New freeway signs.. traffic signal conspiracy
 

CHP has had nemerious calls from angry truckers concerning regular vehicles doing 50 to 55mph within the last 4 months..

Check out the freshly posted signs on the freeway..
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y10...a/P1060042.jpg
"When towing"

I've also noticed all the usual traffic lights are way out of sync now causing alot more idol time.. My friend Mitch that works for the city of Stockton told me about this because thats what he does..


This is real and confirmed, in the City of Stockton.. :eek:

That's awesome! I wonder how many times truckers have whined about me doing 55mph in the slow lane. Most of 'em ride right up my ass, and will only back off if they see a CHP cruiser. Honestly, I can't wait till one of those dicks taps my bumper and I can get some $$$ from their insurance company. I already had one do it, and was dumb enough to get run around by his ass until I just said screw it, but the next time I'm getting that cash. If they don't wanna risk their jobs, they shouldn't drive like teenagers...

without taking my eyes off the road, I just place my badge
against the back window, they back off pretty quick :)

Chris -

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy. Do mean a fake badge or a real badge?

CarloSW2

Memorial day weekend I saw those new signs in Cali near the AZ and NV state lines. I avoided the Hoover Dam on my Phoenix to Vegas trip because of traffic.

Yesterday morning I was passed by a speeding semi pulling a wide load(half a house) taking up two of three lanes in a construction zone marked 55 MPH. I was doing an indicated 56 MPH in the right lane and he rode my tail for about half a mile and due to his proxcimity to my rear bumper, I assume he was annoyed by my blatant disregard for the 55 MPH limit. It wasn't quite enough disreguard for him. As soon as he could he moved over blocking the other two lanes of the freeway and passed me. I was a little annoyed, but not as annoyed as the rest of traffic. It amazes me how people ignore the construction zone speed limits on the freeways around here.

My commute includes almost all freeway. When I enter the freeway on the way to work about 9:30 PM the speed limit is 65. I set my cruise for about 55 as soon as I enter the freeway, and stay in the right lane. All traffic flys past me like I am standing still. A few miles down the road the limit is reduced to 55 MPH, and no one seems to notice as they continue to pass me angrily. A few more miles the limit goes down to 45MPH for about 4 to 5 miles, and since no one slows down I leave my cruise set to 55 MPH, and traffic continues going like the limit is still 65, which means they are going between 70 and 90 MPH in a 45 MPH construction zone. I think people are a little annoyed by my low speed, even though I am going 10MPH over in the 45 zone. I just laugh at them, and enjoy saving money while they throw it away.

Later,

Allan Greenblazer

Greenblazer -

Yeah, the night traffic and the early morning traffic is some of the fastest/scariest I have seen. I keep thinking the early birds are grumpy that they have to get up early for work and are still running late and trying to beat the traffic, so they are even more speedy dangerous as a result.

CarloSW2

got it in a cracker jack box :thumbup:

If you get tailed, just use your windshield washers. Tailgaters usually get the idea pretty quick. Alternatively, if you have a sunroof and a change tray, you're all set. Truckers are stretched far enough as is with diesel prices, let alone replacement windshields. Let them learn the hard way.

I've worked for Schneider National and people
would throw things at the tractor just to do it..

I would advise against throwing things at a vehicle with an already unstable
operator, thats his bread and butter, to pose damage on that is a bad idea..

They have enough on their table..

speaking of conspiracy theories, I know when a stoplight is going to turn green for me when I look down the road [that I'm turning onto] and see that light turn green. It's like they want us to waste more.

Bright idea, pissing off the driver of a rolling fortress and you in a beercan thin Metro or the like.. Look, those guys are just making a living. Under impossible deadlines and now getting barely enough to cover the fuel. And you want to make them mad by throwing things at them? Not sure, but you might get a knock on your door by the LEOs for a case of roadrage. That is rapidly getting close to hate crime status in some areas.

Along that same line of thinking, would you want someone to do the same to you just because they felt they were being held up by you? Just to teach you a lesson?

Well now, let's look at the flip side. Many times I've been doing the speed limit, or 5 over and one of these maniacs (possibly strung out on god knows what) would come up right to my bumper to try and intimidate me into going faster. Here's the thing, I'm just trying to get from one place to another, safely, without getting nailed by a cop for speeding. I don't give a rat's ass about how tight their deadlines are. If part of their deadline calculation involved breaking traffic laws by speeding, then they're just going to have to be late. I'm tired of truckers and their holier than thou attitude. Yes, I know, all the stuff in wallyworld got there through a truck. I didn't ask for a just-in-time economy, I just want to get home safely, okay? It's a job, like any other and the reason their pay sucks is because pretty much anyone can do it, whether they speak english or not. A failure to plan on your part does not constitute a reason to speed on my part. And yes, if you piss me off by putting my life and that of my passengers in danger, I'll wreck your windshield and accelerate out of sight.

You are playing with fire. Some of the slow drivers on this forum are more agreesive that the worst speeders.

Even though the change idea is funny and creative, I think it would be pretty scary to mess with a trucker. Plus you could probably be charged with something like maliciously throwing a missile. That would not be fun. They have radios and could get other truckers to corner you and pull over, that would suck also.

I guess this is one of those funny in the mind and movies ideas.

Onto the OP: I don't get it, are the speed limits slower? Also, why would they mess up the traffic lights like that? Oh conspiracy (now I'm just thinking out loud).

