Pickup driver's do not turn their lights on-WHY?

[Spitty]

True Story; About 15 years ago my father and I were a little way into the Bush cutting fire wood, we were splitting it 'on site' to save mess at home. anyway my father get his axe stuck in a block of wood, so he decides to hammer it through with another Axe (I know, Dum Idea) You guessed it, a chunk of shrapnel breaks off and hits him in the upper thigh, nicks an artery, Blood spurts like I've neaver seen before, we get a rope and a stick to slow the blood flow, I put him in the truck and head for the Hospital PDQ.
About halfway there on a divided hwy I get two cars side by side, doing about 90kmh on a 80kmh road and neither will move, I sit on the left guys bumper, Flash my lights, sound my horn and he slows down, so does the guy in the right lane, and gives me the finger.
The way I felt at the time, if I had had something bigger than a Datsun, I would have ramed them.
After about a mile the road changed to two way traffic, and I was able to overtake in the on-coming lane.
We got to the Hospital O.K. Dad lost a fare amount of blood and was in overnight, but was O.K.
It could have been a lot worse.
I guess the Guys blocking my way thought they were upholding the Law, and I was just some A** H**e speeding.

 

[brianl703]

quote:

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Originally posted by MarkC:
If somoene's going the speed limit in the left lane , he shouldn't actually be 'slower traffic', should he?

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I don't suppose you've ever heard of a concept called "tolerance"? No, I'm not talking about anything political, don't worry.

This is what I mean by tolerance:

3 : the allowable deviation from a standard; especially : the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece

My observations are that in Virginia, the tolerance of speed limits seems to be +/-10MPH. Very rarely do police officers ever ticket for anything below 10MPH over.

Speedometers themselves can be anywhere from 3-5MPH off, in either direction.

So that guy who thinks he's doing 55MPH in the left lane may actually be doing 50MPH and being passed by people going 60MPH in the right lane, where he ought to be instead.

 

[kenw]

"If somoene's going the speed limit in the left lane , he shouldn't actually be 'slower traffic', should he?

yes, he should.

The law says "Slower traffic". period.

 

[brianl703]

Also it is my observation that people who drive slow in the left lane invariably do so right next to someone in the right lane also driving at the same speed.

This makes it difficult for someone behind them who is in the left lane to get over into the right lane to exit because traffic is basically compacted into a plug. It was mentioned in another thread what happens when someone needs to slow down to allow someone into their lane when traffic is compressed this tight: INSTANT TRAFFIC JAM.

They hit their brakes, the guy behind them hits his brakes, and what was a free-flowing highway slows to a crawl.

All because someone wouldn't heed the signs which say "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT".

 

[MarkC]

quote:

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Originally posted by kenw:
"If somoene's going the speed limit in the left lane , he shouldn't actually be 'slower traffic', should he?

yes, he should.

The law says "Slower traffic". period.

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It also says "Speed Limit 65" or whatever.
I'm usually in the center lane or the right lane myself, but I often see people hassling someone in the left lane who's going the limit or better, mostly because they think they need to get somewhere 30 seconds faster.
Funny how we can pick and choose which rules we want to break.
(And I'm not excluding myself from this activity either; I'll jaywalk at the drop of a hat.)

 

[loudist]

quote:

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Originally posted by MarkC:
So, just for kicks, say someone is in the left lane going the speed limit. Someone behind him cruises up on him from going 10 over and wants the other one to move over so he can continue. Who's breaking the law?

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If I were the one coming up in the fast lane with a 'speed limiter' driver in front of me, I give them a 5 second 150db blast of my train horns.
They usually move over.
I 'might' be the one breaking the law depending on the noise abatement laws.

I have to say though, I am now the one in the right lane (the slow lane) most of the time doing 55 as I get 3-4 better mpg than goin 75.
Also, it seems the right lane is the one that moves best in semi snarly traffic.
Anyone else notice this?

