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If I were the driver that had his hazard lights on, I would have pulled over to the shoulder as soon as possible and driven on the shoulder. Shoulders were invented to provide a safe haven for people in those sort of situations. If my car couldn't go more than 30, then it certainly would qualify as disabled, and on a 70-80 mph freeway I would be a menace to oncoming traffic, and I would be in danger of being hit by oncoming cars. Why he wasn't in the shoulder is beyond me.
That said, if I were in the OP's place and could see the hazard lights well ahead of time, I would have merged into the left lane if it was possible to do so safely. I've been in that kind of situation, and sometimes, when there is a huge volume of cars merging into the left lane (to avoid the 30 mph car), you can't merge into the left lane. Since I would have to slow down until I reached 30 mph (to avoid hitting the other car), and since it's pretty much impossible to merge into 70 mph traffic whilst going 30, I would pass the other car on the shoulder. It is highly irregular and sometimes dangerous, but in some situations a maneuver like that is necessary to avoid a greater danger or irregularity (such as going 30 mph on a freeway to avoid hitting the disabled car).
Just slow down, wait for an opening in the left lane, and floor it. NEVER pass in the shoulder.
Just had a little adventure driving home saturday after Thanksgiving. We were heading northbound on I-95 in South Carolina. The speed limit there is 70/45 (45 in the minimum speed). We were on cruise control going about 74 in the right lane. Cars were passing at 80+ on the left. Everything's going great. I notice there is a car in the right lane a great distance in front of us. He looks to be driving slow. I start planning to move left to pass him. I have to wait for the car passing me to finish passing before I can get over. Then I become aware that we are getting closer to the car much quicker than normal. Finally, we get close enough to tell he has his hazards on and he's going way below the minimum of 45. Of course, by the time I figured this out, I have to slam on my brakes super hard! I realize that I'm not going to be able to stop in time. I get ready to whip around him on the shoulder. He seems to see us and jerks the car toward the shoulder too, but then he changes his mind and stays right where he is. I go right ahead and release my brakes and coast around him, half on the shoulder, half on the grass, because I could not be sure he wouldn't still go for the shoulder. We rolled right around him, still going 40 or so, pulled right back on the freeway andf kept right on going. I yelled some obscenities, and the rest of the trip was fine. My question is, what in Sam Hill makes people think that putting the hazards on makes it okay to drive 30 mph, or whatever speed on the highway they want? I hope they pulled over and called a tow truck. I didn't see any news about a fiery crash in SC, so I guess they're okay.
If there had been an accident then it would have been your fault, not his.
When somebody has their hazard lights on that's a good indication for everybody else to drive DEFENSIVELY and give the troubled driver a lot of room. You don't know what's wrong with his car and maybe he doesn't either. There are any number of reasons why he couldn't have pulled over and stopped.
If I were the driver that had his hazard lights on, I would have pulled over to the shoulder as soon as possible and driven on the shoulder. Shoulders were invented to provide a safe haven for people in those sort of situations. If my car couldn't go more than 30, then it certainly would qualify as disabled, and on a 70-80 mph freeway I would be a menace to oncoming traffic, and I would be in danger of being hit by oncoming cars. Why he wasn't in the shoulder is beyond me.
That said, if I were in the OP's place and could see the hazard lights well ahead of time, I would have merged into the left lane if it was possible to do so safely. I've been in that kind of situation, and sometimes, when there is a huge volume of cars merging into the left lane (to avoid the 30 mph car), you can't merge into the left lane. Since I would have to slow down until I reached 30 mph (to avoid hitting the other car), and since it's pretty much impossible to merge into 70 mph traffic whilst going 30, I would pass the other car on the shoulder. It is highly irregular and sometimes dangerous, but in some situations a maneuver like that is necessary to avoid a greater danger or irregularity (such as going 30 mph on a freeway to avoid hitting the disabled car).
I hope you don't really try something like this! Slow down enough and move over to left lane when you get a chance.
