Hate the driver not the...

All We Need To Know

Pre-Rush Hour situation of going 50-55mph in a 60 zone, with two freeway lanes to easily pass by on the left. Reponse:

YOU ARE AN OBSTRUCTION!!!

Judging from the other posts, that response would be unchanged if there were ten lanes to the left.

The real issue is not being an actual obstruction, but a few people such as SW03ES are angered by non-speeders, even when they are out of the way. Some want to go after "smug hybrids" the way a bull charges after a bullfighter.

Humans stand out above animals because of reasoning skills, but I see "Jungle Reasoning" (oxymoron there). Animals often are ruled by a need to validate or dominate - The Jungle. A few of you are passing off such as "reasoning".

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Nov 14 2006, 09:50 PM) [snapback]349298[/snapback]</div>

Could you show your face on the sequel of Borat and spout this kind of "logic"? You and a few others on this thread remind me of the two frat brats on Borat that had second thoughts of simply speaking their mind made it true. BTW, I do go faster in the evenings due to the traffic.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cephalicprius @ Nov 14 2006, 10:02 PM) [snapback]349303[/snapback]</div>

You definitely need to star in the sequel of Borat as an authority on BSing - literally.

 

Schmika, thank you for providing a police officer's viewpoint of driving speeds. I found it valuable and very informative. I also agree with what you have to say on the issue.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Nov 15 2006, 01:42 PM) [snapback]349602[/snapback]</div>

That study you linked to isn't definitive, though. It's also 6 years old. Bold-face is mine.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NJDOT @ 2000)</div>

 

P.S.

I've both hypermiled and driven agressively.

While the other guy got the ticket in four collisions the first two years - defensive driving would have avoided three of them - two for sure. I was driving 10-15 over the limit. More speed - less time to react and avoid.

In the four years since, I've tended to drive the speed limit to ten under as conditions allow. No accidents.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Delta Flyer @ Nov 16 2006, 09:53 AM) [snapback]350102[/snapback]</div>

Will you listen to me? This is a quote from my post:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SW03ES @ Yesterday, 12:01 AM)</div>

You obviously are having difficulty reading and understanding my statement so I'll break it down so its easier for you to understand:

1. I'm not advocating speeding, in fact I even said "Who said anything about going above the speed limit?" and also "We need drivers like you off the road just as much as we do speeders and tailgaters" MEANING, I think speeders and tailgaters need to be off the road.

2. You are lying to us. For someone to take their life into their hands and PASS YOU ON THE SHOULDER ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, they must not have had adequate passing room. They must have been blocked in and had to slam on their brakes not to hit you. If people are passing you on the shoulder then you are not driving at the flow of traffic, or the other option is that your entire story is a fabricated opportunity to make yourself feel superior to others which wouldn't surprise me at all.

3. The speed limit is not some magical number at which you'll be safe on the road. Its a number designed to generate revenue for the county or city the road is located in. On some roads you can be driving the speed limit and STILL be an obstruction.

So, next time READ what I post before you put words in my mouth.

Remember I HAVE a Prius. This "bullfighter charging" you speak of comes from the way you drive your Prius, not the Prius itself. I have no problems.

Do all of your analogies come from Star Trek and Borat?

I just noticed this on one of the previous pages. With all due respect, you live in Ohio. There are highways around Washington DC where, at times, if you're not doing 75-80 you will get run over. I live here, and its a little different than Ohio (I Have driven across Ohio).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SW03ES @ Nov 16 2006, 10:26 AM) [snapback]350119[/snapback]</div>

No, seriously, I wasn't lying about the guy passing me on the shoulder. Or the one that did it to me 7 months ago. Both times, I was driving at or above the speed limit in the right lane. The people in the left lane were going above the speed limit, too, but just not fast enough for the d%$#weed going 90. Maybe there's just not as much passing room on the shoulder in the left lane as the right?

There are just a whole lot of ragers out there. That's the bottom line. I lived in NOVa for six years, btw, and while the traffic up there was atrocious, I never got passed on the shoulder there. Got cut off, people won't let you merge, yaddayaddayadda.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(livelychick @ Nov 14 2006, 05:16 PM) [snapback]349216[/snapback]</div>

That's quite alright. Just stay off I-95. Regardless of what the speed limit is, you need to maintain speed with the flow of traffic. If that means the flow of traffic in the right-most lane, that's fine, but it's not acceptable to be poddling along at 10-under the flow. There's a highway in this area on which I normally travel 75-80mph. The standard flow is around 72-75mph. Driving 55 on that road is just downright dangerous, even in the right lane.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(livelychick @ Nov 16 2006, 08:39 AM) [snapback]350161[/snapback]</div>

I won't try and explain the guy's behavior for passing you on the shoulder. That's extreme and rude, unless you are going WELL under the speed limit (20mph+). Have you noticed, however, that if you are on a two lane road, and traffic to your left is passing you at a constant rate, that MABYE the drivers in your lane behind you are traveing nearly the same speed and that you've become an obstacle?

This is the same argument I use against people who hate tailgaters. I never get tailgated because I travel with the flow of traffic and I yield to faster drivers. Have you ever considered that you're the problem, and not them?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Savington @ Nov 16 2006, 01:45 PM) [snapback]350255[/snapback]</div>

Are you referring to 280 on the penninsula?

 

The entire issue here is a few of us on this thread choose to hypermile in a way that allows faster traffic to easily get by safely, yet you choose to become angry and insultive. It's that simple and there is little else worth saying. You will have to bait without me.



