[faqsman]

[rant on]

You really have to ask the question. Who are the people that think they
are so much more important that they:

1) Think the speed limits don't apply to them
2) Red lights mean nothing
3) Stop signs mean nothing
4) Right turn on red means you don't have to stop
5) Yield signs are irrelevant
6) Everyone must move out of their way or else be abused
7) Long lines of cars waiting only means it is more difficult to shove your
way in at any gap larger than a few feet

Your time is no more valuable than anyone else's and you are not more
important than anyone else, so why do you think none of the established
traffic laws apply to you?

You want to know why people will hang in the left hand lane on freeways?
The reason is because of people of the above characteristics not being
courteous and lawful, this law abiding driver:

1) Gets cut in on as soon as he/she is passed
2) is tailgated if person A, currently breaking the law, is not breaking it
as much as person B is trying to.
3) Has to go below the speed limit because of being trapped behind
a slower driver because of the people breaking the law in the left
lane, and not allowing he/she to get in the PASSING lane
4) is generally treated as being in the WRONG because they choose to
respect the laws of their community.

The funniest thing is people complaining if someone is hanging in the
left lane. In some states it is illegal, but for a person currently treating
the speed limit as a joke, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?

[rant off]

Anyone who can justify the above behavior, please reply..

 

[hyperion]

Would it be too much to ask for everyone to exercise a little "common sence" when they get behind the wheel? A littlw "awareness" wouldn't hurt either.

 

[melgish]

Not too long ago, I was doing the speed limit (55) over a bridge. I was in the right lane, and another car was comming up to pass me on the left, when a big white excursion whipped around him into the right lane, barely scraped between the two of us as he kicked back to the left, and then to the right 6" in front of me to avoid the next car ahead....

Then he gave me the one finger salute...I guess to thank me for being such a law abiding citizen

 

[ehurtley]

Not too long ago, I was doing the speed limit (55) over a bridge. I was in the right lane, and another car was comming up to pass me on the left, when a big white excursion whipped around him into the right lane, barely scraped between the two of us as he kicked back to the left, and then to the right 6" in front of me to avoid the next car ahead....

Then he gave me the one finger salute...I guess to thank me for being such a law abiding citizen

Yeah, a few months ago, I had a lady run a red light across my path, I slammed on my brakes and horn, and she flipped me off. I always wonder about these people. When I see totally nutsoid drivers, I tend to call 911 on them. I know I've called 911 at least three dozen times, and I've had the pleasure of seeing 3 of the offenders get pulled over. One of these days, I need to write the DAs offices in the jurisdictions I've called in and find out how many of my calls have actually resulted in tickets and/or arrests. (And I have one that I called 911 on that apparently had committed a hit-and-run earlier that day. The 911 operator was very happy that I called this guy in, as the witness of the hit-and-run hadn't gotten his plate number. Had I not been in a hurry to get where I was going, I would have kept following to see him pulled over.)

 

[Lasse D]

She actually flipped you off? - What a mentality!

To give that kind of gesture to drivers is one of the worst thing you can do, I can understand why it is forbidden by law.
I find it all right to speed when I'm completely sure it not to endanger others (Or there is a police vehicle near me :wink: ), but that is also the only felony I can commit without feeling great regret.
Unfortunately many drivers don't feel regret, but get a rush instead. Once they have felt this and see that they can do it without consequences, they want more.

If I was in your situation, I would probably have responded by reeving the engine in an attempt to scare her (which is also illegal because of the pollution) - another reason to buy a Prius, you simply can't do this dirty trick!

 

[faqsman]

Why do you find it ok to speed? If you do the calculations, the few seconds
you save do not make up for the extra risk. Usually the posted speed limit
is there for a reason, which is hopefully not just because they can.

The worst has to be the people who know you are in the left lane,
deliberately speed up to your bumper, and tailgate you (usually in
an SUV or other large vehicle), expecting you to get out of their way,
even though you are making a legal pass.