I don't begrudge the truckers (and not just because my fiance's family is in the business). They drive like everyone else who flies by way too fast ignoring legal and safety factors, they just do it in a much larger vehicle.

I do use the washers on occasion though, I don't intimidate easy. :thumbup:

A missle huh? What do you call a rolling barge a few feet from your rear bumper? How selfish can you be to willingly put someone else's life in danger because you're running late?

If you don't like the way somebody else is driving, call the police. The CHP around here respond very quickly when a driver call in a case of reckless driving or intoxication. But what you're advocating is illegal, dangerous and down right irresponsible. You are no better than the that truck driver.
Secondly, if this happens to you on a regular basis, maybe its time to reexamine your own driving habits. If you think a truck driver is intoxicated behind the wheel, maybe it would be best to put as much distance as possibly between that vehicle and yourself instead of trying to pick a fight with them.

And by putting distance between, you mean speeding. Are you going to pay my ticket? Short of intoxication, do you believe the police are going to send a cruiser to follow a moving target when I call in a complaint about a tailgater? Not all truck drivers are intoxicated, some of them are plain old a-holes that believe their vehicle's curb weight entitles them to use it to their advantage.

A third option not involving missles is to P&G in front of a tailgater. Since semis take a lot longer to glide, they'll be burning off precious momentum through braking each time you let off the gas. At around a dollar per mile, they should get the message pretty quick.

Or if tailgating semis are that big a deal where you live then anticipate it, once they draft up on you like nascar, let off the gas let the nudge happen and have him push you along, think of the FE savings there ...

If we get that far, I'm shifting into 3rd, turning on the AC and riding the brakes too.

The original ideas of this thread are believable...
-more idle time means more gas burnt, more gas purchased means more tax revenue, more revenue means more money for city hall to waste:mad:

-more out of sync lights mean more people speeding to make the green hence more speeding tickets, etc...


As for the secondary dicussion in this thread: Do to others as you would have them do to you....which in my book means NO THROWING THINGS.....bad idea, even in jest..:(

Yea it sounds really exaggerated and crazy but I've seen it in our local newspaper. Some kids were throwing either water balloons or ice at cars and were charged with launching a missile or something with that word in it.

Sorry Chris: http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y78...dDirection.jpg

OK, then to address the original post, I don't think there's a conspiracy going on. If the intent was to get people to waste as much fuel as possible, why not let the rigs go as fast as they want instead of a more efficient 55mph? What was the original speed limit of the highway? If the speed limit was 55mph and the truckers were whining about people doing the speed limit, the police just drove the point home a bit with a sign that says "This means you!". If I am doing the speed limit, nobody has any right to whine about it, even all-holy truckers.

How slow do you have to go to get pulled over for it? I figure as long as you're in the right lane and not going more than 15 under you're ok right?

Also to the O.P., yeah I was in Stockton today getting my car washed and I was in a turn lane and 3 cars were in front of me and before the 2nd even got there the light turned yellow. I just thought it was lame and that it must need to be retimed or something.

Just to clear myself, I don't think there is a conspiracy going on...I was just adding to the conversation.

I like the direction this threads going reguardless of on topic or not,
Alot of the responces are showing peoples true colors LOL

Let us know how that goes.. should stop him pretty fast ;)

Getting tailgated by a semi is one of the few things that really piss me off on the road. It's a murder threat, and I don't see how anyone could take it lightly. The only sensible reaction is to drive normally until you can get out of their way. If it started to happen more than once every few years, I'd install cameras and dial them in. Then start pounding on doors... the prosecutor, their company (if applicable), their insurance company. They need to loose their CDL before they kill someone.

If you happen to notice that it is a large white truck with an Eagle on the door, the number to cal is:
1-800-USPSOIG.(They don't take lightly to drivers behaving badly)
There will be a truck number on the hood, you'll have to read it backward.
However, all Postal Semi's are governed to 59 mph(for fuel savings)
S.

Chris -

Heh heh heh, I like that. Off duty coppo in a taco.

Maybe a fake security camera pointing out the back window with a sign saying something like "Smile for Big Brother" or "You are being filmed when light is on".

CarloSW2

here ya go kids.. this about sums it all up..

NSFW...
http://www.illwillpress.com/hammer22.html

Exactly, it really is "I'm in a hurry so speed up before I kill you!". Also, I'm not so sure the badge is any better idea than the missile. Impersonating a police officer is quite a serious charge isn't it?

Lol I love that guy, I haven't seen any of those in awhile though, voice gets to you after awhile hehe.:D

Its a misdemeanor.......

A semi going 59 doesn't bother me like a loaded semi doing 65+ in the middle lane passing an empty one. Fontana is a pretty big hub area with 3 east west highways and the I-15 all within a few miles radius. Some nights both 2 right lanes are full of rigs.

Who said I'm "impersonating" an officer? :confused:

I'm pretty sure that you could make some dumb reason for using that piece of cardboard. Something like I had it glued to my hand by my son and I was just stretching, he just happened to see it and figure I was a cop. Sorry, just a misunderstanding. I mean, its not like he has a siren or some cop lights or anything.

i'll add to the thread-jack........

ever since i installed a CB, truckers don't tailgate me anymore. I guess they see the 4' whip and realize i can call out on channel 9 (emergency channel) pretty easy.

or get a back window sticker that says "tailgate me and i'll call the cops" and have a little graphic of a cell phone.......