<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SW03ES @ Nov 16 2006, 09:26 AM) [snapback]350119[/snapback]</div>

Do you? My profile says "Other hybrid"- it's not hard to find (Insight to be specific, but it won't last forever and it's out of production). Also mentioned adjusting to faster evening traffic.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Delta Flyer @ Nov 16 2006, 02:15 PM) [snapback]350273[/snapback]</div>

Suggestion for next car: Oldsmobile, since that seems to be the hip car for the can't-drive-more-than-35 set.

 

I'm out, too. No mas!!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(livelychick @ Nov 16 2006, 11:39 AM) [snapback]350161[/snapback]</div>

I wasn't talking to you

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Nov 15 2006, 03:42 PM) [snapback]349602[/snapback]</div>

Steve0, thanks for giving me an example of "mis-information" or "Mis interpretation". You are dead wrong about 5mph below being as dangerous as 20 over...won't even give that a dignified response. The reason changing the speed limit made crashes go down is that it is the DIFFERENCE in speeds of vehicles on interstates that is dangerous, not the speed itself (up to a point). If everyone wants to go 65-75-85 in a 55 zone, you will get crashes, if the speed limit is 65 and more people go closer to the speed of the speeders, crashes go down.

It's simple traffic engineering and enforcement stuff.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Nov 16 2006, 10:33 PM) [snapback]350647[/snapback]</div>

OK, so that was hyperbole in my part. I didn't quite mean it like that, but I do believe going 55 MPH in a 65 MPH zone is as dangerous as going 75 MPH (assuming good conditions). Obviously going 85 is nutsy coo-coo, no matter what you're driving and how clear the road is.

As for me, I used to be a "go the speed of traffic" guy before getting my Prius. Now I'm a "go the speed of traffic, or 70 MPH in a 65 MPH zone, whichever is less" kind of guy, unless I'm passing someone (where it's a little more until I'm done passing) and under ideal conditions (otherwise it's less).

Seriously, this forum is having a troll invasion, so I extend a hand of friendship to all fellow Prius drivers, no matter how fast or slow they choose to drive.

One last thing and I'll drop the subject: for this entire thread I've been talking about highway speeds. Obviously speeding in a residential area is just plain wrong.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stev0 @ Nov 17 2006, 12:44 AM) [snapback]350654[/snapback]</div>

gotcha, but thanks for allowing me the opening to pass on that info.....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Nov 16 2006, 10:33 PM) [snapback]350647[/snapback]</div>

You're absolutely correct

 

I would like to see a bumper sticker or window decal that says something like "Back off my nice person and check your speedometer"

When I drive my Prius I get tailgated like crazy.

When I drive my BMW I don't.

I drive both vehicles pretty much identically (hwy flow, res 25) :blink: huh?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Nov 16 2006, 10:33 PM) [snapback]350647[/snapback]</div>

I hate to smash up your theory, but unless the drivers in question are complete morons, I don't agree.

The German normalized highway accident and death statistics parallel or better the US statistics. More than half of the German freeway system does not have a speed limit, and speed differentials between vehicles of 50+ mph are quite common.

 

Regarding a huge difference in speed, there was just a fiery gasoline tanker crash becuase somebody was driving a tractor going 25 mph on the expressway AT NIGHT with NO LIGHTS, and in the fast lane. Apparently a car and a pickup truck came up behind him, the car swerved right, unfortunately the gasoline tanker was there, crashed, the tanker caught on fire and the driver was killed. The pickup driver swerved left into the median, I'm not sure but I think he is OK. Here is a link, but that story was before more of the facts were determined: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/16/tanker.fire.ap/index.html

One time I was driving a '72 Dart on a four-lane road, going 50 instead of 55, and not paying close enough attention because my mom said, "OH." Some joker had parked on the road and left the car, no flashing lights or brake lights on. I locked on the brakes, and was going to slide right into the back of him. At the last second I released the brakes and swerved into the other lane. I had to wait to switch lanes because somebody was right beside me. It just didn't register when I saw the car a bit ahead that it wasn't moving, but if I would have been going 55 I would have hit him.

Another time I was riding a Honda Rebel, going 52 mph in the right lane, bothering nobody, with no traffic in sight and the speed limit of 65. Well, I looked into the rear view mirror and saw somebody coming up at about 80 in my lane. I gave the Rebel as much as it would accelerate, and the guy got right up to the back tire before swerving into the other lane. He subsequently lost control, swerving into my lane and sideswiping me. Incredibly I didn't fall, but his tire rubbed against my shoe and threw the chain. I coasted onto the shoulder and he stopped too. Somehow the police and ambulance were called, and the ambulance came flying up. Those guys were amazed not to find me laying on the road. He told the police that he was reading a map while driving and that he would have hit me except his girlfriend screamed. I left a huge dent in his little Geo front fender too. He finally paid for the damage he caused too when I told him I'd sue him.

 

Hi All,

Since we seem to be sharing vehicle expereinces with extreme speed differentials, here is mine. I was driving through downtown Indianpolis at about 70 mph after midnight. Came up over a winding curve and there is a guy doing 45 in the middle lane, and the left lane goes away. So I have to slow down a merge right. Just as I check the rear view up over the winding hill 500 yards back pops a set of headlights closing on me faster than I was going, in the fast lane. So, he was up around 150 or 160 mph. Nothing to do but nail the brakes to open up the gap between me and the guy doing 45. The guy doing 160 had a competent vehicle and good reflexes, and went right between the 30 yard gap between us with only a slight brake tap. Start to stop, this total event was no more than 15 seconds. The sleeping passengers in my car all woke up, never saw the guy doing 160, as he was over the next hill. This was very close. My Opel Manta had somewhat poor brakes.