Street Traffic

That's right.

Traffic.

Ignorance on wheels. Why does it seem that you are the ONLY person on the road that is driving properly?

What do i mean?

I always drive the speed limit, exactly the limit. If im on the interstate, i always go 5 mph above the limit. the reason i dont go faster is because there's really no sense in it....and i've learned my lesson from my youth (lots of speeding tickets...)

Anyways. Here is a list of things that just drive me insane about driving in traffic (i live in a mid-sized town, population ~100k)

Stop Lights. Every where i go - im waiting on red lights. Typically, in a trip to and from work, ill hit the same # of lights, and always the same ratio is red. usually around 3/4

When the light turns green. Why is there always some moron on their phone, or talking to a friend, that never sees the light turn green?
They set there and set there and set there and....
THEN - when you honk at them to go - they flip you off, like you're the butt-head who's holding up traffic!! AHH


Slow drivers. As i said. I drive the LIMIT. There are certain people who subscribe to the "the limit is just a limit, doesnt mean you have to go that fast"

YES - IT - DOES

This isnt Germany where people hop in their nice BMW's to take a relaxing 100mph cruise on the Autobahn.
Where i come from, we're in a hurry, all the time. Hurry to get to work. hurry to get home. Hurry to get to the theater, etc.

Get out of the way if you are going to drive 20mph in a 45 mph zone.


The multi-tasker. This is the person who doesnt use their signal because they're too busy on the phone. They cut you off because they're busy looking at their own reflection in the mirror.
For me - the rule is simple -
If you cannot do two things simultaneously - then only do one. Drive.


People who drive TOO FAST. You're doing 35 in a 35, and some butt-head wants to pass you. So, instead of doing the speed limit, what does he or she do? They ride your tailgate like its a noble steed.

Im sure many of you feel my pain
it jsut feels good to put it down where others can read

My traffic rant...

People who slow down to a crawl a block from where they are turning.

People who are stuffing their face or on the phone while driving and are subsquently driving slower than everyone else around them.

People who do not understand right of way and then tailgate when you enforce your right of way.

Cars/SUV's that have systems in it that shake my windows and vibrate my car. I understand you like your music but what makes you think I like it too? Turn that crap down!!

Originally posted by ValhallasValkyrie


Cars/SUV's that have systems in it that shake my windows and vibrate my car. I understand you like your music but what makes you think I like it too? Turn that crap down!!

How could i forget that one!!!!
What's more - is you dont hear the music, you hear the trunk rattle...:bnghd:

and the only time its worse is when your'e at the gas station and some lame-o pulls up, walks inside, and leave's their car running, stereo cranked full blast.

ohhhhhhh man i have issues on this topic

LOL! I share your pain.. trust me! I live in an apt complex that has vehicles going through at all hours with their stereos thumping loud enough to shake my apt windows and vibrate my floor if they are right outside the building. It does not make me a happy camper!

Still, the one that makes me go :bnghd: is those that feel they need to dern near stop before making a turn... when there is no one in front of them or traffic coming from the other way.

Yeah... I suffer road rage. Prolly be a good thing that I am not rich enough to drive a hummer... some people would be in serious trouble then! LOL

The problem I have here in Indiana is I do drive fast... not obscenely fast.. but usually 10-20 MPH over the speed limit. People that are hanging out in the passing/fast lane that want to play traffic cop need to knock it off. If I'm coming up on you in the passing lane... MOVE OVER. Don't try to get me to slow down or box me in with the person in the lane to the right because all you will do is piss me off. Its called courtesy, if I want to speed then thats my right I'm the one risking a ticket. And yes I'm a very defensive driver as well... no accidents in 10 years since i've been driving. And I jsut believe the US in general people can't drive worth a damn. Statistically the Autobahn has less accidents per year than any US highway and they do not have a speed limit on most of the autobahn.

statisitcally though there are farrrr fewer cars on the autobahn

But i still share your frustration. Though im not one of those to go that fast (like i said, lots of prior speeding tickets, finally laerned my lesson)
I hate it when other drivers play vigilante and try to make a citizens-stop by cutting you off

there's only one thing more dangerous than a speedy driver and thats a slow driver in the midst of speedy drivers.

