I want to get a ridiculously fast car but have a complete beater shell. Armor/ bullet proof. ahhh to be able to squeeze some remaining joy from this world
Fewer deaths maybe but that doesn't mean people are not out there doing the dumbest things possible. Also fewer deaths possibly because the traffic has gotten worse...how can you die while going 2 mph?
Yes it fu**ing is. I'm not about to take 10mins going through a neighborhood that should only take 3-4 mins to get through. But as long as you pull over and let others pass it's ok. Problem is (like someone else said), most of these people who drive 15 in a 30 will FREAK OUT when someone tries to pass them in a neighborhood. They will speed up and swerve wildly to keep someone from passing. It's clearly not about safety to those people it's about getting off on that bullsh*t wanna-be sheriff egomania.
I'm always shocked at how incredibly slow 20 mph feels when someone is going a little below the speed limit on a wide-open 25-speed limit st. There are clearly times, like when on a wide-open road, that isn't in a residential neighborhood with kids playing, that doesn't have twist and turns, where it just feels silly to not be going 60 mph. Then at the same time, I agree most people need to chill the **** out when driving. Straight on speed isn't bad, but people who are hectically cutting into lanes, make hard turns, pulling out in front of people just to save a couple of seconds are extremely common, rushed decision making to save time in traffic is deadly.
It's because people are lumping speeding and reckless driving together. Reckless driving can include speeding but speeding doesn't mean you are being reckless. Driving 20 mph over the speed limit on a 5 lane highway with plenty of open space is not reckless to me. Wet weather, probably, heavier traffic, most likely. I do not care if someone speeds. I care when someone is being overly aggressive and impatient trying to save 20 secs by weaving through traffic, squeezing in between cars, constant lane changes...etc And yes, 25 mph feels so damn slow on a divided 2 lane road. CR101 in pearland, speed limit is 30mph. Cops are just waiting for someone to go over. I literally have to set my cruise control for those 2-3 miles so I am not tempted to go between 35-40 (what feels natural for that road).
My list of pet peeves currently: 1. Don't brake on the freeway unless needed. People hit their brakes like kids suck their thumbs. STOP. It causes panic behind you and sets of a chain reaction like nuclear fission. For starters, maybe try to stop tailgating. 2. Light turns green and you leave 3 car lengths before you go. For love of God, did you forget your goal was to get somewhere? Well, the rest of us didn't.3. Merge at speed! For F's sake, you have your very own merge lane. Use it! If people could figure out how to merge into traffic without slowing waaaay down, traffic would be virtually eliminated, which mostly starts around freeway interchanges ...cause nobody knows how to merge at speed. 4. Zipper Merge, use it! Don't leave a perfectly good lane go un-used because the lane ends a mile up the road. ...and don't be pissed when others do it. This is equivalent of leaving that last donut in the box. People, that is just plain wasteful! 5. Turn into your own GD lane. Why do people turn left into the right lane (or vice versa)? Oncoming traffic has to now wait to also turn cause your pansy ass thinks you'll black out due to excessive gforces when making a 90deg turn. 6. If making a left hand turn at an unprotected light, enter the intersection and wait for an opening. Jesus, nobody will ever get through. 7. And of course, no turn signals. It's like saying Please/Thank you. Just do it, regardless and always, you ungrateful bastards. It's sooo easy to do and makes life more pleasant for all. Oh a bonus tirade: Excessive lane changers on the freeway typically only save like 60 seconds of life, if that. Just chill the F down, be polite to other drivers, let them merge in when they need to but stay in your lane if you don't need to turn/exit. If others are driving like a manic, let them cut you off. He costs you, what, 1 second delay in your drive time? Everybody needs to take a deep breath, myself included.
1. This is the reason for most traffic. Following too closely and then setting off panic braking chain reaction. 2. This is compounded by now people leaving excessive distances between cars. IT'S OKAY TO CLOSE STOP TO A CAR AT A LIGHT. Why the fk are people leaving like 3 car distances? 3. When someone gets on the highway 10-20mph below the cruising highway speed, it creates more traffic. Now people have to change lanes so they don't have to brake... 4. I got high beamed by all the cars on 288 last weekend because I went all the way up to the front to zipper merge. Apparently using a completely free mile of lane space is a no no...idiots. 5. Does anyone these days know how to make a 90 degree turn these days out of a parking lot without going into the other two lanes? Have cars gotten so powerful you can't control the initial thrust? wtf! A variation of this is people rushing to get onto the main road only to go 20 under the speed limit. WHAT WAS THE HURRY!?! Same goes for the "right turn on red". Seriously. Just wait. You don't need to risk your life to pull out onto oncoming traffic.
THis thread needs to be sticky. It's cool if not, I'll just blast loud music. It helps calm the storm.
YES. I'd like to install a mad-max style dozer attachment to the front of my car to help close some of the gaps people leave. Really maddening when I'm 5 feet short of getting into the turn lane cause the baby lamb in front of me stops 30 feet short. Now I missed my protected left cause you have no idea about the dimensions of your own car and/or so you can check Instagram or Facetime and are completely oblivious to your surroundings.
Some drivers are psychologically incapable of maintaining this rate of speed. I love that cruise control speeds are getting lower, down from 35mph to 20mph now. Even lower might be helpful- there's a 15mph school zone here, where a cop just sets up camp and constantly has them pulled over during those morning and afternoon windows.
Probably 1/5th of the cars this morning and yesterday evening were driving in this weather with their lights off. Amazing.
I don't know if every car is like this, but it's way too easy to accidentally turn your high beams on. At least it is for my 2010 Camry.
Traffic shockwave video is supercool. Thanks for sharing. That's exactly what happens when people simply tap their brakes. PSA: If you can slow down without breaking, then you can literally single handedly stop the whole chain reaction and the world will be a better place. Here is a great experiment from MIT of the effects of a single autonomous car (ie one that doesn't tailgate and excessively break) can help all traffic. YOU have the power to be that car. You can stop the chain reaction. Here is another Video describing this whole effect. They call it the traffic snake. You have the power to kill the snake! So lets recap: 1. Merge at speed 2. don't aggressively change lanes (cause it saves you like 5 seconds of life and leaves a chain of misery behind you, you selfish b*stard!) 3. ...and stop breaking so damn much.
I45 South after Allen parkway is a prime example of 1,3 and lack of zipper merge in action. There are two merge lanes and a curve. *Houston drivers faint*
Not Houston but further NW in nowhere people are always driving with their high beams, big trucks with fog lights or after market set ups that are not aligned properly blasting my eyeballs. Or they have had them on for a while with no traffic until I come along and they finally remember to turn them off just as we pass each other. A little late there buddy. For a while on my way home from work I've had a sheriff deputy get behind me on a dark, long, curvy 2 lane highway and turn his high beams on for 2 or 3 miles. He would get real close to me before turning them on blinding me through my rear view and side mirrors. Seemed like he was purposely doing it, like he was trying to get me to f up so he could then pull me over. It was about 4 or 5 times in one month. That was some BS