 

[kenw]

quote:

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Originally posted by labman:

Originally posted by MarkC:
[qb] So, just for kicks, say someone is in the left lane going the speed limit. Someone behind him cruises up on him from going 10 over and wants the other one to move over so he can continue. Who's breaking the law?

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It's not up to you to enforce laws on other people, only to obey them yourself. If you are driving in the left lane and not passing, regardless of your speed, you ARE breaking the law.

Don't worry about the others, you won't have to pay their speeding tickets.

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by MarkC:
No thanks, my IQ is too high.

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Not if you're the one blocking traffic by hogging the left lane

 

[kenw]

btw, if you see me driving and I activate my turn signal, it's telling you:

1) I AM CHANGING LANES. I am not asking your permission. I have already determined that it is safe for me to change lanes and will be doing so.

2) If you speed up, see rule #1.

3) I carry a camera and have been known to post pictures of drivers who have failed to comprehend rule #1.

and btw2, I have no idea how the thread got started with pickups and no headlights. Since the thread started I've been watching daily Houston traffic (the bubbabuggy capital of the world) and pickups are no more likely to be driving without headlights than anyone else.

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by labman:

quote:

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Originally posted by MarkC:
So, just for kicks, say someone is in the left lane going the speed limit. Someone behind him cruises up on him from going 10 over and wants the other one to move over so he can continue. Who's breaking the law?

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If the guy has been out there for a while, I usually just quietly go around on the right. The sooner the dolt is behind you the better.

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Kind of like dealing with a pile of dog crap in the middle of a sidewalk. It shouldn't be there, bat as lomg as there are inconsiderate dog owners and it's not your side walk, the best thing to do is just go around it instead of standing there looking at it.

 

[loudist]

Marc here are rules from a Pasadena Ca website:

"Driving Too Fast

You should not drive beyond the posted speed limit even if you think it is safe because the posted speed limit also provides an enforceable tool for Police Officers who are trying to reach compliance for safety of all vehicles and pedestrians. The only time that you can exceed the posted speed limit (other than a 'maximum' speed limit) is when you can demonstrate that your speed did not violate the Basic Speed Law at the time, place and conditions existing then.

Driving Too Slow

You must not drive so slowly that you are a danger on the road, or interfere with the normal or reasonable flow of traffic. You may be cited for driving too slow just as you can be cited for driving too fast.

There are occasionally drivers attempting to obey the posted speed limit who may actually decrease safety by causing other drivers to make additional lane changes in order to get around slow traffic and/ or tailgate to try to speed up the traffic head. In these cases, the driver moving too slowly may cause harm to other motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists because traffic flowing at uniform speeds results in increased safety and fewer accidents.

State lawmakers are aware of problems associated with driving too slowly and subsequently established a law to decrease collisions that can occur when people drive too slowly. That law states that �no person shall drive upon a highway at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, unless the reduced speed is necessary for safe operation, because of a grade, or in compliance with the law.�

What to Do If You Need to Drive Slower than Traffic Flow

If you need to drive slower than the normal flow of traffic you should drive in the right lane of the roadway or as far to the right as is safe. You may even want to just pull over temporarily, allow the traffic behind you to pass and re-enter the travel lane when it is safe.

You must not block another driver who is attempting to pass you. Even though you believe you are driving the maximum safe legal speed for conditions, it is a good idea to let faster drivers pass you."
[Bolding is mine.]

This is usually the rule of the road for most states.

Slower traffic must keep right, slower in relationship to the traffic flow, even if traffic is speeding.

Clear Now?

What is really absurd is that when I am in the right lane doing 55, I will invaribly get some idiot tailgating, honking for me to speed up!!
Go figure.

 

[labman]

One more point. If I am in the left lane behind a string of cars, you may put your headlights where they won't get lost in the sunshine. Quietly wait your turn like everybody else. When I am no longer comfortable keeping up to the other traffic in the left lane, I will pull over.