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sorry, had to rant about bad drivers I saw today

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by cwerdna, Jul 7, 2006.

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  1. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee @ Jul 9 2006, 04:10 PM) [snapback]283526[/snapback]</div>
    When I was living in the Seattle area, it was TYPICAL for drivers to be going the speed limit or below in the fast lane in the daytime in the absence of wet/snowy pavement and cars in front of them. :( If you tried that in LA when traffic is flowing, you'd get a LOT of angry drivers.

    Those Seattle area drivers also would usually pay no attention to the cars piling up behind them or any flashes of the lights. In fact, doing the latter gets some of them really bent out of shape.
     
    #21 cwerdna, Jul 11, 2006
  2. Somechic

    Somechic Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(barbaram @ Jul 7 2006, 10:46 PM) [snapback]282842[/snapback]</div>

    I got mine out of a Cracker Jack box. I was hoping for the lick-n-stick tattoo, but I got a NJ license instead.
     
    #22 Somechic, Jul 19, 2006
  3. mapsmith

    mapsmith New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cwerdna @ Jul 11 2006, 08:08 PM) [snapback]284690[/snapback]</div>


    Ummmm. It is called the speed LIMIT for a reason. It is not a suggested speed. It is the safe limit to travel at. And in some locales, Flashing the brights at someone is a violation, and could be called Aggressive Driving.

    I have found that my Prius gets the best highway mileage at about 66 mph. So I usually am in the right lane. If I have to speed up for the left lane to get around a slower vehicle in the right lane, I MAY get up to about 72 or so. Someone comes up behind me in one of these circumstances and flashes the brights WHILE I AM PASSING A SLOWER CAR, my instinct is to match the slower car's speed for a mile or so.

    Go the Speed LIMIT. You will be a safer driver.
     
    #23 mapsmith, Jul 23, 2006
  4. Alnilam

    Alnilam The One in the Middle

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Jul 7 2006, 11:04 AM) [snapback]282612[/snapback]</div>
    You're a lot younger than me. Before I was born they didn't have pizzas.
     
    #24 Alnilam, Jul 23, 2006
  5. IsrAmeriPrius

    IsrAmeriPrius Progressive Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Jul 23 2006, 01:29 PM) [snapback]291079[/snapback]</div>
    I thought you just picked up an MXP or FCO trip when you craved one.

    :D
     
    #25 IsrAmeriPrius, Jul 23, 2006
  6. JasonQG

    JasonQG New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mapsmith @ Jul 23 2006, 12:19 PM) [snapback]291055[/snapback]</div>
    Don't do that. You never know what kind of crazy person that is behind you.
     
    #26 JasonQG, Jul 23, 2006
  7. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mapsmith @ Jul 23 2006, 12:19 PM) [snapback]291055[/snapback]</div>
    Umm, Germany has no speed limits on some parts of the autobahn yet they have lower highway death rates than here in the US. Sure, kinetic energy = 1/2 mass * velocity^2, but still, there's something to be said for some of the drivers here.

    Some speed limits are totally illogical. Here are some example when I lived in WA. On NE 8th St in Bellevue, the speed limit there was ~35 mph. It was VERY wide, straight and well lit and no houses directly facing the street except for an apt. complex in certain spots. There was a solid median or turning lane in the middle and even bike lanes. It was a bit hilly and if you didn't brake/downshift on the downhill part, you could get to 50 mph by coasting (there would sometimes be cops waiting at the bottom w/radar guns). In a certain part of Redmond, there was a 2 lane, narrow road going thru the boonies w/no bike lane, no median, virtually no shoulder and poorly lit. You sometimes encountered houses in the road too. Yet, the limit was 55 mph!

    BTW, I dare you to try going the speed limit in the fast lane in So Cal when traffic permits. Report back on your experience. :lol:
     
    #27 cwerdna, Jul 23, 2006
  8. Scott_R

    Scott_R Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mapsmith @ Jul 23 2006, 03:19 PM) [snapback]291055[/snapback]</div>
    Then again, slowing down to match the other car for a mile or two could get some nutcase to make it personal with you. What if he then passes you, swerves in front, and slams on the brakes?

    Lesson I try to remember: never underestimate the insanity of other drivers. If someone wants to pass me, they're welcome to.
     
    #28 Scott_R, Jul 23, 2006
  9. Alnilam

    Alnilam The One in the Middle

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cwerdna @ Jul 23 2006, 05:08 PM) [snapback]291162[/snapback]</div>
    Drivers in Europe seem to be better educated and more likely to follow the rules. For example, if you pull into the left lane just because the view is better, within 2 minutes you'll see very large Mercedes nosed down from heavy braking in your rear view, lights flashing. People drive very swiftly there and accidents are a magnitude or two higher in intensity than our usual fender benders, but I think they happen less frequently because everybody doesn't think him/herself a free spirit with constitutional rights that need to be exercised regularly.

    Drive the speed limit here on the freeway and you better be packing!

    Just my limited experience in Europe.
     
    #29 Alnilam, Jul 23, 2006
  10. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    BTW, 2 more datapoints to mapsmith. A few years while in So Cal on I-5 between LA and Anaheim, I was going 70 in a 55 in I believe the 2nd to slowest lane. There were tons of people going by me in the faster lanes. Speed limit or not, it's rude and annoying (and illegal?) to hold up traffic and not go w/the flow. I head down to LA every year and lived there for 4.5 years... People in Nor Cal and So Cal generally are good about yielding to cars piled up behind them.

    The other datapoint was a guy in a message board at work mentioned that his dad (this was awhile ago, so the speeds may not be dead on ) while in LA got a ticket for going 70 (or 75?) in a 65, not for speeding but for obstructing the flow of traffic which was 80+.
     
    #30 cwerdna, Jul 24, 2006
  11. Scott_R

    Scott_R Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cwerdna @ Jul 24 2006, 03:56 AM) [snapback]291340[/snapback]</div>

    I find it hard to believe that someone could get a ticket for not disobeying the law.
     
    #31 Scott_R, Jul 24, 2006
  12. JasonQG

    JasonQG New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ScottR @ Jul 24 2006, 05:27 AM) [snapback]291353[/snapback]</div>
    You don't have to speed; you just have to move to the right lane and let faster traffic pass. It's the law. It's also technically illegal to pass on the right, at least in California.

    You'd probably never get ticketed for this stuff, but it's what you're supposed to do.
     
    #32 JasonQG, Jul 24, 2006
  13. Scott_R

    Scott_R Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JasonQG @ Jul 24 2006, 10:36 PM) [snapback]291764[/snapback]</div>
    According to the post I'd responded to, the person was ticketed for being in the center lane. In the jurisdictions I've been in (and I've driven across most of the US), the center lane is for general traffic--cars doing the speed limit--while the right lane is for slow traffic. The left-most lane is for passing. And while you are supposed to pull to the right (from the left two lanes) to allow traffic that is moving the speed limit to pass if you are moving under it, I would love to hear a cop argue that you're supposed to allow people to speed. Of course, it's the cops' job to stop speeders, not yours, but if you're not in the passing lane, you don't have an obligation to move over any more.

    If I ever got a ticket for doing the speed limit while not in the left lane, I'd fight it and I'll bet I'd win.

    Here in NY, passing on the right is legal.
     
    #33 Scott_R, Jul 24, 2006
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