Bexar County Road Rage/"Speeding" Crackdown (Houston, Dallas: car insurance, cost of)

[Soviet]

I have extraordinarily little tolerance for drivers weaving in & out of traffic, but when people fail to heed the simple words of "Stay on the right, keep Texas moving", I can empathize with why some people do what they do.

The most interesting and somewhat flabbergasting line in the article? "Some were caught at speeds of up to 80 mph."

EIGHTY MILES PER HOUR!!!! What a nightmare! Those young whippersnappers whippin' along at the speed of light! I mean, wow. They state it as if though 80 mph is something outrageous. The only disconnect in that article, I would say.

Of course, many drivers could do 80 mph quite safely & responsibly. Many do it each and every day. And many drivers crash at 60 mph or put others in danger by wheedling along in the left lane. There's all kinds of drivers out there. Which one are you?

[L210]

Did you forget to include the link?

I normally don't drive more than 5mph above the speed limit. I've found that most officers aren't going to waste their time pulling someone over who is going less than 5mph above the speed limit and it makes it easier to slow down when I do see a cop. I have a CDL, so probation and defensive driving are not an option for me. Also, if I get convicted of 3 traffic violations in two years, I'll lose my license.

I move out of the left lane when I'm not passing and if someone behind me is going faster. If I can't move over right away, you're just going to have to wait. At the hours and locations I drive, I still pass up 90% of traffic doing near the speed limit. I ALWAYS signal before I switch lanes or turn and I'm not one of those people who turn on their signal when they're already halfway in someone else's lane or a millisecond before they switch lanes. I also never text or talk on my cell phone while driving.

[majormadmax]

It's clear that people cannot drive here, so claims that they can maintain 80 MPH safely are moot. It's just too easy to get a license in this country and traffic enforcement is sadly lacking. I applaud any and all efforts to make our roads safer, I can't drive to or from work without witnessing some act of total buffoonery on our roadways...

Accepting a drivers license means agreeing to obey the transportation code. Not just the sections a peron agrees with, but ALL of them! Failing to do so means a person is liable to being cited for it, and they have no one to blame for it but themselves.

We pay these officers to enforce these laws, there should be no complaints when they do so...

[L210]

I already know where this thread is going.

[TXStrat]

My only additions to this topic.

1. San Antonio recently got an "F" from Men's Health magazine for bad driving. We did do better than Dallas, Austin, and Houston.

2. If people want others to follow all the traffic laws, those laws include staying right unless actually passing. I agree, there are many hyper-aggressive idiots out there. I usually see 1-2 each day on my 23 mile commute. There are also a lot of passive-aggressive idiots out there that feel the need to do their part to moderate a safe traffic flow by getting in the left lane going 50 mph and refusing to get out of the way. Both are wrong and contribute to the increased chances of accidents.

[The Black Irish]

What annoys me are big rigs. They are either in going 90 mph, or they are in the left lane going 55 spilling debris all over the road and into my windshield.

[huckster]

Is not moving with the flow of traffic not just as obnoxious a habit as very slow drivers in the left lane ? Aggressive drivers do not need to be coaxing others to speed as they are. To me these are the worst. Are they en route to a
fire or the emergency room ?
A cross town commute @80 m.p.h. vs. 70- this does not save any significant time whatsoever. It only burns significantly more gasoline.
I don't empathize with speedsters at all. Particularly the tailgaters .This is why whippersnapper car insurance is double the cost of someone who is not so immature or simply irresponible. This is where the, the erroneous assumption of safely and responsibly driving @ 80 m.p.h. is so cogent to the statistics of auto accidents , the whippersnappers are full of the false confidence of youth.

I am in the middle of the road, no pun intended, as far as watching the antics
of both of these types of operators, the ones that are poking along or traveling in excess speed.
My adolescent sons were knowledgable of all matters and I paid State Farm
extra for this excess knowledge.

Originally Posted by Soviet

I have extraordinarily little tolerance for drivers weaving in & out of traffic, but when people fail to heed the simple words of "Stay on the right, keep Texas moving", I can empathize with why some people do what they do.

The most interesting and somewhat flabbergasting line in the article? "Some were caught at speeds of up to 80 mph."

EIGHTY MILES PER HOUR!!!! What a nightmare! Those young whippersnappers whippin' along at the speed of light! I mean, wow. They state it as if though 80 mph is something outrageous. The only disconnect in that article, I would say.

Of course, many drivers could do 80 mph quite safely & responsibly. Many do it each and every day. And many drivers crash at 60 mph or put others in danger by wheedling along in the left lane. There's all kinds of drivers out there. Which one are you?

[TexasRedneck]

In an urban traffic environment, the speed disparity is where the danger lies - and trying to run 80 in traffic lanes full of 50-60 mph vehicles IS an accident waiting to be created. Too many potential road hazards are present to make that kind of speed safe within a city road system.

[The Black Irish]

Happens all the time on 1604. People going 70, which is the posted speed limit, and folks putzing along at 50 or entering the highway going 30 mph! There is a reason they used to call 1604 "the death loop".

[badhornet]

I saw a report that said Texas has the worst drivers nationally. Who would have thought