I believe all speed limit signs should be divided into 2 parts

the top part is the speed limit (and that should never be below 35 mph)
and the bottom part is the min. speed (and that should never be below 30mph)

Also - I live in Illinois, so i have to say that im jealous of Indiana's interstate speed limits. You can go 75 and not risk a ticket
if i go 70 - i got state police clockin me and pulling me over


On a side note, isnt it true that montana enacted the 'no speed limit' rule in certain parts of the state?

Yes that is correct as far as I know. But I believe in Germany drivers are more aware/mature and taught better skills in driving. As with the autobahn you have people going 140-160 MPH and they are in the correct lane to do so... if someone else is in that lane going 60 MPH they know they will most likely die if they do not move as a car cannot stop quick enough to avoid a disasterous accident.

No offense intended to the OP, but I rant against people who drive the speed limit. The cops give you 10 to 15 mph over, you mine as well take it.

Peace

LOL
then i want to live where you do.

The cops here don't

my first speeding ticket was 35 in a 30
i've also gotten a speeding ticket on I-74 for 70 in a 65

my other tickets were 15-20 mph over the limit, but still

i was 5 mph over

and they didnt cut me a break.
i drove a pontiac aztek for god sakes
its not like they said "oo a super sporty car, lets get it!"

Amusing how people who have a history of bad driving and lots of tickets now "wonder" about the bad driving around them.

To quote Walt Kelly: "We have met the enemy and he is us".

Just read the replies. People get in the car and believe they are entitled above all others, blaming people who obey the posted limits for being dangerous and threatening others because they "piss him off".

The best method of driving I've seen is to imagine you are transporting precious cargo and drive like a chauffeur. Of course then we have females with children in their cars who have to drive like daredevils, using the cellphone, applying makeup, searching on the floor of the passenger footwell for tapes and ranting at others. When charged with vehicular homicide, they cry in court and get off if they're pretty.

Ask yourself, whom would you like to be accompanied by on the highway, cowboys, inattentive drivers, or calm people obeying posted laws. Do you really need to get to your destination five minutes sooner?

My wife once actually said this:

What the hell is HIS problem!?!? He's not even going the speed limit!

I hate the bass thumpers.

I console myself with the knowledge that they are doing irreparable damage to their kidneys, spleen, and liver with the VLF vibrations. also, some evidence of increased sterility among thumpers.

That's it; too loud to reproduce.

My question to the OP is why do you rant if you can't decide if you want to speed (highway) or not.

I always drive the speed limit, exactly the limit. If im on the interstate, i always go 5 mph above the limit.

Could you either be consistently law abiding or a rebel please so I know where you stand?

It seems your just making up the rules whenever they are convenient when the rules have already been given to you.

It seems to me the problem is that everyone is making up their own traffic laws and chastising everyone else for making up their own traffic laws. To tell you the truth, if a person on the highway is in the left lane doing the speed limit, there is no reason you need to pass him. It's you who are breaking the law trying to get around traffic that is already law abiding.

[edit on 12-6-2008 by ben91069]

[edit on 12-6-2008 by ben91069]

and if that same lane of traffic has someone doing 60 MPH and i want to do 65 or 70, why can't i?


I drive 70 on the highway because 65 is stupid. Everyone around me drives 80, so whats the big deal? 70, mostly - the cops let you by with 5 mph over the limit because 65 is too dang slow

My problem wasnt with people doing 5 mph over

my problem was with people who go 55 in a 30
who go 85 in a 65 and get up on your bumper

So, sorry that you read my post wrong, but im glad we coudl clear things up

Originally posted by ben91069
It seems to me the problem is that everyone is making up their own traffic laws and chastising everyone else for making up their own traffic laws.

