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As a taxpayer, you're welcome to travel through these areas, but please observe all traffic control measures in place to enhance the safety of the residents in that area. You may not like it, but their well-being trumps your desire to get to your destination faster.
I really liked driving in Idaho. Everyone drove a reasonable speed, I never saw tailgating, and drivers were so polite when you stepped off the curb to cross the street(This was small-town Idaho, can't say it's the same in their larger areas).
Then we went to Washington.
'nough said.
Why is is that so many in Washington and Oregon drive like they're bi-polar?
I've been living in a small town long enough that when I go to big(ger) areas, it takes a while to ramp up the agressiveness needed to survive.
Fintail is always talking about Seattle area drivers, and they do seem to be, uh, "special", but I think a lot of Oregonians are just as bad. Seems they can't drive in the rain.
Go figure...
I bought my current recovery strap, which is a "snatch strap" type of a device, over a year ago and had yet to use it... until this morning.
I got a bug to head into work early, and it was fortunate, too, because just happened across a car that went into the ditch a few moments before I drove by. I stopped, assessed, hooked up the strap, and one quick pull later the car (a Kia Spectra, IIRC) was up, out, and back on the roadway despite the glared snowpack (e.g., slippery for the recovery vehicle) and at an intersection that would be very busy in another twenty minutes or so!
This is a great way to start one's day. Recovering, not driving the car that's in the ditch; I don't recommend that.
I think it's technical name is a "kinetic energy recovery rope." Basically, it is a braided nylon cord that is designed to stretch, then recoil, sort of like a bungee cord. The advantage is that it creates force multiplication for the recovering vehicle, which can (and does) serve to add a whole lot of extra oomph toward freeing the disabled vehicle. But, you don't want to pull gently with one of these or you're just wasting their potential.
Come-alongs and winches are useful if you have a solidly anchored point from which you're pulling, but those can be difficult to come by at times. In a way, the snatch strap is similar to a compound pulley in a winch setup.
When it comes to vehicle-to-vehicle recovery, I would probably rank usefulness of direct (pull-type) connections in this order, worst to best: Chain, Recovery Strap, Kinetic Recovery Rope. I won't throw winches/come-alongs in there because they can vary from useless (e.g., worse than a chain) to incredibly helpful, and it all depends on the situation. If you have a highly technical situation where distance is a problem (either can't get close or can't drive away) and you have either a distinct weight advantage on the disabled vehicle or are able to chock your vehicle, then either of these can be a real winner.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
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I can't recall if I shared this way back when it happened, but I thought about it earlier today for some reason.... Last winter, when driving my Fiesta, I pulled up to a stop light, in the left side of the right turn lane (this road is a two-lane-in-each-direction, which spreads to have two dedicated left turns, a straight, a right-only, and a 3' shoulder at the intersection), and looked to my left for oncoming traffic before making my turn. I was in the turn lane with my right signal flashing (on the rear, front, and mirror of the car).
Aside: In my little Fiesta, I would often stay to the left part of dedicated turn lanes as that area is used less often, and therefore is less slick during the winter than the more heavily traveled paths. This is helpful in a little front-one-wheel-drive car.
So, I happen to have a passenger, one of my employees, with me. A few cars drive by and I then have an opening. So, anticipating my opportunity, I look right to ensure the crosswalk is clear, look left, and then go. My passenger lets out a small chirp (sort of a brief surprised yell of alarm), I look right again, and this Outback driver had wedged her car between mine and the sidewalk... and, was going at the same time as me! She couldn't have done much more than just slow down a little in order to have covered that distance in such short order.
I laid on the horn and just continued with my turn, and the other driver finally backed off and fell in behind me. But, as soon as we were on the other road, she flew by me while blowing the horn. LOL Clueless, but righteous, to the end!
I'm not sure what was hard to read about that situation.... she had to practically drive onto the sidewalk to squeeze by me, yet I was in the lane (marked overhead if not on the icy road) with my turn signal active. How does one better telegraph intent?
http://www.vollynet.org.nz/Speed Limit Law and Fatality Rates.pdf
Failure to read it makes you an inconsiderate driver.
1) There are 100 reasons why going slower isn't safer than going faster.
2) A lot of the studies previously published are flawed, biased, incorrect, and/or all of the above for a variety of reasons.
3) Higher speed limits are safe.
The only thing "unsafe" about a higher limit is that there will always be a group of drivers who will drive at or above that speed just because it is the limit (rather than taking into account whether they really should be driving that speed). so, set the SL at 100, and you have some vehicles/drivers who can do that "safely," and others who cannot, yet some of those who cannot will do it anyway.
I was sitting in my car waiting for a friend to return from a store. A lady parked next to my car and when opening her car's door she banged it into mine. Still attempting to exit her car she again banged her car's door into mine. I sounded my horn. She said, "Oh quiet, buddy. My car is newer than yours."