Just had a little adventure driving home saturday after Thanksgiving. We were heading northbound on I-95 in South Carolina. The speed limit there is 70/45 (45 in the minimum speed). We were on cruise control going about 74 in the right lane. Cars were passing at 80+ on the left. Everything's going great. I notice there is a car in the right lane a great distance in front of us. He looks to be driving slow. I start planning to move left to pass him. I have to wait for the car passing me to finish passing before I can get over. Then I become aware that we are getting closer to the car much quicker than normal. Finally, we get close enough to tell he has his hazards on and he's going way below the minimum of 45. Of course, by the time I figured this out, I have to slam on my brakes super hard! I realize that I'm not going to be able to stop in time. I get ready to whip around him on the shoulder. He seems to see us and jerks the car toward the shoulder too, but then he changes his mind and stays right where he is. I go right ahead and release my brakes and coast around him, half on the shoulder, half on the grass, because I could not be sure he wouldn't still go for the shoulder. We rolled right around him, still going 40 or so, pulled right back on the freeway andf kept right on going. I yelled some obscenities, and the rest of the trip was fine. My question is, what in Sam Hill makes people think that putting the hazards on makes it okay to drive 30 mph, or whatever speed on the highway they want? I hope they pulled over and called a tow truck. I didn't see any news about a fiery crash in SC, so I guess they're okay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkf747
People said that I did not acknowledge my part in this. However, I did acknowledge that. It just so happened that i did when discussing this with one of the more reasonable posters here. You're just beating a dead horse.
And another thing: if you're claiming good reading comprehension skills then you would have read that I was not at a great distance when I discovered he was going as slow as he was. I'm sorry also that you can not see just how stupid and dangerous it is to be driving on the freeway at such low speeds. It suggests that you do not know what you're talking about. Why not go out and try it? Drive less than 30 with your hazards flashing. You're going to have to do this with hazards that are red, and are weaker than normal to get an accurate test. Do it on a flat highway (no hills or trucks nearby) with fairly heavy traffic going 80+ around you. Until then you are just theorizing about what happened.
according to your OP, in the bolded black section, you indicated that you KNEW the driver was moving slower than normal, and in the red bolded section you realized that you were closing faster than you initially thought, BUT YOU DELAYED taking proper action until it was very nearly too late.
so you want to try again there? or are you now willing to accept the fact that you blew it and are trying to lay the blame on the other driver?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patricius Maximus
If I were the driver that had his hazard lights on, I would have pulled over to the shoulder as soon as possible and driven on the shoulder. Shoulders were invented to provide a safe haven for people in those sort of situations. If my car couldn't go more than 30, then it certainly would qualify as disabled, and on a 70-80 mph freeway I would be a menace to oncoming traffic, and I would be in danger of being hit by oncoming cars. Why he wasn't in the shoulder is beyond me.
you do realize that the emergency lane is NOT a travel lane right? it is for when you break down to get off the road and either make repairs or wait for help.
according to your OP, in the bolded black section, you indicated that you KNEW the driver was moving slower than normal, and in the red bolded section you realized that you were closing faster than you initially thought, BUT YOU DELAYED taking proper action until it was very nearly too late.
so you want to try again there? or are you now willing to accept the fact that you blew it and are trying to lay the blame on the other driver?
you do realize that the emergency lane is NOT a travel lane right? it is for when you break down to get off the road and either make repairs or wait for help.
No I am not beating the dead horse. You still don't want to acknowledge that what you did was more dangerous than what he's doing. Changing numbers from 95-5 to 90-10 doesn't make you look any better. I am sure if you posted this with the "normal" actions that everyone else was taking (by moving to left lane far ahead) you could have had very different discussion.
And nobody said it's OK to drive "normally" at freeway with low speeds. However there are situations. You suggested he could have driven on shoulder. Driving at 40MPH or so at shoulder is even more dangerous. Have you thought about that (considering you were in right lane with cruise on at 74MPH)?
Even though I agree that the OP was in the wrong, I agree that the driver of the presumably crippled car should have been on the shoulder. And not driving 40, but at a considerably lower speed.
good point. None of us truly know the reason why the driver was going so slow, but it's easy to assume that he/she is oblivious/ ignorant/ unaware and most importantly, "95% at fault"
It really doesn't matter why the other guy was going so slowly. Part of our job as a driver is to respond to all conditions, including things that other drivers do that are dangerous or don't make sense. Keeping aware of all conditions, obstructions, and other vehicles is essential, and failing to do so is negligent.
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