driver apparently tried to exit at the last moment, unfortunately in the "split" was a stopped semi. The Geo was almost all stuffed under the trailer.
Your example points out the basic reason for not buying a used car having been a rental.
Stephanie Chen
Thursday July 20.2006 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Personal Journal, pg. D1
Well, its finally here in some states....
..."Other States are expected to follow soon."...
Such as: adding some type of barrier in narrow median areas to minimize crossovers, and at a minimum, guard rails on the right shoulders where the grassy area beyond is too steep to prevent run-off-the-road rollovers.
WV has begun adding some cable-type barriers in the medians, as is common in NC, but they have a ways to go. I like IN's practice of putting those yellow energy-absorbing barrels around overpass support pillars in the medians.
His reaction was to wave his finger at me. I guess he didn't like have a flashing headlight on high coming at him. Maybe he'll turn his off!!!
Has any state done anything to make this illegal?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Speaking of motorcycles, I had one of those risk-taking louts pass me yesterday in the far left lane of an 8-lane artery (not an expressway, 45 mph speed limit) going maybe 80-90 mph, only to have to stop at the next red light about a 1/4 mile ahead.
So you must be a motorcylce rider since you're in favor of the bright lights flashing.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
They drove back and forth for over 40 hours on an 18 mile stretch of 30 - 40 mph, four-lane highway. The route was selected specifically because it is in range in which the Prius can be operated very efficiently.
One of the participants was none other than the infamous Wayne Gerdes, the hypermiler who likes to tell us how to drive on Edmunds.
Well as we are doing this we come on a Lexus backing out so we stop and wait. This lexus backs out painfully slowly then stops and sits there at a slight angle. Well we wait a period of time for him to move but he just sits there. Ok after enough time for him to move we decided just to go around (there was plenty of space) and as we do this guy blows his horn at us. Ok so he is the inconsiderate one blocking the lane yet he is the one getting angry. :confuse:
Well as I said we were just going through to check out what they have so we just drive around this loop and get behind this Lexus doing 0.5 MPH. Seriously what this guy had to have done was take his foot off the brake and idle along without touching the gas. So now I am stuck behind this clown in my Caddy in first gear trying to keep it from stalling. :sick:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
They also say that about loud pipes.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Also would like to say that I do not believe their results.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
I had one of these flashing light cycles race up behind me once, I thought it was some kind of unmarked cop.
Seems that the flashing is inconsiderate. Is it not enough to just have the headlight on to add extra dimension of visibility? Also, I thought that only police vehicles and other official emergency vehicles are the only types that can legally flash headlights on and off continuously.
Would an Aveo driver want to install flashing headlights so that he can be seen better?
Many motorcycle drivers are considerate, but there are a small minority that I see, and Hear, that have very loud exhausts and are inconsiderate. These appear to be men beyond teen years that are fascinated by making a lot of noise. Kind of like little kids who years ago would attach playing cards on their bikes so as to strike the wheel spokes and make noise and get attention.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
After all, when you're in a state where the governor and other gave workers compensation money to a coin buyer contributor to invest who's lost millions of their money (can't find it) and the governor's been convicted of accepting improper gifts, anything could happen, right?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Drivers of sub-compacts such as Aveo, Fit, etc are at much more risk from inconsiderate drivers of pickups and suvs than vice versa.
Drivers of pickups and suvs are at much more risk from inconsiderate semi and gravel truck drivers than vice versa.
I think it should be a law that any elected official has to spend 5 years in prison after they leave office on the principle that they had to have done something illegal while in office.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Cyclists mostly cause their own problems.
They speed in traffic weaving between cars.
They speed.
They make loud noises.
They don't wear helmets to protect themselves somewhat from injury.
They take chances.
Motorcyclists are much more at risk from themselves.
The cyclists with flashing _bright_ lights are a danger to others and the flashing lights are very inconsiderate. They're worse than BMrs with Xenon bulbs.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
However when a CAR splits lanes with a motorcycle...... Again not against the law and the lane splitting does not increase the likelyhood of a accident with an other than motorcycle....
