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I'm driving down a 3 lane highway that had very little traffic then suddenly hit a school of cars doing 60-70mph completely blocking traffic flow. You figure these drivers won't tail gate or get very close. But I see drivers lined up almost 1.5 car gap and being very close to each other. Fortunately I got around a gap and made my move to cut in front of the lead group of drivers. The guy honked at me for cutting through but I blasted away and left the school of cars behind in the rear view mirror and eventually reached another school of cars.
It's not on my list of things that irritate, especially at those speeds.
If the speed limit is 70, I don't see the problem. If it's 60, then some of them apparently should slow down.
If the maximum limit is above 70, I'm the person who has no desire to drive on public highways with all the crazies faster than that anyway.
Tailgating is the bigger issue here and the only real hazard.
If it matters, I do stay to the right and never, ever, tailgate.
When possible and practical I also take side roads to avoid the easily annoyed.
Come to think of it, the scenario is something I've hardly ever encountered (assuming we're talking open highway) unless a speed-governed Big Rig is involved. Those poor guys are just doing the best they can.
Most cars in the left lane or center lane are almost always going the speed limit at the very least unless traffic is thick. People who are bothered by that should consider not living in a crowded area.
The scenario the OP describes in usually the fault of one person - the driver at the front of the pack in the left lane. It is their responsibility to yield to faster traffic. I don't get irritated at the rest of the group, nor do I weave through them and force my way to the front. They're already being victimized by the selfish asshat at the front in the left lane, why would you make it worse by cutting people off and forcing your way in?
It's not on my list of things that irritate, especially at those speeds.
If the speed limit is 70, I don't see the problem. If it's 60, then some of them apparently should slow down.
If the maximum limit is above 70, I'm the person who has no desire to drive on public highways with all the crazies faster than that anyway.
Tailgating is the bigger issue here and the only real hazard.
If it matters, I do stay to the right and never, ever, tailgate.
When possible and practical I also take side roads to avoid the easily annoyed.
Come to think of it, the scenario is something I've hardly ever encountered (assuming we're talking open highway) unless a speed-governed Big Rig is involved. Those poor guys are just doing the best they can.
Most cars in the left lane or center lane are almost always going the speed limit at the very least unless traffic is thick. People who are bothered by that should consider not living in a crowded area.
Driving above the speed limit is hardly "crazy". However, I applaud you for recognizing that such speeds frighten you, so you try to stick to side roads and stay to the right.
Driving above the speed limit is hardly "crazy". However, I applaud you for recognizing that such speeds frighten you, so you try to stick to side roads and stay to the right.
Frightened is an unnecessary and strong accusation. Not frightened, just aware.
I meant "crazy" in the general sense, not just speeding.
Distracted, aloof, incompetent, buzzed, and driving cars that may or may not be road-worthy.
If a person feels comfortable speeding around all that and greatly reducing their response times then have at it.
Speed limits are generally reasonable except for when they're too high.
I guess I've witnessed too much to be all maverick about my driving. I'm not a teenager anymore.
Frightened is an unnecessary and strong accusation. Not frightened, just aware.
I meant "crazy" in the general sense, not just speeding.
Distracted, aloof, incompetent, buzzed, and driving cars that may or may not be road-worthy.
If a person feels comfortable speeding around all that and greatly reducing their response times then... okee dokee.
Speed limits are generally reasonable except for when they're too high.
I guess I've witnessed too much to be all maverick about my driving. I'm not a teenager anymore.
Fair enough. I've been driving since 1977 and have seen what I would characterize as "crazy" driving, including a few cases of people going 100+ mph using every lane, including the shoulder. And yes, I agree that driving "distracted, aloof, incompetent, buzzed, and driving cars that may or may not be road-worth" is pretty stupid/crazy. However, I don't think simple speeding is either crazy or stupid, especially if everyone else is going the same speed. For example, if the speed limit is 60 and almost everyone is going 70 except for one slowpoke going 60, the slowpoke is driving dangerously and putting themselves and everyone else in harm's way. That's crazy.
Fair enough. I've been driving since 1977 and have seen what I would characterize as "crazy" driving, including a few cases of people going 100+ mph using every lane, including the shoulder. And yes, I agree that driving "distracted, aloof, incompetent, buzzed, and driving cars that may or may not be road-worth" is pretty stupid/crazy. However, I don't think simple speeding is either crazy or stupid, especially if everyone else is going the same speed. For example, if the speed limit is 60 and almost everyone is going 70 except for one slowpoke going 60, the slowpoke is driving dangerously and putting themselves and everyone else in harm's way. That's crazy.
I get it, but I also tend to side with the person doing 60 over those who can't be bothered to be aware enough or be willing enough to use their brakes.
It's also extremely rare that only one person is doing the speed limit while all others are uniformly doing 10 over.
Some go 60, some go 65 (which isn't going to cause major issues), one might be doing 50, some go 70, while many will be doing 80++.
That last one is what I see a lot of these days. The era of *just* going 5-10 is over it seems. It's much greater than that.
The more technology we put on cars the more invincible people think they are. Doesn't help that the average econobox can outrun sports cars of yesteryear.
The curmudgeony libertarian in me would almost be willing to concede to traffic cameras to reign it all in. Almost.
I'm driving down a 3 lane highway that had very little traffic then suddenly hit a school of cars doing 60-70mph completely blocking traffic flow. You figure these drivers won't tail gate or get very close. But I see drivers lined up almost 1.5 car gap and being very close to each other. Fortunately I got around a gap and made my move to cut in front of the lead group of drivers. The guy honked at me for cutting through but I blasted away and left the school of cars behind in the rear view mirror and eventually reached another school of cars.
This has nothing to do with anything, but for some reason these posts have reminded me of this. Have you ever seen a cop slow down and stop traffic on a 4 lane freeway? I have. It was kind of neat. I was 2 cars behind the cop and all of the sudden he put on his lights and started slowing down, then he started weaving back and forth in front of all of the cars while eventually slowing everyone down to a complete stop. Then he got out of his car and dragged a big chunk of metal over to the shoulder and then got back in the car and let everybody start moving again.
At the time, I thought "What the F is this crazy asshat doing"? It was very strange, but it got the job done!
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