What is funny is more times than not, they will then get in front of you and
hit the brakes or slow you down, which seems to defeat the purpose of
speeding in the first place. :lol:

In Ohio, the police have to see the violation, harassment, etc. in order
to do anything, which really sux. Of course they never do!

 

[melgish]

What is funny is more times than not, they will then get in front of you and hit the brakes or slow you down, which seems to defeat the purpose of speeding in the first place.

This is why I want cameras on both ends of my car, so I can film the guy whipping around me and slamming on his breaks. It would be worth the expense just to see the look on the guys face as he's charged with attempted murder.

 

[Lasse D]

Why do you find it ok to speed? If you do the calculations, the few seconds
you save do not make up for the extra risk.

You often have to speed to keep up with the trafic. I will normally drive 87 to 93 km/h on roads outside the cities where the speed limit is 80. It is at this velocity I feel the best with the economy (around 23km/l). As mentioned before, I will only break the speed limits when I don't feel any added risk. Of course I don't save much time. There are however significantly less other cars feeling the need to pass me. The added safety of larger gaps between the cars and fewer passes is preferred IMO.
I have heard you will not get a speeding ticket for driving like this. The Police is well aware of the dilemma (I actually drove that fast to the license test). When I have one a patrol car driving right behind me, I try to stay as close to the limits as possible. I once experiensed one of them driving dangerously close in order to make me drive faster, but I still would not take any risk.

melgish:
Parking cameras in both ends are optional for the European Corolla Verso, it is probably only a matter of time until you will see the same for the Prius.
But do you think it is worth the expense - Does this really happen that often?

 

[melgish]

Parking cameras in both ends are optional for the European Corolla Verso, it is probably only a matter of time until you will see the same for the Prius.
But do you think it is worth the expense - Does this really happen that often?

Oh three times that I can think of, in about a million miles of driving. But I see enough that I could always send the footage to Fox for their next video.

Back before I had a vehicle that...gives me an MPG food pellet for going the speed limit ... I usually kept the Saturn at about 80, but I think I was more courteous about it. Speeding in and of itself isn't the problem.... It's the "I'm gonna speed, and you'd damn well better keep out of my way" attitude.

 

[AgentElrond]

You often have to speed to keep up with the trafic.

heh... NOT. I'll drive the posted limit; anyone that disagrees with that can take their chances with the law. 8)

 

[hyperion]

Just as long as you are observing the speed limit in the "right" lane"

 

[Hotftoot2]

minivan slingshot solution

For those soccer moms that shoot around me on the right, then whip in front of me if I have more than 1/2 a carlength between me and the person in front while we are all going 85mph, I think that roadside capital punishment would be good. Just grab her and her finger that she flips off to you out of the car, and shoot her. Drag out the pudgy little miscreants that were in the backseat flipping you off, and shoot them. Give their poor overweight golden retriever a good home.

 

[Jeffo]

Thank God for the Second Amendment, eh Hotftoot2?

 

[faqsman]

The "right" lane?

The right lane is the one you happen to be in. There is no way you can
be considered slower traffic if you are going the speed LIMIT.

As for how often it happens, just on the way home tonight a car was no
more than1.5 to 2 feet from my bumper when the middle lane of a three
lane road was totally empty! Maybe he wanted a close look at my Prius.

lol

Actually I think it is the people that move out of their way that makes them
even more arrogant about the left lane being THEIRS.

Forget the cameras. How about a laser that vaporizes the tailgater?
Maybe that would be too extreme? My daughter said I should do a break
check, but two wrongs do not make a right.

 

[faqsman]

brake check, not break check.. dang typos..

 

[LazyBear]

I think #1 ihe only one that can be justified in a few cases. First, 55 mph speed limits are not about safety. It was established in attempt to save fuel during energy crisis. See http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/197 ... 45206.html

At that time there were no ABS, LED tail light and tires were much worse.

