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[2018] Houston drivers are getting worse...

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Sajan, Oct 4, 2018.

  1. Buck Turgidson

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    Oh holy ****, amen.
     
  2. arkoe

    arkoe (ง'̀-'́)ง

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    Option to pull over and let him pass?
     
  3. Blatz

    Blatz Contributing Member

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    I did a couple of times, slowed down, got on the shoulder but he would never pass until I got to my community if he followed that far. Other times he would follow for a few miles before he decided to turn around. He would always pull up close to me like a normal car on the road and then when he closed in even more he'd flip the high beams on. He would match my speed and some times get a little off centered of me to the driver side. He never would turn the siren or police lights on so I never came to a full stop on the shoulder. No other traffic coming or going. I was shaking a few times when I got home thinking WTF. I wanted to file a complaint but I was nervous about it. I did write an anonymous letter but by the time I did that it never happened again and I never mailed it.
     
  4. likestohypeguy

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    High beams approaching, I used to do the quick flash of mine to remind them theirs are on. Years ago this wasnt considered a declaration of war...

    Once a cop was approaching with his on, when I gave him the signal, he instantly u-turned and pulled me over. So incredulous I would dare do that to an officer, said exactly as much. Santa Fe tx

    Another time, this guy got so upset over it, he was instantly done with whatever plans, wherever he was going that night in exchang for light wars with me... Caught back up with me, tailgated with high beams on. Tried to give no reaction, no change in speed or pulling over etc. Eventually got bored and moved on.
     
    buffalobills!!! likes this.
  5. buffalobills!!!

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    That's because rain is like snow there now haha
     
  6. Jugdish

    Jugdish Member

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    I just want to say that I'm proud to be a member of a message board frequented only by elite drivers.
     
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  7. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    There was a crashed mcclaren on 290? Can’t go 200 mph in the rain pal
     
  8. krosfyah

    krosfyah Contributing Member

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    That's hysterical.

    I'd like to self report that I am often guilty of excessive lane changing which likely contributes to people braking behind me. That said, 75% of the time this happens when some nimrod is driving 55 in the fast lane. If that's you, sorry. (Unfortunately, it's likely to happen again but I try to be patient).
     
  9. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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  10. Xerobull

    Xerobull You son of a b!tch! I'm in!

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    Since my driving habits have gone from commuting to soccer-mom over the past few years, I've developed a new pet peeve: leaving a huge gap in front of your car at lights. I can't tell you how many times a few people leaving 10+ feet in front of their car has blocked me from getting into a turn lane. ****ing inconsiderate and infuriating.
     
    BigM likes this.
  11. Sajan

    Sajan Member

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    https://bbs.clutchfans.net/threads/2020-covid-has-made-houston-drivers-worse.305258/
    Time for a 2022? or wait till 2023?

    The car space thing is the new idiot behavior i see now. I will pull up to a light and I have to literally look back to see someone in the left lane standing 3 car lengths back....i just laugh. at this point there are just too many stupid drivers out there for me to get worked up over.
     
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  12. Xerobull

    Xerobull You son of a b!tch! I'm in!

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    I didn't think it was a 'new' behavior for post-Covid. Just something that annoys the **** out of me now that I've been aware of for decades.

    If it's safe and there's room (no pedestrians or cops) I will pop up on the curb to pass these morons if there's room. I give them a honk and a nice big smile on the way by. Generally I'll look back and they will have pulled up. I hope they learned something.
     
  13. Sajan

    Sajan Member

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    The worst is when two lanes out of three turn left but everyone just picks the one in the middle and of course leave the extra space that no one can even use the first lane.....UGH. adlfjaslfjsafljasdf
     
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  14. Xerobull

    Xerobull You son of a b!tch! I'm in!

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    Yep. Inconsiderate af.
     
  15. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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    Yeah, I see this more often than I used to. What are they thinking exactly? Do they believe their hood is 10 feet longer than it actually is? If so, how do they use a garage? Do they ever parallel park?

    I suspect this is actually some kind of "safety" thing, so that they have plenty of room to "get out" if the car in front of them explodes or something. (???)
     
  16. Xerobull

    Xerobull You son of a b!tch! I'm in!

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    2019 article (Pre-Covid):

    Autoweek Asks: How much space do you keep between the car ahead at red lights?


    There's following too closely, and then there's contributing to congestion. Which side do you fall on?

