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No offense intended, but I think your perspective is bass ackwards. No one, anywhere, likes having to follow a 40' motorhome,or any motorhome, especialy if it is pulling a car behind it. Your post exemplifies the why of it.
Exactly. Plus, some states have laws that vehicles delaying x number of vehicles must pull over. I often see landyachts laboring along, ignoring pullout options, basically issuing a 'go to hell' to everyone else. As someone not prone to speeding, now and then I have to pull over in my little pickup truck because I'm delaying other people, and I'm okay with doing that.
Just curious...what class license are you driving that 30,000 lb critter with ?
I ask because it seems rather common to see newly retired people to suddenly hit the road with a huge overweight RV, with second vehicle, dragging behind...with absolutely NO clue how to operate the equipment they now call home !
60+ feet of RV and 30,000 lbs of rolling steel with no, or minimal skills is a recipe for disaster.
Some States have begun to look at this problem and hopefully address !
It is my opinion that anyone operating a motor vehicle of that weight and size on any public highway should be required to obtain, a d maintain a commercial drivers license, complete with medical.....
Believe it or not....there is such a thing as a professional driver...most RVers do NOT qualify !
Obviously you have disdain for drivers of RV's, you may or may not have a reason for this, but let's get one thing straight.... RV's have every right to be on the road as anyone else. However, I must admit that there are those that are driving an RV shouldn't be as well as those driving any other vehicle. I was not one of them. Prior to retiring I was driving a motorhome for about 10 years, of course if was only 32'. I attempted to be a courteous driver behind the wheel. We have just as much right to the roads as anyone does; however if I was on a two lane road I would pull over when I could if traffic backed up behind us, it is the law to do so in manystates...even if you are driving a car. When we retired we established our residence in Texas for various reasons...mail forwarding for one. When we purchased the 40' motorhome, Texas laws requires that I obtain a Class B operators license. FYI a class B license is basically the same as a Class A CDL except for the medical requirements. I took the same written and driving test that is required of a CDL. I take offense to your comment of "recipe for disaster". In the thousands of miles that I have driven, I have seen more idiots driving cars than I have RV's. Yes, as I stated before there are some RV drivers that shouldn't be on the road. They have absolutely no idea the dynamics behind the wheel of a large RV. When I needed diesel I always went to truck stops and used the "big rig" fueling area. I have talked to many "professional" drivers at these stops and never found one that displayed any animosity toward me. Many times they would ask questions and yes there were a couple of times they asked what type of license I carried. As long as you followed the basic rules of fueling they had no problems with me in "their" section. As a matter of fact they said it was the smart to use the truck isles.
The comments I made in the first post was my observations while driving a car. The only comment I related to while driving an RV was to the "flatlander" that thought I had no business on "their" road.
No offense intended, but I think your perspective is bass ackwards. No one, anywhere, likes having to follow a 40' motorhome,or any motorhome, especialy if it is pulling a car behind it. Your post exemplifies the why of it.
No, your opinion is "backasswards" an RV has just as much right on the highways as you do. I least tried to be courteous when driving......not like a lot of "4-wheelers". I just loved those flatlanders on mountain roads whether I was in a RV or a car/truck.....go like hell on the straightaways then slam on the brakes in the curves. On 4 lane highway, I'm driving in the right hand lane at the speed limit, idiot in car behind me doesn't like to be there so goes around then slows down below the speed limit...oh well I'm in no hurry...I'm retired. Same flatlander in car on two lane mountain road, I'm in RV...again they don't like curves so slow to a crawl in front of me....come to straight away and they speedup so I can't pass.....some idiot in front of me in car, coming to a upgrade, I get my RPM's up to make the grade and they slow down....well that just screwed-the-pooch. Talk to professional drivers and listen to their horror stories when it comes to idiots driving cars.
So, yes there are bad drivers, some of them are driving RV's and some are driving cars/pickups.
My husband has been there since August and I will be arriving at the end of the month. His opinion is that Boise driving is pure bliss compared to Las Vegas drivers.
Okay, I'm here now and, so far, I have to agree with my husband.
No, your opinion is "backasswards" an RV has just as much right on the highways as you do. I least tried to be courteous when driving......not like a lot of "4-wheelers". I just loved those flatlanders on mountain roads whether I was in a RV or a car/truck.....go like hell on the straightaways then slam on the brakes in the curves. On 4 lane highway, I'm driving in the right hand lane at the speed limit, idiot in car behind me doesn't like to be there so goes around then slows down below the speed limit...oh well I'm in no hurry...I'm retired. Same flatlander in car on two lane mountain road, I'm in RV...again they don't like curves so slow to a crawl in front of me....come to straight away and they speedup so I can't pass.....some idiot in front of me in car, coming to a upgrade, I get my RPM's up to make the grade and they slow down....well that just screwed-the-pooch. Talk to professional drivers and listen to their horror stories when it comes to idiots driving cars.
