Cagers' refusal to change consumption practices...

[duivendyk]

The traffic laws in this country don't make much sense,innumerable speed signs that are hard to see and all sorts of different speed limits often for no discernable reason, except for cops to lie in wait &nab you I suppose,and that seem to have little to do with promoting traffic safety.Poor lane discipline that in Europe you'd never get away with.In England, if there is a speed sign it MEANS something.They put signs ON the roadbed where you can see them instead of having to LOOK for them.We would do well to adopt their roundebouts which work quite well with low density crosstraffic instead of putting stop signs everywhere and causing all sorts of delay for everyone.The fourway stop signs are an abomination.Most drivers don't know that if you arrive simultaneously,traffic to your right has the right of way.Why have STOP signs anyway a YIELD accomplishes the same thing,that is who has the right of way.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

It's always seemed to me that an unspoken traffic rule is: you must drive as fast as is physically possible at all times.

I've seen plenty of people who follow that rule. I've seen them on residential streets just blast on by, only a few feet from small children, totally unconcerned.

We all know that if you do 65 on the freeway, you'll be passed by one car after another.

And having a bunch of agitated drivers behind you is definitely no good at all. So in heavier traffic I drive as fast as the guy ahead of me. As a result, I've found myself doing 85 through mid-size cities when the traffic is just heavy enough to fill the roads, but not yet so heavy that things crawl to a stop. It kinda frightens me. It's crazy.

 

[duivendyk]

It's not, you adjust your speed according to safety concerns and traffic conditions,when at all possible.I have felt far safer on the Autobahns in Europe at 90 mph,than on the Beltway in DC at less than 70.European drivers (except for the French and Belgians) are more savvy and attentive than those overhere.The traffic police doesn't do an adequate job in most places in this country.All they do is nab people for speeding.What's the point of setting speed limits (often unrealistically low and sneaky ones) if people routinely ignore them.In Europe they are higher on major roads but they are enforced with stiff fines.Drunken driving penalties are also more severe.

 

[Large Filipino]

Jared: On most highways, the minimum speed is something like 45 or 50, so driving 55 isn't against the law or anything. But I did just learn in a driver's safety class (got caught at a speed trap. 45mph zone dropped to 30mph with essentially no warning) that driving slower than the prevailing speed of traffic is actually dangerous. It's because all those people behind you, that want to keep up with traffic, become frustrated and anxious to switch lanes. Anytime you've got a lot of people switching lanes, it increases the chances of a collision occurring. All it takes is for one of those people to not check their blindspots, and BAM! Game over.

So a scooter is dangerous in a 30 mph zone when others want to go 45? C'mon. People just need to show some courtesy and they need to learn how to drive. To "excuse" a reckless driver trying to win the "race" going on in their minds is crazy. But then when I drive I think everyone's crazy.
BTW,yes. A scooter IS dangerous because those in a hurry make it so,NOT the slow moving vehicle.

 

[eljefino]

There's a hill near me that crests, descends steeply, and has a stop sign at the bottom.

I crest the top (in my car) at 30 despite a speed limit of 45. It only takes a couple extra seconds.

When I restrict the traffic behind me, I'm saving them gas as well as myself. I feel very self-righteous.

They say most SUV styling is meant to intimidate. I refuse to be intimidated, especially by those oversize push bumpers with the headlight protectors etc.

If traffic is thick I'll totally let a car/motorcycle/bicycle/commercial truck/bus pull in front of me. Not so for SUVs and unladen trucks. I want to subtly get through that such vehicles are ungainly and take longer from door-to-door.

Yes I'm a jerk. The one place I chicken out is I don't do a Nelson-style "haw-haw" at gas stations.