Driving Peeves: SUV's & Turn Signals

[BicycleTree]

It seems to me that you were confused numerous times about the topic and your information was not always valid. Remember that the one deciding your own information is valid is you, not the most impartial of people; taking your own argument as objectively valid is naive except in math, formal logic, or exceedingly simple situations. The ability to see and accept the merit of other people's points of view is very valuable.

 

[Andy]

I hate speed limits, other road users but the things I hate the most are buses!

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Your intent seems quite clear there. You purposely slow down to get the tailgater irritated, then once they finally decide to undertake, you gleefully (and spitefully) speed up to prevent them from getting in front of you. This is called blocking, and it's dangerous and pointless. If, as you claim, you're already keeping a safe distance from the car in front of you in the fast lane, you're now assuredly closing into an unsafe distance. So there is a contradiction in what you've been posting, and I think you're toning down your opinion because you've been rightly called on it.

There is no contradiction. While driving normally there is a certain distance that is safe to maintain. With a vehicle driving too close behind me though, while I may be safe from hitting the person in front of me, I do not have time to safely stop and be sure that the person behind me doesn't hit me. If that person were to hit me it would likely result in my vehicle colliding with the vehicle in front of me even though I would have otherwise safely prevented that with my following distance. If this were to happen, even though it was due to the unsafe driving of another driver, I would legally be responsable for the damages incurred to the vehicle in front of me, as far as California law is concerned. It is then necessary in this instance to have an inordinately large space between yourself and the vehicle in front of you so you have adequate time to stop the vehicle hopefully avoiding the rearend collision and responsability for a secondary collision. I believe I touched on this in my responses already I'm sorry that you didn't pick up on it.
So for safety reasons my slowing down is actually necessary and once the person is no longer behind me I resume a normal driving speed which naturally will mean the person who just changed lanes will have difficulty in overtaking my vehicle. Admittedly I may slow a bit more than necessary and my desire to irritate the individual is probably somewhat childish but my actions are in no way overtly wreckless in nature.
Now my original post was rather flippant about the subject but under criticism I have elaborated and become more serious about the matter. This is in no way a back track of, or in contradiction to, my original post.

 

[Curious3141]

There is no contradiction. While driving normally there is a certain distance that is safe to maintain. With a vehicle driving too close behind me though, while I may be safe from hitting the person in front of me, I do not have time to safely stop and be sure that the person behind me doesn't hit me. If that person were to hit me it would likely result in my vehicle colliding with the vehicle in front of me even though I would have otherwise safely prevented that with my following distance. If this were to happen, even though it was due to the unsafe driving of another driver, I would legally be responsable for the damages incurred to the vehicle in front of me, as far as California law is concerned. It is then necessary in this instance to have an inordinately large space between yourself and the vehicle in front of you so you have adequate time to stop the vehicle hopefully avoiding the rearend collision and responsability for a secondary collision. I believe I touched on this in my responses already I'm sorry that you didn't pick up on it.
So for safety reasons my slowing down is actually necessary and once the person is no longer behind me I resume a normal driving speed which naturally will mean the person who just changed lanes will have difficulty in overtaking my vehicle. Admittedly I may slow a bit more than necessary and my desire to irritate the individual is probably somewhat childish but my actions are in no way overtly wreckless in nature.
Now my original post was rather flippant about the subject but under criticism I have elaborated and become more serious about the matter. This is in no way a back track of, or in contradiction to, my original post.

It's "reckless", not "wreckless". Freudian slip ?

At any rate, you'd know best how safe your driving is. From what you've posted here, it doesn't seem to be the wisest, safest way to drive, but that's just my opinion (and that of some other posters).

Take care on the roads.

 

[Pre-AlgebraDude]

I can't drive yet but there is some folks that tick me and my parents off. Like if someone starts to pull out in front of you and then you start out and then stop and they start and stop and let you come and then just absolutely take off. And I hate when we get behind some tractor and it makes us late. But I especially can't stand people driving stick-shifts and talking on cell phones! This one guy I saw yesterday was driving some old 70's Ford truck that I could tell was a stick-shift because he was moving his arm, but he had the phone in his left hand and then LET GO OF THE WHEEL shifted and then started gesturing and was getting really into his conversation and almost swerved over and hit us.

Oh yeah. I hate tailgaters too. We have gotten hit countless times from someone hitting us from behind.

