TRANSPLANTS! Do you think Pittsburgh drivers are extra timid in the rain? (safest, car)

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by greg42

And then I thought about the long dark of I-80 through the PA Wilds and how tired I would be in another few hours, and changed my mind thinking "No, much better to have stopped!" This was in the dry mind you, no rain.

That's the other problem at night! Deer! There were so many dead deer last weekend on the NY interstates. (There weren't as many two weeks prior.) One was soooooooo gross. A new kill, couldn't even recognize it was a deer, looked like a person's torso. (Hubby says that's because they sometimes explode and are skinned instantly when tractor trailors hit them.) I HEARD my tires spray the blood. YUCK! That was about 30 minutes before I decided to pull over and take a nap after it started raining.

Night driving for long trips in the rain is just too stressful. I never minded when I was younger because I was INVINCIBLE. But I'm wiser now that I'm older.

Originally Posted by greg42

Whenever the rain is bad enough that you have tractor trailers passing you (or you just get near an independent driver who is really truckin' and goes by) you're going to have problems, even in daylight. The spray coming off a semi is really bad for seeing, right up there with dense fog and a torrential downpour. I don't usually have a problem with semis passing me as I am nearly always driving faster than them, but I know what it's like when I pass them. Even though it hasn't been raining, or raining only lightly, I put the wipers on (or turn them faster) in anticipation. Try a torrential downpour in darkness. I remember one years ago on the Turnpike, was driving about 20 mph or slower at one point.

Still, I'm not sure why you would be surprised that the cars behind you would go around. They weren't affected, only you. And most of the time when a semi passes you it indicates you aren't going very fast. Semis from big companies have speed limiters; they can't go faster than typically high 60s mph, 67-68 or so. Some solo guys will go faster at times though.

You're talking to the girl who got a ticket for going 80. But I was going about 60 when this happened. There was an isolated snow storm we had just passed through. It was 32 degrees so the roads were wet with icy patches. And yes, I'm surprised the idiots flew around me while I was trying to gain control of my car. I was clearly an accident about to happen. I could have swerved into them!

[KingKrab]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I'm not going to do another back and forth, because I really don't want to credit the notion that the physics are actually in dispute. They are not.

To sum up the basic facts:

When the roadway is wet, the coefficient of rolling tires is substantially lower, such that your braking distance roughly doubles.

If you lock your tires, the effect of wet roads on braking distance will be much worse.

If you start hydroplaning, the effects will be even worse--in fact at that point you are not meaningfully braking at all, since your tires are no longer in contact with the road surface.

Understanding that your rolling tire braking distance roughly doubles as soon as the road is wet (and just gets worse from there as you add more water-related risks), you should always take wet roads into account. On highways specifically, if there is traffic, you should modify your speed/spacing to account for the greatly increased braking distance.

In turn, speed and spacing trade off against each other, and you obviously must take into account the behavior of the other drivers when determining how to restore a reasonable speed/spacing balance. In other words, typically on a highway with traffic you will not be able to simply dictate your optimal speed/spacing combination, so you will have to adjust that balance accordingly.

Professor, You should say coefficient of Friction between tires and the road way is now lower when the surface has water applied into the equation which lowers the force of friction as the normal force will be a constant in this equation. GOSH!

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Hopes

I was clearly an accident about to happen. I could have swerved into them!

Well if you were that out of control, I agree. I would have avoided being right next to you if you were obviously swerving.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by KingKrab

Professor, You should say coefficient of Friction between tires and the road way is now lower when the surface has water applied into the equation which lowers the force of friction as the normal force will be a constant in this equation. GOSH!

Correct, I inadvertently omitted an "of friction" in my summary.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by greg42

Well if you were that out of control, I agree. I would have avoided being right next to you if you were obviously swerving.

I was ALL OVER the road for a brief moment.

[Sealtite]

Try driving in southern California in the rain. It rains maybe 40 days/year here (LOL!), and the people freak out. A rainy day here is called "the storm". People will say to me "be careful out in the storm!", "Oh my god, you've got to be freezing!".....Meanwhile, I'm wearing a t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes on a 68 degree overcast day with showers.

As for the driving, picture how yinzers drive on icy roads, and you've got a good picture of how Californians drive in the rain. Brake pumping and all, lol.

[Q-tip motha]

Originally Posted by scottrpriester

So as a transplant myself, I enjoyed reading many of your comments regarding traffic/area drivers in our area. On this rainy morning, I have to know, for those of you new to our area, do you think people drive more timid here in the rain than what you've experienced?

No. The only timid drivers I have ever noticed have been from Ohio.

Rain, snow, wind, the slightest curve, inclines, declines.....they are all pretty terrible at handling them without slamming on the breaks and going into shock.

[Craziaskowboi]

Originally Posted by Q-tip motha

No. The only timid drivers I have ever noticed have been from Ohio.

People from Ohio and Virginia have been reduced to cattle on the highways thanks to their suffocating levels of law enforcement and their backwards highway traffic laws, respectively.

[Jrn14]

I can't believe people complain about cautious driving during rain and snow... would you rather everyone wreck and die!!!! How long is it going to take you when some jagaloon speeding in the rain causes a 20 car pileup.

[Jrn14]

Also if I notice someone going what I detrmine as too fast or driving too agressivley I will try to box them in, by driving the same speed as the car in the right lane in the left lane.