Getting the Bird at on ramps.

[larrybuck]

If you are really getting into this driving slower, you must be a little crafty... have you picked a place to live where you can be on a slow warmup road, not being hassled? I love living in an area where I have a rural 3 lanes each way freeway for several miles. That way observant truckers don't get jammed, and you will actually find peace at 50mph in a 70mph zone!

[Arragonis]

Larry, I'm sensing wisdom there and its English, but not as I know it.

[sundogjax]

Hazard lights are a hazard. When you have your hazard lights on during normal driving (i.e., following the posted traffic regulations... 55-70MPH), you gum up traffic waaaaay worse then any 55MPH operation ever could.
Untrained drivers here in Florida have started a trend of turning on hazard lights in the rain. Guess it's the new "all about me" attitiude... "I'm the center of the universe - clear out, look out, coming through!"

When untrained drivers operate at normal speed in the rain with flashers on, they remove the traffic flow alert provided by brake lighting. A tap (or stand) of the brake up ahead means "get ready to adjust speed" behind.
Ill-conceived and improper hazard flasher use causes accidents. Period.
If you are driving at speed on the highway with hazard flashers on - YOU'RE the hazard.

[Arragonis]

I had to give the bird yesterday on my trip home.

Unusually I was not following anyone onto the bypass so I could get up to cruising speed fairly briskly. I checked nearside lane next to the ramp and it was empty ahead and behind - everyone was in a queue to pass a truck about 100 yards ahead and its clear at least the same distance behind.

Check again in the mirror - nothing. Quick check over the shoulder - nothing.

So I begin to pull onto the main carriageway, just into the nearside lane.

Hmmm, what was that thing that just caught my eye in the mirror ?

Yep, Mr Muppet is now tearing down the nearside lane at a good 10-15 over the limit. I'm committed to joining - no more ramp and no room to pull over - and he isn't slowing so to avoid a crash, so I have to "floor it". Helga spins her front wheels slightly as the turbo spools up and we cover Mr M in smoke.

Mr Muppet had decided he didn't want to wait in the queue to pass the truck so he made for the undertake instead. Of course in his impatience he didn't bother to check for an on-ramp. They are pretty hard to miss, the big blue 50-70ft high signs kind of give it away. And when he saw me he decided not to slow down as the better part of valour would dictate, but to speed up.

Fortunately for me a 1.2 Petrol Renault Clio has very little in gear acceleration.

We avoided a colision - just. About 3 miles later we stopped side by side in a queue whereupon I gave full vent to my feelings on the subject, including hand signals, through his window.

He seemed upset at first, and then perhaps chasened.

I wonder how I make it through each week in Embra sometimes.

[euromodder]

Getting agitated screws up your fuel economy.

[Arragonis]

It certainly does.

*and breathe

[zonker]

i was recipient to a horn honking fist waving agitated moment from a knuckle dragger in a full size pickup towing a toybox trailer...

he was approaching me quickly in the same slow lane i was in on a 4 lane (2/2) interstate in rural Utah.

I was doing 55mph, and by the looks of how his presence was exponentially growing in my rearview mirror, he had to be travelling 80-85 mph or so. By the time my trucker friend noticed me in the lane in front of him, he had to make a decision to move into the fast lane.

Mr. Mouthbreather decided that since there was another vehicle in that lane going about 70 or so, he would accelerate and attempt to pull in front of the 70 mph guy so he could in effect pass both of us in one fell swoop.

He did not make it so he had to slam on his brakes and move behind the 70 mph guy. Awww.

When Mr Mouthbreather passed me, he honked his horn and made mad gestures my way since the misfortune of nearly ramming my bumper and causing his load to most likely shift in a forward fashion was, in his red bull drinking bloodshot eyes, surely my fault.

I thought to myself... yep, heres some rural local pissed off at me, this out of state *** slowpoke with california plates, gumming up the traffic flow of HIS normally clear interstate.

then i noticed the plates on the car... california. DOH!

my apologies to utah, colorado, wyoming, and montana, whose plates i surely thought i'd find on the back of that chevy silverado.

[Arragonis]

Breathe thread, breathe...

Found this which I thought I would share...



See the whole thing at the link for a giggle. Warning - the language gets significantly worse.

[Quazar]

I usually get honked at taking off from a light, which I find silly because usually by the time I am at the speed limit I am right up with them, I just did it a bit slower.

Havent got the figure yet but wanted to add two things.

One - In most states, it is the law that someone coming off a ramp into traffic is responsible to adjusting their speed. People seem to forget this. A driver on the freeway is not supposed to have to change lanes or slow/speed up.

Two - In most states it is also illegal to drive below the speed limit. Doing 50 in a 55 min zone is at least Impeading Traffic, it could be considered reckless driving. Its always best to stay within the law.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by Quazar

I usually get honked at taking off from a light, which I find silly because usually by the time I am at the speed limit I am right up with them, I just did it a bit slower.

Havent got the figure yet but wanted to add two things.

One - In most states, it is the law that someone coming off a ramp into traffic is responsible to adjusting their speed. People seem to forget this. A driver on the freeway is not supposed to have to change lanes or slow/speed up.

Two - In most states it is also illegal to drive below the speed limit. Doing 50 in a 55 min zone is at least Impeading Traffic, it could be considered reckless driving. Its always best to stay within the law.

Please cite a source with specific information (such as a vehicle code reference) for number two.

Last I was aware, interstate highways were covered by federal administration, and only subject to local enforcement of the laws which applied to them, hence large vehicles having the legal ability to remain in the right lane while traveling significantly alter than the flow of traffic, or the posted speed limit, as the case may be.

Because rules of the NHTSA, FMCSA, and Federal Dept of Transportation laws state that the rules of the road are universally applicable, it is also perfectly legal for commuter cars and other small vehicles to travel below the legal posted speed limit, to some extent, in the right most travel lane.

If you can prove otherwise, please do.