 

[Huckleberry]

Ever have those people on the highway that just hang behind you in the next lane. It's not really tailgating because they aren't directly behind you, but they are in a blind spot and feel very comfortable there. They just hang out for a while matching speed and then all of a sudden race forward to pass. What's up with that? Nobody in their lane and they like to sit in my blind spot.

 

[Moonbear]

Ever have those people on the highway that just hang behind you in the next lane. It's not really tailgating because they aren't directly behind you, but they are in a blind spot and feel very comfortable there. They just hang out for a while matching speed and then all of a sudden race forward to pass. What's up with that? Nobody in their lane and they like to sit in my blind spot.

I really hate them because they're always in the lane to your right when you want to get over as your exit is approaching. They stick just close enough that you can't change lanes, they're oblivious to your turn signal, you speed up and they seem to speed up, you slow down to drop behind them, and they slow down. I don't seem to get the ones who race foward to pass though, I wish they would so I could drop in behind them and get over where I want to be, but no, I get the ones who just sit there.

 

[JamesU]

8 pages and this thread still hasn't gone off topic

 

[zoobyshoe]

8 pages and this thread still hasn't gone off topic

Allow me:

My pet peeve just now is Brewnog who has aparently abandoned the "what is it" thread with 8 unconfirmed or denied guesses backed up.

 

[JamesU]

I've been waiting too...BREWNOG!

 

[brewnog]

I've been waiting too...BREWNOG!

Sorry guys, mother had just thrown a tandoori chicken pizza on the table. I had to prioritise.

 

[JamesU]

oohh..pizza

 

[zoobyshoe]

Sorry guys, mother had just thrown a tandoori chicken pizza on the table. I had to prioritise.

Unmitigated selfishness. Dog of Pavlov!

 

[Moonbear]

Sorry guys, mother had just thrown a tandoori chicken pizza on the table. I had to prioritise.

Talk about fusion cuisine! That's the oddest combination I've ever heard of!

 

[brewnog]

Talk about fusion cuisine! That's the oddest combination I've ever heard of!

I know, I used to be a pizza purist (and having been to one of the world's oldest pizzarias in Naples only helped this).

But don't knock it till you've tried it!

 

[Moonbear]

I know, I used to be a pizza purist (and having been to one of the world's oldest pizzarias in Naples only helped this).

But don't knock it till you've tried it!

Well, I like pizza and I like tandoori chicken. I never quite envisioned the two together. Do you substitute the pizza sauce with a different spicy sauce, or is it regular pizza with tandoori chicken on it? I've had chicken parmesan pizza, which is to die for if they don't overcook the chicken (no good if it gets all dried out during baking); I'm just trying to figure out the spice combination you get with tandoori chicken pizza. But, hey, if you're buying, I'll try it. I'll try any food; if I don't like it, I don't get it again (I'll usually order a "safe" dish on the side so I have food if I don't like the new one I'm trying).

 

[Huckleberry]

8 pages and this thread still hasn't gone off topic

Are you happy now?

 

[brewnog]

Well, I like pizza and I like tandoori chicken. I never quite envisioned the two together. Do you substitute the pizza sauce with a different spicy sauce, or is it regular pizza with tandoori chicken on it? I've had chicken parmesan pizza, which is to die for if they don't overcook the chicken (no good if it gets all dried out during baking); I'm just trying to figure out the spice combination you get with tandoori chicken pizza. But, hey, if you're buying, I'll try it. I'll try any food; if I don't like it, I don't get it again (I'll usually order a "safe" dish on the side so I have food if I don't like the new one I'm trying).

I think it's just normal (well, Americanized ) pizza, but with some delicious big chunks of tandoori chicken on it. It was only a supermarket thing, but I've made my own in the past and put a teaspoon of chilli powder in the sauce.

Anyway, I quite like posting recipes, so here's brewnog's special tandoori chicken:

4 chicken breasts
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground corriander
1/2 tsp turmeric

Blitz the lot, leave to marinade for as long as possible, then bake in the hottest oven you can manage. Substituting the chicken with lamb is divine. You can also stick them on sticks and grill them.

It's really good in pitta with lots of mango chutney, lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes.

 

[Huckleberry]

A poll was taken of the highest and lowest scoring states on driver's exams. The three highest scoring states in this order were.
1. Oregon
2. Washington State
3. Iowa

And the worst,
1. Rhode Island
2. Massachusetts
3. New Jersey

Rhode Island doesn't really count because it is just a suburb of Mass. Phoenix and it's suburbs are bigger than the entire state. So I consider Rhode Island a part of Massachusetts. This means Mass takes both first and second place in the worst driving contest. Do I get some kind of a prize?