    AUTOWEEK


    Most drivers remember the two-second rule as being the safe following distance; some drivers actually observe it. While that rule of thumb is generally a good idea (and remember that it's three seconds for vehicles with dozens of crazy bumper stickers on them), one thing we've started noticing lately that some drivers observe a two-vehicle distance from the car in front of them at traffic lights.

    First of all, this is a topic that's kind of overlooked in most driving courses -- all attention is paid to keeping a safe following distance from the vehicle in front of you while you're in motion. But the question of distance at red lights has become something of an interesting pattern to observe in different cities, especially in urban areas where every extra inch counts. The only thing worse than "a close talker" at traffic lights is a phone talker who leaves two car spaces in front of them, preventing others from getting into the line behind them.

    Think about it: In an urban area, if a traffic light can accommodate just five vehicles and the second car in line maintains a one- or two-vehicle empty spot in front of it, only two or three cars will get through an intersection in a green light cycle. If a traffic light holds a maximum of 10 vehicles due to space and the length of the light, and each car keeps a whole car-length spot in front of them, this can contribute to congestion because only about five cars will get through, even though there is space for nine or 10 vehicles if they were closer together. At least in theory.

    So is crunching in the smartest thing to do if your goal is to maximize space for everyone, or do you give the car ahead as much room as possible?

    A recent study by Virginia Tech College of Engineering suggests that packing in closer is offset by the space required to accelerate from the light.

    "The study, published this month in the New Journal of Physics, used video cameras attached to drone helicopters to capture footage of cars accelerating through a traffic light on the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute's Smart Road," Science Daily writes. "By systematically controlling the packing density of the cars, the researchers discovered that any decrease in distance to the light was completely offset by the time it took for cars to regain a comfortable spacing before drivers could accelerate."

    Some people say, "Well, leaving a huge distance ahead of you gives you time to honk your horn if the car ahead puts it into reverse." That can be true if that car overshot the light and had to back up and you're the second car in line. But one other argument we've heard for keeping a very minimal distance from the car ahead of you is to discourage pedestrians and bikers to fit through that gap while you're stationary at a red light, which is a tactic some drivers use in cities to prevent jaywalkers from creating dangerous situations.

    If you think that state laws regulate this sort of thing, the answer is that in most states the statute simply penalizes "Following too closely," which is usually backed up by lazy and subjective language regarding keeping a "prudent" following distance. Those statutes are written wide enough to give police a pretextual excuse to pull someone over, but they're not frequently enforced at intersections while cars are stationary unless an officer really wants to pull someone over. For one thing, a police officer has to be able to see the distance in the first place, and that's hard to do unless they're to the left or the right on a multilane road, and they're actually interested in making a traffic stop just based on that.

    Still, this is something that DMV test-takers can lose points for on a driving exam because the rule of thumb that testers often use is the ability to see the rear tires of the car in front of you. Whether anyone would be able to get to work on time in an urban area like New York or Boston if everyone actually observed the rear-tire rule of thumb is another matter entirely.

    How much space do you usually leave between your front bumper and the car ahead of you at traffic lights?
     
  17. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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    Love the stupid rear tire rule.
    This actually explains a lot. Little short old ladies and the cool ride-low dudes in my neighborhood probably can't see the rear tires unless they're like a block away.
     
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  18. SuraGotMadHops

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    Houston drivers have definitely gotten markedly worse, aggressive, inconsiderate, and overall just dumb. It's an adventure driving anywhere now, it seems I witness or am a party to an incident or almost incident every single time I get on the freeway. I don't know why or what has changed, transplants maybe?

    Stay attentive and drive defensively folks. Be careful out there.
     
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  19. Xerobull

    Xerobull You son of a b!tch! I'm in!

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    People are way more triggered; it's a direct result of the super-polarization in politics (not getting into politics). Stress from Covid and the economy/inflation plays a part in it, too, although people still buy massively cost-inefficient vehicles for no reason.



    On another Houston driving note: I drove into H-Town the other night and the bumper-to-bumper traffic coming from downtown was still bad. I don't understand how there are so many white-collar jobs that aren't 100% remote now. It makes no logical sense.
     
  20. B-Bob

    B-Bob "94-year-old self-described dreamer"

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    The oldsters running orgs just can't imagine a world where "coming to work" isn't the norm. Or that's my experience with a number of companies. Younger leadership (like for a few silicon valley orgs) steers a different direction on this. They're more like, "wait, I can not rent office space? and wait, I can cut our HR staff by, like, 70%? And my employees will be happier?"
     
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