"Sunday drivers"

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

I the risk of offending some here, it's the 18 wheelers who are pissing me off more than other vehicles...I suppose it's because I expect people who drive for a living to be a bit safer and courteous.

 

I always stay right unless I'm ready to pass a slower vehicle and I travel at about 75 MPH unless I have reason to do otherwise..  I travel about 66 miles of I24 every day (round trip) and it never fails that I'll be gaining on a semi with both of us in the right lane...I change lanes to pass and the semi I'm gaining on will pull into the passing lane in front of me requiring me to hit my brakes hard just to keep from rear-ending the SOB. Then, he'll take 10 minutes to pass the semi in the right lane because the semi in the right lane is trying to maintain 62.1 MPH while the semi trying to pass him is trying to maintain 62.3 MPH.

 

One of these days I'm going to install some 007 s**t on my car to handle situations like this. ;)

weird..I never hada problem with semi`s..in fact most are more courteous than pov drivers..I let them merge and they either blink their lights or honk to thank me.

And without those semi`s..a lot of stuff would not get to be delivered...the logistics involved is imense and we need semi`s in our world to get our stuff. I rather put up with semi`s than some people who thinks they own the road..

if I would get upset/yell/throw a fit everytime some idiot pissed me off on the road..I wouldhave  had a massive corronary long time ago...

[QuietDan]

Regarding the Interstate's far-left-lane "regulators" going 10 mph under the speed limit:

 

It seems that by passing them on the right and pulling a hard left in front of them close enough to scorch the paint on their front right fender is usually enough of a hint to get them to move into the next lane to the right.

 

Not that I've ever attempted such a maneuver PERSONALLY -- I mean, I've heard of people doing it. . . .

 

:cool:

[Guest drv2fst]

When I lived in Memphis I used to get on Nonconnah in the Acura NSX and hit 130+ usually 2x/day.  The local news stations called the expressway "nonconnahbahn" due to all the speeders.

 

When I lived in Wichita KS, there was a nearly abandoned hwy that ran parallel to the newer, nicer toll road.  All the commuters used the toll road.  So I had the hwy to myself for about 90 miles one way.  I'd take that trip about once a month.  KS is flat enough there that you can often see 7+ miles in the distance.  I'd cruise that 90 miles at roughly 150mph, stop at a diner and get a cheeseburger and repeat that 150 mph run back home.

 

I had a police officer claim that his "high speed pursuit vehicle :rofl: " was faster than my 911 turbo.  He didn't count on the fact that I had reduced the weight of the car to about 2700 and increased the engine output to 600hp.  He rode with me and I punched it from about 30mph.  The speedo had just swept past 170 when he called "uncle".  

 

I bought another 911 Turbo from a local police officer.  He was out of state and driving it back home when he got clocked at 176 mph.  He showed the HWY patrolman his detective badge and got an a$$ chewing but not a ticket.

[Guest mattgawarecki]

Call me a goody-two-shoes if you have to, I've just always felt like that belongs on the track. I'll grant that abandoned roads and high visibility lessen the risk, but why chance it when you can pay for some track time with no worries about critters, coppers, or commuters?

[Murgatroy]

Call me a goody-two-shoes if you have to, I've just always felt like that belongs on the track. I'll grant that abandoned roads and high visibility lessen the risk, but why chance it when you can pay for some track time with no worries about critters, coppers, or commuters?

Don't forget that they have EMS right there if things go bad.

[10-Ring]

Call me a goody-two-shoes if you have to, I've just always felt like that belongs on the track. I'll grant that abandoned roads and high visibility lessen the risk, but why chance it when you can pay for some track time with no worries about critters, coppers, or commuters?

 

This right here!  I would be dead many times over if I had not found the track to get the stupid out of me.  These days I'm not driving stupid fast on public roads.  I may hit around 100 on a good day on the way into work but that's a 25 mile drive and at 4 am through a whole lot of nothing, I can usually make the entire trip without seeing another vehicle.  I'm no poke in traffic but I do try to avoid driving like an asshat.