 

[Gale]

yup... mass-holes. funny though bout rhode island... new hampshire isn't much bigger... actually, i think of all of new england as one big state really... 'cept new hampshire. we're different. the rest though, one big state...

 

[Huckleberry]

I was raised in a trailer park in Salem, New Hampshire. We never drove it though. It just sat there for 7 years. What a waste. If your going to put wheels on a home you might as well use them.

 

[Gale]

I was raised in a trailer park in Salem, New Hampshire. We never drove it though. It just sat there for 7 years. What a waste. If your going to put wheels on a home you might as well use them.

ya, but the key thing was new hampshire we're the best state in the union! no sales tax, no income tax, (awesome during tax season,) don't need car insurance, we have mountains, country side, cities, a coast, an international border... everything! we may be tiny, but we rock!

 

[brewnog]

I was raised in a trailer park in Salem, New Hampshire. We never drove it though. It just sat there for 7 years. What a waste. If your going to put wheels on a home you might as well use them.

Yeah, especially in a state with something I've just found out about, - NO CAR INSURANCE!

I'm there! Wooooo!

 

[Huckleberry]

Yeah, especially in a state with something I've just found out about, - NO CAR INSURANCE!

I'm there! Wooooo!

Yeah, sounds really good until you go to buy any property. That's where they rake in all the dough. Property taxes in New Hampshire are outrageous. Otherwise it is an awesome state for just about anything. A bit boring perhaps. What do you think Gale? What is there to do in NH?

 

[Gale]

Yeah, sounds really good until you go to buy any property. That's where they rake in all the dough. Property taxes in New Hampshire are outrageous. Otherwise it is an awesome state for just about anything. A bit boring perhaps. What do you think Gale? What is there to do in NH?

hehehe... yes, property taxes are definately outrageous. but i think its worth it... we have really nice places to live i think.

and ya... we're a wee bit on the boring side of things.. but its not so bad. great area for outdoor sports like hiking, kayaking, fishing, and of course the outdoor sports like snow shoeing, skiing, ice skating... ya, the east coast has smaller mountains than out west, but NH has the biggest on our coast. let's see, we have the ocean, but its a bit chilly, and there's nearby Canada, which is also a bit chilly. hmm... plus there's always cow tipping eh? or... is that not popular anymore? (actually, i hate how people think there's so many cows in NH... there's really not...) Plus its soooo pretty here. our winters are pretty, our autumns are pretty, our summers are pretty our springs... well, 3 out of 4 aint bad.

Plus, if you really need something to do in NH, i know this really awesome girl who lives there, and in my opinion, seeing her alone is worth the trip...

[edit] now yomamma must be really pleased... we're quite off topic now. but new hampshire is sooo awesome... it took going to college in Mass before i realized it...

 

[BicycleTree]

I once read something about how drivers in a city in some South American country--it may have been in Colombia--enjoy pretty good traffic despite having a much greater concentration of cars than New York City. Their secret? Aggressive, tailgating driving. Their price? Accidents.

 

[Moonbear]

A poll was taken of the highest and lowest scoring states on driver's exams. The three highest scoring states in this order were.
1. Oregon
2. Washington State
3. Iowa

And the worst,
1. Rhode Island
2. Massachusetts
3. New Jersey

Scary! I learned to drive in NJ. But, yeah, you only need to get 70% of the questions right to pass the written test (and people still failed it!). However, they also include a LOT of questions about drunk driving and penalties and things that really have nothing to do with how well you drive...as far as I'm concerned, as long as you know not to drink and drive, I don't care if someone knows what the fines are for first, second and third offenses, how much time in jail, how long you lose your license, etc. The test must have been written by lawyers. Nonetheless, I was only one of two students in my high school drivers' ed class that scored 100% correct on the test! And it did make me very nervous knowing that those people who didn't know 30% of the rules of the road were still allowed on the road, even after spending a full quarter learning about them!