The physics of the relative masses and levels of protection once an accident occurs is a separate issue.
Motorcyclists are acutely aware of the cars around them while the drivers remain blissfully ignorant of the motorcycles around them. Flashing lights help protect them.
I suppose runners with reflective vests are annoying and inconsiderate too.
Kind of funny now in retrospect, but while we were on the 5 or 405 in L.A. last December, stuck in traffic, a whole horde (maybe 100!) of motorcyclists passed us by splitting the lanes. They were called the Mongols, which I understand is the less-well known rival of the Hell's Angels.
- Bugs rocks and other debris hitting you at high speed
- Cars that don't see you
- Hot engine at idle
- High chance of death or severe injury in an accident
Why do they exist again?
Really, I haven't found a single motorcycle driver around here (excepting cops) that drives safely. They abuse the power they have, they are usually loud (over my stereo and engine roar as I'm speeding up with traffic), weave in and out of traffic, frequently don't wear helmets, etc. Is all this worth a few extra MPG?
I am very concious of motorcycles but I draw the line when they have to use distracting and dangerous equipment to get other people's attention. If they have to go to these lengths then they shouldn't be riding them. Same goes for excessively lifted or lowered cars (don't want them going under my car) and those with loud exhausts (and I don't mean as high as the current legal limits). I was almost run over today by a lifted Excursion whose grille bottom came more than half-way up the glass of my Pontiac Vibe. Got so close I could see dirt in the Ford logo on my rear view mirror.
Here in AZ, they are allowed to split a lane, up to two wide per lane. They may not pass in between cars and may not split a lane with other cars.
I dunno. Have they added xenon lights flashing on and off brightly into oncoming driver's eyes during daylight? Sheeeesh.
Let's be reasonable.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Why would their headlights bother you in the daylight?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Bicycles with strobes are easier to see than those without, but those aren't painfully bright.
Why would their headlights bother you in the daylight?
Have you noticed early Saturns with their two close headlights that are highbeams running at reduced power as DRLs? Try that for the bright cycle but on full power directly in your eyes. Then the low part of the cycle was about the level of the DRLs on that Saturn.
There were three cycles sharing a lane on a two-lane road. (Is that illegal?) And all three had their headlights on. This one had his new "toy" flashing slower than the others I'd see. That itself made it more obnoxious. And his seemed aimed up right into oncoming drivers' direction.
I'll ask someone in our troop about those things. He's a longtime Harley rider (along with his wife). They had someone turn in front of them and seriously injure both. But he'll have a rational opinion about the efficacy of those distracting lights.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
But to argue the other side of this situtation even more, I'd be willing to bet the motorcyle riders safety is enhanced much more than your discomfort. I guess the same argument was waged for HID's. Sure they are a discomfort for some people, but they sure are bright. I know I love em on my TSX. It's like daytime.
Second I said they were an irritation level, a brightness level LIKE xenon bulbs.
We need to read carefully. I feel like the old game where a person whispers a secret to one person an they whisper through the chain of people and then we see what comes out the other end.
I don't think the flashing "feature" is needed. I'm going to check into adding that to my car's DRLs, however. If it is needed for motorcyles, I'm sure it's needed for automobiles since there are about 1 million times as many of them actually being driven.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I noticed the large white pick-up when I parked that day for work...left him plenty of space. Perhaps he/she felt it wasn't enough or was just a poor driver. Anyhow, a few small areas where paint scrapped off to the metal, and the pickup left a nice sample of it's white paint that may be able to be buffed out. Apparently the guy/girl in white pick-up backed out of their parking space and cut their wheel to hard.
I haven't had an estimate... but individuals who hit and run are thieves in my opinion, as they are taking money out of my pocket just as well as if they had stuck a gun to my back.
Some folks don't think helmets are "needed". Guess that saying about opinions is valid.