[RobertNashville]

Driving at almost any speed is a dangerous endeavor. Couple that with the fact that most "driver education" doesn't teach a damn thing about actually controlling a vehicle at speed or in an emergency situation and you've got good ingredients for a problem.

 

However, as with firearms, those who bother to seek out training can lean to do thins in a vehicle relatively safely that would scare the s**t out of other people...mix in a little common sense about things and traveling at significant speeds on "public roads" can be at least as safe as doing so at normal speeds. I'm not advocating that people should be doing well into triple digits on public roads; just saying that as with many things, how "dangerous" it is depends on a lot more that simply "speed".  Of course, as is often the case, rules are set based on the lowest common denominator and/or the easiest thing to measure. ;)

 

When I was oversees I was told that, at least in come countries in Europe, the "speed limits" are set based on the driver's proven abilities (as are insurance rates; noted by badges on the vehicle)...don't know if that was true then or not or if it was true if it still is. However, I always though it wasn't a bad idea as it would be an incentive for people to go beyond learning what a stop sign means and maybe get some real training. :shrug:

[Guest drv2fst]

Call me a goody-two-shoes if you have to, I've just always felt like that belongs on the track. I'll grant that abandoned roads and high visibility lessen the risk, but why chance it when you can pay for some track time with no worries about critters, coppers, or commuters?

 

You are exactly right.  I agree completely.  I was under the delusion that I had control.  I was driving cars designed for high speed.  I had experience and training at high speed.  I scoped out safe road conditions........  

 

However, I was wrong.  The crash that totaled my car was because I didn't properly scope out the road conditions.  True there was no traffic.  But I failed to notice a rise in the road.  It's a rise that you don't notice much at 45, but at 140+ it sent my car airborne.  I had RUF racing wheels on the car but I bought them used and didn't bother to have them X-rayed for stress fractures.  So when I landed from my brief flight one of them broke.  The point being I failed to account for all the variables.  The road is no place to take chances like that.  I have learned my lesson.  I hope others learn easier than I did.

 

The reason that the officer let me off without a citation was that he said he had never seen anyone walk away from a wreck that bad, and I had walked away without serious injury.  That's when I started to pay attention to the risks I had been taking.

[Guest RedLights&Sirens]

I used to drive fast, then I got a little tired of pulling bodies out of mangled cars and decided I didnt want to become one. Of course, I can only be accountable for myself and not the drivers around me. When driving at work Im responsible for making sure myself and partner go home alive and that our patient doesnt die as a result of my driving.

I also have a Class B CDL so traffic citations are a big deal. Even if you are in a non-commercial vehicle like your car, you will be held to the standards of your CDL. For instance if I blow a .04 while driving my Stratus, I go to jail. I was pulled over last week for the first time in ten years. I was scared sh*tless because it was my first stop since I got my CDL and first encounter with an LEO with my gun on me. He was cool, gave my pistol permit back and thanked me for informing him, gave me a lecture on how serious the consequences are for people with CDLs and let me go on a warning. Edited May 3, 2013 by RedLights&Sirens

[glowdotGlock]

I know what you mean. I drive a truck for a living. From Columbia TN to Charleston SC 2 times a week. My truck runs 78 mph so I go on with the cars haha.

[safeandsecure]

Before I give you my theory on why older folks drive more slowly ... let me say that I've lived in the "fast lane" in the past.

 

Once passed a THP who was running his emergency lights and siren. Didn't really mean to, but heck, he pulled out in front of me while I was tooling down the road at (according to my speedometer) about 140. I didn't have time to stop, and running into the back of him seemed like a senseless thing to do.  So I passed him.  Double yellow lines, on-coming traffic, and it was raining.  And we were in a 45 mph zone.  I did pull over (as soon as I got back in the right lane and got slowed down enough).  And the Trooper didn't ticket me, believe it or not (and I DO have witnesses!)  Had to sit with him, in the patrol car, for what seemed to be about a week and a half, and took a really thorough butt-chewing, but he let me off with a warning --- something about not wanting to have to explain in court that he got passed while running emergency traffic, or something to that effect.