There's also a lot of variability in the road test. At some testing centers, they have a little course you drive around, which is all very controlled (except when I took the test the same day as some tractor trailer driving student who failed...or I hope failed...considering he tried to run my car over...I think I could have done anything after that and still passed once I had my hand on the gear shift ready to throw it in reverse to get out of his way! I'd have hated to be the tester at that point not knowing if I was a good or bad driver yet and his fate was in my hands). Other testing centers take you out on the real streets. I don't think I'd want to park in that part of town where the student drivers are parallel parking all day...I'd hate to be parked near the open space where the student who fails parallel parking attempts to park.

Of course, I'm not sure how they can make those comparisons anymore. With computerized testing, you don't take the full test anymore. When I moved to OH, I had to retake the OH written test (I guess they didn't trust me since I showed up with a MI license, although since MI just traded in my NJ license for MI one without any testing required, maybe there's good reason for that). You have to get 80% correct to pass here, but as soon as you answer 80% of the questions right, the test just stops.

 

[Moonbear]

I once read something about how drivers in a city in some South American country--it may have been in Colombia--enjoy pretty good traffic despite having a much greater concentration of cars than New York City. Their secret? Aggressive, tailgating driving. Their price? Accidents.

Are you sure that wasn't the NJ Turnpike? I never noticed it when I lived there, but after being away a while, when I go back, it's a white-knuckle experience to be driving 65 in bumper to bumper traffic!

 

[BicycleTree]

Probably they want you to learn the fines not because they help you drive better but because learning meticulously about the penalties for DUI might tend to discourage you from DUI.

 

[Moonbear]

Probably they want you to learn the fines not because they help you drive better but because learning meticulously about the penalties for DUI might tend to discourage you from DUI.

Yeah, I do suspect that's their reasoning. Does it actually work though? I don't think it does, especially since you take the written test at or slightly before 16, before you get your learner's permit at 16. At that age, all you know about drinking and driving is you're not even legally supposed to drink at all. By the time you turn 21, nobody remembers those details about the penalties, and they've probably changed in 5 years' time anyway given the way laws change in NJ all the time.

 

[Evo]

Here in Kansas the test is on paper, something like 20 questions, only about driving rules and sign recognition, nothing about drinking. I believe if you miss 3 questions you fail.

 

[Gale]

Here in Kansas the test is on paper, something like 20 questions, only about driving rules and sign recognition, nothing about drinking. I believe if you miss 3 questions you fail.

basically the same thing here in NH. 3 Q's is a pass though, 4 is a fail. the actual driving is done in town. the drive is riddiculously easy. two lights, a rail road track, backing into a parking space, and then back to the dmv. my sister nearly hit the car next to her and still passed. actually, i believe its riddiculously hard to fail.

Also, getting my motorcycles liscense was very easy. i took the training course and did pretty well, then passed the test with only a few errors. The test was on a tiny bike though, and most of the tests were pretty easy. soon as i got my liscense i came home and tried to ride the harley... i dumped it like 4 times, and broke off a custom mirror and broke the headlight... i SO was not ready to be on the road... but of course, i needed my liscense just to practice riding... so i guess that's how it has to be.

 

[Pre-AlgebraDude]

Here you can make SEVEN FREAKIN' MISTAKES and still get a liscense. That includes run red lights/stop signs, pass in no passing zones, etc.


I really hate the ones that stay right on your bumper and then pass you in a no-passing zone and then slow down and get right in front of you. They seem like they're in a hurry to pass you and then slow down once they're in front of you.

I also hate the ones that try to pass you so they can "get to the red light first". That's what my dad calls it. They get ahead of us then stop for the red light.

 

[BobG]

Here you can make SEVEN FREAKIN' MISTAKES and still get a liscense. That includes run red lights/stop signs, pass in no passing zones, etc.


I really hate the ones that stay right on your bumper and then pass you in a no-passing zone and then slow down and get right in front of you. They seem like they're in a hurry to pass you and then slow down once they're in front of you.

I also hate the ones that try to pass you so they can "get to the red light first". That's what my dad calls it. They get ahead of us then stop for the red light.

Running a red light during your driving test is automatic failure in most states (in general, if the tester shrieks in terror, you fail).

Passing someone to get to the red light first sometimes makes sense if you've been behind a driver and have figured out how he drives. Some drivers, you pass when the opportunity presents itself because you don't want to be behind them anymore. For example, some drivers seem particularly adept at timing things so the driver behind gets stuck at a red - a little frustrating if you know the timing of the lights and know how fast you need to go to keep getting greens (unfortunately, that's not always exactly the speed limit). Edit: actually, when I think about it, there's also the group that passes at a red just so they can be there waiting for you at the next red.