Posted on 08/09/2004 12:25:49 PM PDT by Dog Gone
That was the whole point of the article, that people are tired of doing this when they shouldnt have to. Good luck to the slow pokes trying to get over when everyone is passing them on the right and not letting them in. Goose, gander and all that.
>> Worst traffic, road conditions, quality of drivers--- Belt Pkwy in Bklyn, NY<<
Oh, good call... I leave from VA at 9 PM sometimes on Fridays to arrive in LI overnight. At 2AM
excuse me:
TWO FIRCKIN' AM!!!!
At 2AM, driving the belt way is a stress festival.
And for those not familiar, there are drains in the left and right lanes. I suppose they were level with the roadway when the roadway was built, but not they are several inches BELOW the road surface. And they are IN the lane, not to the sides of the lanes. If you drive in the side lanes, you have to hit about 100 of them per mile.
The road is extremely winding, the lanes are very narrow, and there are no shoulders.
Overall I think that all traffic ticket income should go to the state department of transportation, not the state or local cops. You just create too much of an incentive for the cops to abuse the system with the way speeding law is enforced.
I know in MA there was a major stink a few years ago when a memo from the state police chief to the cops on speeding details to make their ticket quotas or else was leaked to the press.
You claim that the "other guy" fosters road rage. I've seen people say, "don't get worked up over it". If the jackass who wants to do 85 in a 60 here in Houston would take the same "chill pill" that others urge us to take, there wouldn't be problems on the highway. Tailgaiting leads to road rage. Jumping to the front of a lane by speeding in a merge lane leads to road rage. Being the 3rd car to run a red light "because the guy in front of me went" leads to road rage.
Don't get me started on restroom etiquette.
1) Pick the first available urinal farthest from the ones currently being used. If you don't the other guys will think you're queer.
2) Keep talking to a minimum. This ain't a social club.
3) If you use a stall to pee, lift the damned seat. Someone may need to use it for another purpose later.
"What's worse is being stuck behind one of those slow moving cars when you also try to get on the highway."
Especially when they won't move over till you do. Apparently they want you to take the rear-end collision that their merging speed has increased the chances of.
Once or twice I've just put the pedal to the metal and passed them (before they've even had a chance to move out of the acceleration lane). Sorry, but if you want to merge onto the highway at 35, you can do it behind me as I'm going the speed limit.
EXACTLY
I've done a lot of interestate driving and I rarely see anyone driving in the left slowly for no reason.
Most people that gripe about left-lane hogs just want those in the left lane to pass FASTER -- just as you said.
Yep. A single car can affect the traffic pattern for miles.
Hard for me to relate to that analogy, being female! I haven't gone into too many men's rooms to use the urinals, but I think I get the idea...
:)
As I say, Houston has 4-6 lanes on many of the highways. If they are tailgating it is generally because they are too lazy to change lanes.
I see... so YOU'RE one of those self-appointed 'lane police' who pisses people off.
FYI, pissed-off drivers are a lot more dangerous than courteous drivers. And it's not up to you to change the driving habits of thousands of people on the freeway through moronic fast-lane vigilantism.
"Well, I certainly didn't mean for him to go into the wall. He was only a few feet off my bumper and I was simply trying to get him to back off (I'd hit the brake pedal just hard enough to make the brakelights come on), when he panicked and wrecked himself. Not my problemo senor.
"
Of course it's your problem. You had a poor driver come up behind you at a high rate of speed, then tailgate you at a very close distance.
If he/she were not a poor driver, he/she would not have done this. Your unexpected action caused a predictable reaction on the part of this driver.
It would have been far better, on this empty freeway, to have simply moved to the right and let the idiot proceed. Instead, a potentially fatal accident occurred.
Good driving is good driving. Period. It always involves defensive thinking.
Sure, you had every right to be in that smooth left lane. No question about it. However, just being right isn't always enough. Every driver has a responsibility to drive defensively, and that means not doing things that could conceivable cause an accident.
Just move over and let the idiot by. It costs you nothing to do that on an empty freeway.
>> In Oklahoma we just pass the slow left lane people on the right.<<
*laugh* A lack of fellow drivers certainly helps resolve these issues.
I'd hate to think how much you'd write if you got started.
Rule #4: When using a stall, always pick the furthest one. People can see you through the crack between the door and the frame as they pass by.
Anyone else wanna add to this mess?
I'd say that the biggest number of accidents of people who "aren't paying attention" are those who run into the back of a trailer truck parked at the side of the road. Do they think that this is some new lane?
Especially in LA, they have the absolute worst arrangement of that concept I've seen anywhere. Established, dedicated 24/7 carpool lanes with minimal entrance/exit points that are otherwise cordoned off by double yellow lines. Really stupid. They should be no different than the other lanes and the carpool requirements should be enforced only during weekday rush hour, like in the Bay Area.
He got caught in your gravitational field. It takes either a sudden acceleration or deceleration to break out of it.
Good reason not to drive in either lane adjacent to the shoulder.
Here in Georgia, on the interstates you're in danger about 12 mph over the limit of being pulled over, but unlikely to be ticketed until 15mph over. 30 over is automatic arrest.
My cousin is an Atlanta city traffic cop and works a 60 mph piece of interstate. He doesn't give out any tickets less than 80 mph.
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