So for these situations I keep a nice smooth joint of the best hydro grass (or whatever I'm smoking that week) in my ciggie packet. Smoke it and fly home...
...happy, smiling, singing.

Don't agree or you think I'm irresponsible?
Please call 1800-FUCKOFFPURITAN and leave a message:)

LandofMinos, Don't you fucking look at me!

And another thing! What about people that only have the high-mount taillight working? Seen a lot of them, too!

mjgolli

Another 98 lb woman in a 10 tonne SUV... LOLz!

mjgolli

I'm all for ppl doing what they can to help, but you have to let me do my thing, too. Thanks for driving that Prius, I feel better when I get 9MPG for a tank at a track event ;)

Turboner

don't try going the speed limit in the right lane, you'll have angry drivers ramming up your ass. i prefer to let my foot off the accelerator, and let them pass angrily with no signal. have fun with that speedtrap ahead, genius.

*everyone* passes on the right. i'm actually surprised when i get passed on the left. and the left lane is constantly occupied by those who feel that they are entitled to do the speed limit in the passing lane, causing people to pass at high speed in the right lane, often near entrance ramps.

lane hogs are usually someone yapping on their cell phone, or some guy whose ego gets bruised when i downshift and try to pass, then cuts in front of me and slows down. want to impress your girl? haul ass in the left lane, or let a faster chick through, egomaniac.

i can't wait to drive in germany, these stupid detroiters are f*cking up my driving high.

domino

TheGuinnessTooth

And to help thin out the driving ranks more... require that anyone who gets into a collision must retake their driving test when their licence is up for renewal - regardless of fault because it is every driver's responsibility to avoid collisions, as well as not cause them.

petersterncan

sos10

timrussell

You can tell I am venting here (my commute involves driving on the 405N from LAX to the Valley during rush hour)

MngoJuce

It's called queuing systems, and this "Internet" we're using right now wouldn't work, if our understanding of traffic flow wasn't far beyond that of auto traffic.

capnxtreme

Then there is the "restart". If each driver takes 2 seconds to react to the car in front of them moving, you only need to be 150 cars back to have a 5 minute delay.

My solution? Get rid of brake lights.

jolietjake

crevans

That means it's up to you to do whatever you can to keep moving at a slow but steady speed. I use the following guidelines on freeways when traffic is very dense:

1) Keep sufficient distance from the vehicle in front of you.

2) Coast rather than brake to dampen out any velocity changes propagating back from the vehicles in front of you as best you can.

3) When a neighboring lane encounters a flow restriction, give a single affected vehicle the opportunity to merge into your lane in front of you. If the lane next to yours is absorbing extra traffic this way, consider it subject to a flow restriction.

4) Try to maintain your speed when passing the site of an accident that is already being dealt with by emergency services.

5) Give a wide berth to vehicles trying to reach an off-ramp or emergency lane.

6) Transfer to the exit lane well before your own off-ramp.

7) Transfer to the emergency lane if you suspect your vehicle might break down soon for any reason.

If everyone followed these simple guidelines, traffic jams would be much more benign and dissolve far more rapidly. Ideally, someone would write a computer simulation so novice drivers could gain an appreciation of the natural dynamics of traffic jams and learn how to behave when they are part of one.

Unfortunately, there are many disruptive drivers who opportunistically change lanes in the mistaken belief that this will get them to their destination any faster. Instead, it merely prevents the jam from clearing in the lane in which they end up while doing little for one they left. Worse, the driver immediately affected may decide that adhering to the guidelines is counterproductive, aggravating the situation.

Without proper driver training, it is also impossible to make it an offense to behave disruptively in a traffic jam - something that could be identified automatically by monitoring surveillance cameras positioned along roads that are prone to traffic jams.

rgseidl

just got through Austin I-35 lane-splitting like there is no tomorrow.

5pm rush hour in a car = 45 minutes
5pm rush hour on a motobike= 15 minutes.

Turn signals and horns are for people who are unsure of getting the right-of-way. Loud revving and open pipes tells people this is MY right-of-way.

turkish

@rlj676: Yeah!! And why do most Michiganers pass on the right? Picture this: me in the middle of three lanes, going 5-10mph over the speed limit, left and right lanes empty, someone approaching from behind. Nine times out of ten, they will pass on the right. Even if there's a car a little ways up on the right. They'll then change back to the center lane. It's definitely strongest in Michigan. If I cruise in the right lane there, people look all confused and tailgate for a while before passing. If I get over to the right for someone approaching, they also get confused. I don't understand.

