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I totally agree with this. THere's no rhyme or reason to how people drive around here. Drift out of the slower moving right lane but make no effort to keep up with left lane traffic. Drive 15 mph below the speed limit but run the red light at the next intersection. THings like that. There's no flow or sense to it at all.
Yup!
Granted I was never a hyper aggressive driver up north. Yes, I was if I was driving in the city because if "you wait your turn" you'll never get where you're going. But on any road, I do five over the speed limit, sorta stick to the lane I am in (travel in center lane, pass in left) etc. But here, the lack of predictability (plus having littles) has put me soundly in the defensive category. It factored into my selection to replace our QX60. We needed more space when we travel up north with two kids and three dogs....we were looking at the QX80 but I said F it, I'm putting you and the kids in a Sub so when someone other than a Semi hits you, they take the brunt of it.
I assume that car in the left lane ahead of me is going to cut three lanes across the highway to get to their exit. I assume someone on their cell phone (another law elsewhere that either doesn't exist here, or like everything else, doesn't have the means to be enforced) is going to really late run a red light.
They added a stop sign at my corner in neighborhood. 3 years later and people still blow through it doing 50 (why are you doing 50 in a neighborhood to begin with is beyond me).
WFPD could fund universal healthcare with what they would make for stop sign violations at my corner.....but nah, they good. However, they have a amphibious vehicle at their disposal....wonder if they have many Operation Overlords over on Falls Lake.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,706 posts, read 41,859,060 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SFspiderman
We drove to DC and back on the weekend…tons of cops pulling people over in VA. Didn’t see a single one in NC.
Interesting comments about DUI checkpoints. I’ve been here over a decade and seen exactly one. Guess I’m not out at the right time of day or in the right places or something.
As someone who spent 30 years of existence in Virginia, they are one of the hardest states on speeders. Spending a little time in Kentucky, once I moved back to VA after, it was a shock to how many cops were on the road. The Northern part of the state is especially hard and has plenty of force out.
Speed by itself is not the problem. It’s aggressive or distracted drivers. No turn signals. Inadequate following distance when in motion. Drifting across lines into other traffic space. Irregular speeds usually due to phone use. Treating driving as an obstacle course at unsafe speeds. Bicycles on curvy shaded country roads. Flashing strobes in non emergency situations which visually disorients the brain.
Then there are the slower drivers in left lanes who go the speed limit. Often drivers needing to turn left get in the lane extra early, knowing that aggressive or distracted drivers may not allow them into that lane in time to turn. Completely justified imho.
We need a highway patrol. Not so much for speeders if they are alone on a straight open road but for the non-defensive drivers. But hey highway patrol might worry about becoming injured themselves so maybe that’s why fewer are applying.
And maybe high schools should teach and test for driving knowledge. It’s an important life skill and everyone should be on the same page.
Last edited by luv4horses; 07-08-2021 at 07:23 AM..
I think the problem is that cars are too safe and comfortable and reliable to speed in. We need to make crappier cars that make you question if the brakes will work or a tire will fall off without warning to build in some natural paranoia for the average driver. All of this autonomous tech in vehicles removes you from aspects of the driving experience. Build in a little "adventure."
As someone who spent 30 years of existence in Virginia, they are one of the hardest states on speeders. Spending a little time in Kentucky, once I moved back to VA after, it was a shock to how many cops were on the road. The Northern part of the state is especially hard and has plenty of force out.
Catching speeders even as little as less than 10 over the limit is a cottage industry in Virginia. I don't condone unsafe driving but Virginia goes too far.
This doesn't explain the crazy driving on roads like 40, but in Cary for example, the newer roads have lanes so wide and comfy that it makes it feel like you're going slow at 45. I also think the spacing of the white dashed lines play a big role too - the further apart they are, the slower it feels like you're going.
I have seen 3 accidents in the last 2 weeks at intersection of Morrisville parkway and Green level church road. People are not paying attention. I see many new drivers in the area. These people are not young and they are typically women and from other countries; it appears. Just generalizing what I see.
^I think it was pierre (could be wrong) who had a back and forth with me eons ago where he raised the same point; wider roads lead to higher speed. It certainly plays into it.
So the roads are wider, but where is your (the driver's) cognitive ability coming into play and making the decision to overly speed? We aren't automatons. We are satient beings who have to crunch "numbers" and make a decision on our actions.
My neighborhood road is a perfect example. Super wide for a residential road (could easily fit three lanes of traffic), posted speed limit of 25. But yet a multitude of people routinely do 45+. In a neighborhood. Why? Why do you feel like a stop sign in a neighborhood is optional?
The previous owner of the house across the street got so tired of it he used to roll a stuffed animal on a skateboard down his driveway into the street whenever this woman would drive by because she sped too much. She smoked it one day and it took her two house widths to come to a stop after she ran it over. Do you think that scared her straight? Nope, not a chance. Right back to being a Richard Head the next day.
From my seat, wide roads + ****bird (or dumb, take your pick) human beings with a complete lack of respect and empathy for the people around them = what you see on the roads in Cary / I see in front of my house.
Don't get me wrong, you wanna do 60-65 in a 55 or if you want to do 75-85 in a 70 on 540, have at it. But there is a time and a place for speeding. The police will decide if you crossed a line. Main roads in a town or neighborhood aren't really that from my seat.
I think you also subconsciously adopt the speed and habits of the cars around you at any given time. Take a drive down any major highway in a metro area. Around the city everyone's doing 85mph, bobbing in and out of traffic, HAVE to get ahead of everyone else. Once you get outside the metro area into lower volume, you'll see the same drivers with their cruise control set at 75 just cruising in the right lane without a care in the world.
This doesn't explain the crazy driving on roads like 40, but in Cary for example, the newer roads have lanes so wide and comfy that it makes it feel like you're going slow at 45. I also think the spacing of the white dashed lines play a big role too - the further apart they are, the slower it feels like you're going.
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