 

Also, I'm one of the few people (still living) who has had a fire engine airborne.  Not once, but twice. (And again, have witnesses - second time that happened, had a deputy sheriff tell me that he didn't know one of those things could get that much air.)

 

But I'm older.  And as RedLights&Sirens has noted, I've pulled one too many body parts out of wreckages.

 

Now, to my theory.  Not only do we get older -- and hopefully wiser -- but as we age, our eyesight and reflexes fade. Not really sure when that happened to me, but I simply can't drive the way I used to.  So I've slowed down.  I won't tailgate.  I won't slow down and then speed up if you're trying to pass.  But I DO drive the speed limit or less.  And if I'm passing something in the left lane, I MIGHT exceed the speed limit by 5 mph or so.  If you are running more than that, and happen to get behind me while I'm getting around something going slower than I am, you'll just have to live with it.  At least I HOPE you live with it.  I'd hate to have to stop and pull YOU out of some wreckage.  Don't care if I never work another wreck with injury, honestly.  And if you'll let me get far enough ahead of whatever I'm passing to see it in my rearview mirror, I'll move back into the slow lane.  And I'll probably smile when you blow past.  Maybe even admire whatever you are driving (think George Jones' "Hotter than a 2-dollar Pistol") -- --

[DaveTN]

Usually when I have to maneuver around a vehicle, it’s not an old person; it’s some azzhat talking on a cell phone. Are they trying to be an azz? No, they are completely oblivious to what’s going on around them.

Every once in a while someone will ask “Do you ever miss being a cop?” My response is “Only when I’m driving.”

[Jesse]

I work but still dont get in a hurry.

Leave sooner.

[Steelharp]

I use my cruise control all the time. I set it at the speed limit. And I still get tailgated.

[Jonnin]

I don't tailgate. If you read the post you'll notice that this moron specifically targeted me because he is just a flaming douchebag with an inferiority complex so bad that he can't handle someone passing him. I hope he and people like him get a combination of eye herpes and super-AIDS.

 

yea the comment was to address why someone acts this way.   Only time I act that way is if aggravated by the person, and if you did not do anything, well you have a jerk, about on par with an internet troll, and there isnt much you can do about it.

[TMF]

yea the comment was to address why someone acts this way. Only time I act that way is if aggravated by the person, and if you did not do anything, well you have a jerk, about on par with an internet troll, and there isnt much you can do about it.

Not really much I can do. Back in the day I would have got around him first chance after a stunt like that, cut him off and locked up my brakes. I'm an adult now so I don't get road ragey, not to mention I had my son in the truck at the time. Instead I just have my fantasy of what I would like to do to this guy if he weren't in the protection of his truck.

I simply don't understand why people do this stuff. Imagine you are walking down the sidewalk and some person is just poking along so you go to walk around them. They respond by speeding up their walk and blocking you, then slowing back down again and not allowing you to pass. They would get their ass beat daily. If people wouldn't do this when in choking distance why would they do it in their cars? I know the answer, it just really pisses me off. People like this need to be kicked off the planet.

[Jesse]

Its funny how people will treat each other in cars.

But in stores etc... people dont act like that when in person. Cars give people a feeling of security kinda like the internet.

[Wyldk2]

Some people act like that in stores. People acted like that in school too. Going down the hall way to class, it was rampant. nobody wanted to give in, to budge or move out of your way if you were a little fella. Follow a big kid and he'll plow the row for ya.

 

I agree though, people tend to do it more in cars and on the internet. Bullies are everywhere, just know you can't resort to their level, even though it would be nice to tell them 2 can play that game.

[JWC]

I got a ticket in Ridgetop for 42 in a 30 once.

[DaveS]

I dedicate this song to all you aggressive drivers out there in TGO land....enjoy!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVpMvtCayt0

 

Dave S