Nominations for Worst Drivers in Austin (Post, Howe: to move, licenses, horse)

[love roses]

There is no sense of entitlement for a speeder. No one goes, "Hey this car is fast. I should be able to go as fast as i want." They just want to get somewhere faster than someone else. Think about it. When you're speeding, you're not driving along cackling, "Hahha! I passed another one. Sucker!" You're just on your way somewhere and just want to GO!




I seriously doubt this. I actually think they do.

[love roses]

The person who doesn't get out of the way is the problem because they believe no one should be going faster than them is the one with the sense of entitlement. They feel they should be allowed to force their beliefs on others. Not very Texan, is it? On top of that, it usually ends up being about stroking their own ego. No speeder is going to learn any imaginary lesson.




Maybe the speeder was going so freakin fast that they just sped on up to someone who was already in the left lane trying to pass someone who was going slower than them in the right lane. Not very Texan to not have just a little iota of patience so someone can have a chance to move into the right lane after they pass the freakin slower traffic in the right lane. According to my husband (a truck driver) no, speeders of that ilk don't learn any lessons because they die from being in a hurry. If you'd like, I can retell some very graphic descriptions of wrecks he's personally witnessed.

[love roses]

Yes, i would get angry at them because they're escalating a bad situation to a worse situation. They could just move over and both parties would have suffered a minor inconvenience. Instead, they create a battle of wills and both drivers get very pissed off. Often it becomes dangerous, not just for the parties involved, but also for those around them.



Actually, that person, about 9 out of 10 times, isn't trying to elevate a situation. Sometimes you can't "just move over" as soon as bleeding from the ears guy behind you wants you to. Maybe there are too many cars just that second in the right lane to get over. I bet you probably are one of those super annoying people who flash their headlights or emergency signals just to get people out of your way.

[1mintjulep]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

If it was a typical rush hour with traffic only moving 15 mph that may not have been so bad.

It was you, wasn't it?

[love roses]

Except for the cigarette part, I have a good friend who sometimes would stick her foot out the window while driving.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by 1mintjulep

It was you, wasn't it?

[brattpowered]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

Section 5-20 and 9-4 of the Texas driver's manual clearly say if you are driving slower you should move right to let faster vehicles pass. It doesn't matter whether you are going the speed limit or not.

9-4 says:

"Good driving practices indicate that vehicles in any lane, except the right
lane used for slower traffic, should be prepared to move to another lane to
allow faster traffic to pass."

I nominate the people who don't follow this law as the Worst Drivers in Austin. It takes one hell of a sense of entitlement to restrict others' movement and go against a traffic code because one thinks they can drive slowly in the left lane without any duty to move, for whatever reason.

Whether the driver wanting to pass is going the speed limit or not is not the issue. The slowpoke in the left lane is not a policeman, nor is he/she the owner of the road. The issue is following this directive and moving because another car needs to pass and it's the law.

Originally Posted by iceshots

One auto writer in Toronto had a saying that I try to live by. If there is nobody in the lane to your right, then you should be.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by brattpowered

I nominate the people who don't follow this law as the Worst Drivers in Austin. It takes one hell of a sense of entitlement to restrict others' movement and go against a traffic code because one thinks they can drive slowly in the left lane without any duty to move, for whatever reason.

Whether the driver wanting to pass is going the speed limit or not is not the issue. The slowpoke in the left lane is not a policeman, nor is he/she the owner of the road. The issue is following this directive and moving because another car needs to pass and it's the law.

Correct, the person who is driving the speed limit should not try to enforce the law, but they have, legally, no obligation to move over based on the quote given, which says nothing about speeding being okay if you really wanna and you're in the left lane. However, whether or not the person wanting by is speeding is most certainly something that is up for discussion, and, in fact, the speeder is causing the dangerous situation in the first place.

Until you acknowledge that, you're avoiding the real issue, whether or not someone should pull over to let the nutcase go speeding by. The real issue is, if you're speeding, you're doing something wrong, and blaming the other person for being the problem is trying to avoid responsibility for the consequences of your own actions (the mildest of which is that you might have to slow down because someone else isn't breaking the law and happens to be in your way - the worst of which is death, yours or someone else's, because of what you make the conscious decision to do). Those consequences are not because of what someone else is doing, they are because of what you are doing.

Now, can any of you man up and admit this? Or is it still someone else who is the problem?

[brattpowered]

I just think drivers should adhere to good driving practices as set out in the Texas driver's manual. There is no mention of "nutcases" or rate of speed, just an instruction to be prepared to move over.

People should not speed either, but it's the responsibility of each person to follow good driving practices. Just because someone else does not doesn't mean you are entitled to ignore these practices as well!

[CptnRn]

The poll is open here http://www.city-data.com/forum/austi...rs-austin.html

You can vote for as many as you want.