My wife is convinced that they have the inverse thought process, and can't understand all these Ohio drivers that keep cutting them off by getting into the right lane.

dculberson

GiltProto

instead, i get a drive down a 6 lane road, where the lights every 200 yards change to allow either 0 or 1 car cross some dinky sidestreet.

@lemondriver:
If you want to see an injured person, go home and jump off your roof.

and I have to 3rd that this is comment of the day.

drewheyman

delsydsoftware

Living in a country where nearly everyone drives a manual, you still get that - there's always some nobhead driving in too high a gear who doesn't realise that their car will slow down if they take their foot off the accelerator, so they brake all the time and select a lower gear only when they absolutely have to.

They don't drive the car, it constantly runs away from them.

amblito

This is a little off-topice but since we're ranting, I still think anyone with a truck/SUV should take an extra driving test that forces them to: A) drive in RWD on snow/ice/loose sand; B) perform a few high-speed maneuvers to see what's it like to change direction; and C) experience what it's to be tailgated by an SUV at night, preferably using xenon bulbs.

brandegee

My sentiments exactly. Thanks for putting that out there. That should be read at the beginning of every driver training and traffic school class.

graverobber- My Yugo Nova!

graverobber- My Yugo Nova!

Thankfully my 75 mile per day commutes are a thing of the past, but I still have nightmares. Cars should be equipped with missiles. All I ever wanted was just 1 clean kill per day and I would have been a happy lad.

smokeydog001

But, I'm no less honored....

:-)

OctaneBoaster

Well put.

buttons

Especially that part about "differentials in speed". I've been saying that for years, mostly to rolled eyes and blank stares. My wife still doesn't belive the Interstate is safer than surface streets...

The Name's Ash78, Housewares

This is worsened by the fact they're stopped and the other lane sees this as a chance to speed up and "cut them off" killing any chance of them reaching the exit.

rlj676-new job, same problems

Froggmann

1) It doesn't take two cars two lanes to go the SAME SPEED. The reason we have 15 lane highways everywhere is that most people drift along blissfully unaware that they're taking up space. This wastes my tax dollars and my planet.

2) No cel phones, newspapers, make-up application, etc. Most people should have to have a special license to drink coffee and smoke while driving. Not because it's particularly difficult. Because they're particularly stupid.

3) I don't ask you for much. I just ask that you move the hell out of my way (to the right) when I'm behind you and obviously want to go faster than you. If I passed you on the right, you were in the wrong lane. Ask Skip Barber or Bob Bondurant. You lose points in both their schools if you allow someone to pass you on the right. As long as the right passer isn't driving like a total Yabo, as turbobrick pointed out above.

4) You aren't a cop. It isn't your job to slow me down. Slow traffic is just as dangerous as fast traffic. Speed doesn't kill. Differential in speed kills. If you don't have the capability to go the speed limit, take the surface streets. That being said, don't go 140 mph on anything when you know that there are 105 year old people sharing the road with you. You will scare them upside down. I've seen it happen.

5) Immediate and unappealable death penalty for anyone who rubbernecks an accident. You can't/won't/aren't going to help. Move along. If you want to see an injured person, go home and jump off your roof.

Thanks, I feel better now.

OctaneBoaster

They are right, autopilot would allow many more cars to use congested roads without jamming. But it would suck if you couldn't ever drive yourself.

dolo54

MZЯ

abgwin

+5,000,000

coaster.n3rd

TurboBrick

One other thing that would help--probably more practical than making everyone drive a manual--is one of those trip/instantaneous mpg readouts that hooks into the OBD port. Having that readout on my dash changed a lot about the way I drive in mundane situations.

The Name's Ash78, Housewares

DrJeffie

damn straight

Matthew DeBord

It's a physical impossibility for those guys to start and stop quickly, so they tend to have a much healthier steady creep that turns out to be faster in the end.

In fact, I've found the inverse to be true as well: the fast lane has the highest peak-to-trough difference in speed. They'll average 25mph, but it's an even split between 50 and 0.

Mad_Science

I mean, it worked until an asshole eventually slides into your space that you are using as a buffer zone.

Advice...Gun_It

LTDScott, Porcubimmer pilot

FightingChance

yellofury * * * * *

The Name's Ash78, Housewares