That's exactly right. When people get behind the wheel they gain a sense of control and probably derived from that, a (false) feeling of entitlement.

Faster drivers can zip around the slower traffic giving them a sense of agility and adroitness. But they're really just showing their impatience. If one object is faster than a competing object, it's an illusion of agility, not real skill.

People also get inured to the high speed and don't have a sense of the amount of forces they are generating until it's too late.


[edit on 12-6-2008 by Badge01]

Hmm

i could be reading your post through biased eyes

But how is it that im inventing my own traffic laws?

The sign says "35" i do "35"

The sign says "65" and everyone around me does "80" and i do "70" then yeah - we're all "breaking the law"
But remember that, the next time you jaywalk

If someone is insinuating that by me demanding that everyone do the speed limit is inventing your own law, then i think certain people are just here to troll

not falling for it, sorry.

Originally posted by Badge01
Faster drivers can zip around the slower traffic giving them a sense of agility and adroitness. But they're really just showing their impatience. If one object is faster than a competing object, it's an illusion of agility, not real skill.

There's no doubt about the impatience, but the needing a sense of adroitness and agility is psycho-analyzing it a little too much. I mean, personally speaking, if I'm behind somebody who's going slower than I want to and the lane next to me is open, should I just stay behind the guy in front of me???

Yeah, I bought my mid-size SUV because I need the feeling of agility and adroitness.

Peace

reply to post by Dr Love


Don't miss the point. I was just highlighting the various illusions that crop up when someone is driving.

They think they're "better drivers" because they can speed around competing traffic. They're not. But this sense of being better leads to this feeling of 'do it my way'.

In your example, it's not clear if you should stay behind them. That's a judgment call based on traffic flow. But here you show your own illusions if you think that the empiric speed or position entitles you to speed up and go around him because you can.

What if it's raining and/or foggy?

My point remains. Who would you rather have driving around you, cowboys, making up their own speed limits, or cautious drivers going the posted speed?

[edit on 12-6-2008 by Badge01]

lol, nice






Its being impatient, yes. But, honestly, how many people get in their cars to go "drive around" anymore?
Not me.
Certainly not at $4.00 a gallon.
I get in my car to go places and do things
the things i wish to do don't involve driving around
i hate driving. With a passion
if instantaneous teleportation existed, i'd invest every penny into it

The quickest way from point A to B is no line at all ! (im going to save that one for a suggest to the worlds first teleportation company)


So - why is it okay for the butt-head in front of me, to do 25 in a 35?
True, its a "limit" and not a "speed standard"

But if you're not in a hurry - and i am - get out of the way.
Im not driving dangerous. The slow-poke in front of me is. Why? Because im doing the Speed LIMIT because im in a hurry, and so are the others around me, meanwhile, the minivan in front of me is slowing everyone down because she's trying to talk on the phone and play kanasta

Its rediculous
if everyone drove the speed limit, there'd be a heck of a lot less road rage

Originally posted by Badge01
reply to post by Dr Love

 

My point remains. Who would you rather have driving around you, cowboys, making up their own speed limits, or cautious drivers going the posted speed?

[edit on 12-6-2008 by Badge01]

Cautious drivers, as long as they are doing the posted speed.
Anything slower than the speed limit, isnt fast enough.

Originally posted by Badge01
They think they're "better drivers" because they can speed around competing traffic.

Instead I would say, I know I'm a more impatient driver.

But here you show your own illusions if you think that the empiric speed or position entitles you to speed up and go around him because you can.

It's not a matter of entitlement, it's a matter of just wanting to.

What if it's raining and/or foggy?

I'm much more careful and attentive, but I'll still try to get around them.

My point remains. Who would you rather have driving around you, cowboys, making up their own speed limits, or cautious drivers going the posted speed?

Obviously the latter if those are my only two choices, but it's not reality. You chose two completely opposite ends of the spectrum and worded the question accordingly.

Peace