Just tonight, I saw an untold number of people driving with their headlights off.
And one guy stopped on the interstate, put his car in reverse, and backed up a good distance... all because he missed his exit.
https://www.nhtsa.gov
It should be obvious that I am NOT saying that it it NOT acontributing factor to one of the safest years ever on NHTSA record. There is just no validated documentation.
To wit, you can pass on two lane roads with ZERO requirements for headlamps on while passing,proceeding on /in the oncoming lane! Now to me, the logic is clear & compelling & I put on the headlamps to high beams, while passing. But,... so what?
Your second scenario happened to a relative. The YAYHOO was stopped to the left of the number one lane, trying to get to the #5 exit! Guess whom the HP cited for "DISTINGUISHED" driving. The relatives insurance tattooed the distinguish drivers insurance company also.
Last night, there was a <=2004 Tacoma that had some sort of headlights (very poor lighting) on, but the back end was completely dark. This is a WHITE truck, in Fairbanks, in the middle of winter. Not genius, for sure!
They have LED lights available that will really be nice, especially up there where it can be DARK...
I installed some HID's from them, and I've been really happy with their products.
When you installed the HIDs, did you need to replace your assemblies, or were they able to handle the heat while still putting out a beam pattern that doesn't blind other drivers?
Also, for the HIDs, they warned me not to get the 55 Watt bulbs, just the 35 watt, as the 55's would melt the housings.
I don't know about the LED's, but they have a support number you can call for advice. Up where you live, I'd want all the light I could get. I'm in a rural area of Oregon, and on dark rainy nights, I really appreciate the light I get from these HID's. BTW, the "color" of my bulbs are the 5000. Very very WHITE, with just a hint of blue.
I would need to call them to find out if I need to leave the rear seal off the housing with these (looks like it with the cooling units), as that makes me a little nervous due to moisture and corrosion.
Care and consistency go a long way, but physics is still physics. I slid through an intended right turn into my parking lot this morning - there was no traction to slow at all, so my 15-20 mph on approach didn't decelerate much before I decided to abort and move on to the next turn.
http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/lyingwsc.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/a-point.html
https://priceonomics.com/is-every-speed-limit-too-low/
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/13sepoct/02.cfm
https://www.autoinsurancecenter.com/driving-slow-in-the-left-lane-is-dumb-and-illegal.htm
https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/09/18/is-driving-faster-safer/
I'm starting to do a better job of keeping bookmarks for links to sites that make sense.
I come to a traffic light, get in the left turn lane behind a van to turn into the shopping center. We have a green light, but the green arrow has gone off. Steady traffic coming the other way, so we're just going to have to wait. About 5 or 6 cars go by, and the van driver apparently decides that they've had enough and decides to make the left in front of one of these:
who has to slam the brakes and swerve to avoid the collision. (A very good, not quite great, move)
The vehicles behind him reacted well too.
There was NOT a space to go through, even though they made it.
Being "on alert" 100% of the time while driving is wearing on me
1. Inconsiderate drivers who have no problem clogging up multi-lane roads by driving 15-20 mph under the speed limit, either equal to or maybe 1 mph faster than traffic in the other lane(s). As always, drive however slow you feel you and your vehicle can handle, and do it knowing (and respecting) that others' limits differ!
2. Parking ignorance. Even though it is, in most cases, a simple process to deduce the proper location and orientation of parking spaces, people (most of whom park in these same spaces year-round!) feign ignorance of these details and park however and wherever they prefer.
Anyway, apparently his reverse wasn't working (my best guess being a Dodge Transmission), as he insisted 3 guys move their 3 cars so he could move forward and out without having to back up.
As a car-only-driver I avoid reversing since reverse has resulted in 100% of my very-few unintended-vehicular-contact situations in 40 years of driving.
I began personal 'no left turns unless no reasonable alternative' policy years before UPS & Fedex mandated the same for their drivers. Especially in city/urban driving. Passenger(s) tend to "comment" about that policy to this day as it often takes 4 or more right turns to do what a one u-turn or left-turn can provide.
I feel fortunate that my father practiced trailer backing with us quite a bit when we were learning to drive. He even went so far as to put out cones for parallel parking, and doing so with a trailer was on the list of "must dos," not because we would actually do that some day, but because being able to do so demonstrated to him that we had a high level of control over the maneuver. That said, we didn't have any short wheelbase trailers, like an ATV trailer, and it took a little while to get the hang of just how reactive those are when backing them. The one we used, which was an 18' double-axle flat bed, was responsive in a very gentle sort of way.
The time I parked his 38' motorhome between two BMWs with about 3' total to spare (18" per side) convinced me that there was value in his dogged persistence about such matters.