So, yes there are bad drivers, some of them are driving RV's and some are driving cars/pickups.
I have a approx. 1 million miles of driving experience, I am certain I am qualified to form an opinion about drivers and vehicles.
My comments come no where close to implying that you or any other driver of an RV is an idiot driver, you are the one name calling. Also, I did not state that RVs have no right on the road, you are the one claiming some sort of infringement.
RVs are not capable of maintaining speed up a steep grade, nor are they built to corner at HWY speeds in winding coastal or mountainous settings when most any other "4-wheeler" passenger vehicles are perfectly capable of doing so. Add a car in tow and the performance suffers even more, add a tourist who is renting the RV and one can forget about ever attaining the speed limit as long as they are trapped behind the RV. Put all of this hundreds of times over for 5 months of the year, May through September, on 2 lane Alaskaskan HWYs and experience driving hell.
BTW, some will take this," ...oh well I'm in no hurry...I'm retired. " as an implcation about your driving habits. Personaly, I reserve judgement as I have never been stuck behind you while you where driving your RV, I will say, however, that many of the operators of RVs have that in common.
LOL! Come to New Jersey, and you can see why it was voted the Worst Drivers In America. People shooting each other, driving into oncoming traffic, people running over pedestrians, Giant trucks tailgating at 80 MPH in the fast land, SUVs with crazed, wild eyed soccer moms, weaving, speeding, stopping short, you name it. Add to that mix the psychotics from New York.
So the question is…..Where are the safest drivers in America?[/quote]
So, comparatively, Boise is #1 in my experience of 35 years behind the wheel.
I've lived in several states and driven in cities all over the country on business trips and Boise generally has the most courteous drivers of anywhere, although they typically aren't quick with the reflexes when it counts.
I have to agree with the poster on Utah, particularly Salt Lake, where numerous drivers tend to pass and then slow way down forcing you to brake.
Los Angeles drivers were notorious for cutting other drivers off until there was a string of freeway shootings.
It's probably just a coincidence, but driving improved a lot there after the shootings.
Come to think of it the number of drivers crawling in the left lane also decreased after this.
I think that a lot of the complainers about Boise driving come from out east or from big city drivers. There is definitely a different style of driving out west. I make the drive from Boise to Denver, Phoenix, LV, and Seattle quite frequently. It's all about cruise control and visibility. I don't like being behind an RV, even if it's going fast enough, simply because of the visibility/safety issue. The speed limits can be as high as 85 mph, and at those speeds and above, you really need to see far ahead to be safe. You also need to master predictive driving instead of reactive driving. I see too many people dreaming or yakking while they are on an entry ramp, then only look at merge traffic at the end of the ramp. They often jam on their brakes when they should have been using the ramp to match speed. They also get boxed behind semis because they don't anticipate the obvious. Cruise control isn't about laziness at the same speed. It's also about predicting upcoming traffic situations and accelerating when passing. I really hate it when a vehicle blocks traffic by passing another at a speed barely above the other vehicle. Use a little gas and that maneuver can take a fraction of the time. Also, a lot of people who don't use cruise control do not realize that their speed varies a lot over mountainous terrain. You pass them, then they pass you, then you have to pass them again. I try to hit the gas for a sustained period just to create some space from them.
I think that a lot of the complainers about Boise driving come from out east or from big city drivers. There is definitely a different style of driving out west. I make the drive from Boise to Denver, Phoenix, LV, and Seattle quite frequently. It's all about cruise control and visibility. I don't like being behind an RV, even if it's going fast enough, simply because of the visibility/safety issue. The speed limits can be as high as 85 mph, and at those speeds and above, you really need to see far ahead to be safe. You also need to master predictive driving instead of reactive driving. I see too many people dreaming or yakking while they are on an entry ramp, then only look at merge traffic at the end of the ramp. They often jam on their brakes when they should have been using the ramp to match speed. They also get boxed behind semis because they don't anticipate the obvious. Cruise control isn't about laziness at the same speed. It's also about predicting upcoming traffic situations and accelerating when passing. I really hate it when a vehicle blocks traffic by passing another at a speed barely above the other vehicle. Use a little gas and that maneuver can take a fraction of the time. Also, a lot of people who don't use cruise control do not realize that their speed varies a lot over mountainous terrain. You pass them, then they pass you, then you have to pass them again. I try to hit the gas for a sustained period just to create some space from them.
You are my kind of driver . Unfortunately, there are few of us on the roads.
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, that I wowed, indeed, in awe, by the drivers obeying traffic laws and practicing courtesy. I believe that Anchorage Alaska, where I have lived for the last 38 years, has the worst in the nation. I am not too far off according to Allstate; 
. Unfortunately, there are few of us on the roads.