Think about it: it is legal to drive 55 mph during day or night, rain or shine, on a dry pavement in summer or on icy road in winter. Does it really make sense? I drive on road that is 25mph in one direction and 35 mph in the other (or so traffic signs say). NOBODY lives there, it is a mile stretch in woods. I guess someone takes care of wildlife

Second, people don't like other people 'teaching them a lesson'. Third, sometimes people may actually have a good reason to speed.

Some interesting data
http://www.cato.org/dailys/12-07-03.html

85th percentile rule
http://www.wcroads.org/POLICIES/RDCspeed.htm

I haven't had a single ticket (speeding or not) for 8 years. What I personally dislike though is (my own classification)

1. 'Constant speed' people. Drive 40 on 45 and 40 in 25 zone.
2. Drive 40 on 45 and pass traffic light on yellow or even red.
3. 'I am home' people. Slow down to 5 mph below speed limit withing 2 miles of their home.
4. 'Not my neighborhood' people. Drive 40 mph in 25 zone if they don't live there and 15 mph in their street.
5. People observing 55 on 55 in the left lane when there is plenty of space in right lanes.
6. People driving exactly at or below speed limit in HOV lane.

 

[faqsman]

First off, 55 is long past being an issue in most areas.

If there is so much room in the right lane, why don't the speeders use it?
Why should a person obeying the law have to take unnecessary chances
switching lanes for the benefit of speeders?

If people don't like being taught a lesson, then why do speeders bother
tailgating? Aren't they trying to teach some lesson?

Finally, if you feel the speed limits are wrong, get people together to
change them rather than trying to intimidate those that respect them.
Again, you cannot say a person doing the speed LIMIT is slower traffic.
If you feel the law is wrong, then why don't you disobey it when you
see a police car, and then fight for law changes in court? That is how
other reforms have been started.

Several points I agree with, but the others just sound like attempts at
justifying illegal acts. By the way, tailgating usually prompts a response
of go around rather than I need to move over. People will move over if
they see a car respecting safe distances until they have fully completed
the pass, and if a driver allows a car into the left lane to pass slower
traffic in the right lane rather than forcing them to go below the speed
limit while they just zip on by.

Another point. If drivers move over to allow others to speed, would that
make them accomplices in an illegal act?

 

[LazyBear]

Because we live among other people and opposing almost everybody around has no use.

Like it or not, but most cars drive 5 to 7 mph above speed limit. So in reality car moving at speed limit is slower traffic.

Why fight everyone else? If traffic moves at 10 mph above speed limit, let it go. In fact, stubborn driving may cause more accidents. Like it or not, people WILL attempt to pass at the right possible endangering innocent cars in the right lane and you as well when they will be cutting in front of your car. What's the point? No one learns anything and everyone gets pissed.

In fact, if people voted for speed limit the result could be different. But they don't, somebody else decides.

 

[LazyBear]

And by the way, if you drive at 55 on 55, do you slow down to 45 at night? In the rain? Do you keep driving in the left lane then?

Laws will never be flexible enough, they should be reasonably simple. Therefore, they will never say that it's OK to drive 70 mph in the rain in 4x4 Audi Allroad with rain tires and it's not OK in a rear wheel driven 10 years old truck with worn off rubber. Or that there are different rules for 30 and 70 years old drivers.

However, humans are smarter than a piece of paper.

 

[faqsman]

What makes you think most drivers are speeding? The fact is if you
are passing vehicles they are going slower than you are, and if two cars
get on the road doing the speed limit on different entrances, they will never
see each other.

Again, if you think the law is wrong, why do you slow down when a
police car is in the area? According to your words, you are in the right
and should therefore be praised rather than fined.

Legally, slower traffic is a vehicle that is BELOW the speed limit, period.

Based on your words, everyone should leave their house doors unlocked
because some people are robbing houses, and it is not right to make them
work to do so. lol