First Mi1lion take it easy it was a joke. I understand there is a difference between speeding and driving under the speed limit. Nowhere in any of my posts have I condoned speeding, however I do have a problem with people who drive well bellow the posted speed limit unless there is a reason for it i.e. road conditions, towing, etc. That is what I was getting at. If a person is driving well below the speed limit in order not to exceed their personal minimums, they shouldn't be driving.

 

Maybe Californian railroad ties were treated with safe preservatives, but everywhere else they contain alot of dangerous chemicals. Therefore, they are not good for landscaping and should not be allowed in your neighborhood, or near children, or near water wells. Which brings me to the dilemma of the day,... Do you want to die in a blaze of glory in a terrible car crash because you were speeding. Or, would you like to slowly die of cancer because you have been handling toxic railroad ties. Odds are 50/50 for either option. I also guess you are under age 25.
Remember, most people mellow out with age, and tend to drive a little slower. Also, have some respect out there, the slow driver you are cursing at could be anybody. Maybe an 80 year old WW2 Vet that got his eye and leg shot off on D-Day, and received the Medal of Honor saving someones live. Or someone that was so shaken up at the hospital they work at, because three people died in the Emergency room that day from car accidents. Show some respect out there, we all have to make it home safely.

 

Just a though;

Ain't it funny how everyone going slower than you is a jerk,
and everyone going faster is an idiot!!

 

all to true man...all too true

-jason-

 

i speed.....not excessivly cause my truck dont like it lol but i have havent had ONE wreck since ive been driving. been driving for a year and a half and not my experience isnt just around town, i drive to dallas from ftworth once a week and have driven to CO a couple times. i did have one person rear end me at a stop light (little saturn), cracked her radiator and the engine fell off the mounts. not a scratch on my big ole steel bumber. i kno im one of the lucky ones cause i have a friend that was a VERY careful driver and hydroplaned into a tree and was in ICU for 5 weeks and had internal bleeding in his brain. but i dont think speeding is a bad thing so long as u pay attention and dont do it excessively. there are 2 kinds of drivers, those who have been in a wreck and those who will be in a wreck.

 

Boy, hot topic. Since I got it all started, I guess I should chime in again.

I wasn't complaining about people driving slowly, I was commenting how interesting it is that so many people hereabouts are content to just chug along. I only curse at them when poke along in the fast lane at 60--that IS dangerous. I think it's important to note the context of what I'm saying: I'm commuting in the Los Angeles area, not in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, or Alaska or anywhere else where 2-lane highways are the norm (and I don't mean that as a knock). We're talking 6-lanes wide in each direction and 4-level overpasses in my neck of the woods. As far as 80 being excessive speed, for the area and time I'm driving, the average speed in the number 1 and 2 lanes is at least 80. I'm keeping up with the Joneses, not needlessly putting other people at risk. And it does make a difference; 15 mph slower can translate into extending my trip by a minimum of 30 minutes if I don't get off the road before traffic builds up and the average speed drops to about 20 (which sounds like it might suit some of you just fine ). For what it's worth (probably not much, but I'll type it anyway) in my driving history--more than ten years, all of it in L.A. county--I have had exactly zero accidents and been ticketed for zero traffic violations.

As far as not using railroad ties for landscaping goes... good grief, there are better things to crusade against. Partially hydrogenated oils shouldn't be allowed near children, either, and those are actually consumed intentionally (GASP!). We don't even have wells around here, and railroad ties are sold at landscaping suppliers--I'm just getting them at a significant discount (i.e., free). As far as winding up in the chemo ward because I've put a few in my front yard, there are far more significant carcinogens I encounter every day that will do me in long before the creosote does.

 

DCN - good point

I always tend to go "with the flow of traffic". Let it be 70MPH, 65MPH, 75MPH, etc. I usually chug around at 75 when I'm in my own lane. In CT, its the older floks in the Buicks that screw things up

 

Through all these posts I am reading things that make me wonder if we have indeed evolved from bashing each others head in with rocks and sticks

I.e.

want to freaking run them over!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then there is this:




I was wrong about the 10,000 its 50,000? Worse than I thought! I guess with some form of gun control brought that down a bit, I hope.

What is the big deal? So a slower person (slow meaning someone who is going the speed limit) on the highway may cut 30 seconds off your time?

Inattention is indeed a factor BUIT so is speed. Have you ever heard of something called Risk Homeostatis?

It is a theroy that predicts that people become accustomed to some acceptable level of risk, and that when they are required to reduce a risk they are exposed to, they will increase other risks until they have re-established the level of risk they have become accustomed to.

Problem is, people assume that their level of risk is safe and that they can handle it. Not true. A car that has a superior suspension system, performance tires and a 200hp motor may very well allow someone to drive faster, BUT do they have the experience and knowledge to drive that fast? What if they make a mistake and someone is hurt or killed?

Don't you agree that that person, that we all, have a responsibility to others and to ourselves to ensure safety?

I agree that someone driving TOO slow can cause trouble, but driving too fast does also. No, I don't agree that 'keeping up with traffic that is speeding' is safe. If we ALL drive too fast we all are even more at risk.

Be kind, be patient.

Digger

 

I hate it when 2 tractor trailers are side by side going up a hill at 50mph on a 65mph highway.

I usually go about 7 over and move over to allow faster drivers by.

But the norm....I try to keep up with the flow.

 

There have been several studies, magazine and newspaper articles that show redlight cams and photo radar are essentially revenue generators under the guise of ?gsafety enhancers?h.

Car and Driver, yes yes they are essentially the Hustler magazine of the automotive world with absolutely no morals, least as far as safetynazis are concerned, has researched NHTSA statistics and their conclusion is that red light cameras might decrease red light violations in some areas, but typically the number of rear end accidents at those intersections and others in the area go up, a lot. If we were truly trying to decrease accidents CD recommended dumping the cams and using a visible officer or reminders, like in the good old days when you at least got to meet your accuser and maybe get a safety lecture. Instead, the coffers are full and the rearenders are piling up.

Photo radar has been admitted by some more ?ghonest?h cities as a prime revenue generator. There is a small town in Wa St that admitted they got their photo radar for revenue only. They said the very expensive system paid for itself the first month and now they are rolling in gravy. Other companies fight for the license to run the photo radar concessions, yes you are not getting a ticket from the city, your are getting a ticket from a private company, sounds like a business transaction rather than a safety issue to me.

The British, ever law abiding, mild mannered citizens are up in arms over the intrusivness and proliferation of their photo radar and redlight cams. There is an active campaign to require removal of the devices since they are clearly revenue generators and not meant for safety. I think that article was in a recent MSN.com news article. Britain has had these devices for a lot longer than we have, but it appears the citizens have had enough taxation at every street corner. You can even get tickets for being in certain areas of the town at the wrong time of day if you don?ft have the proper qualifications, ie paid a big fee up front instead of a lot of little fines as you go.

Photo radar and redlight cams don?ft always enhance safety, it just creates other safety problems or moves them to other roads. But in the mean time the money rolls in.

BTW for you scoff laws out there, there are several license plate covers that will obscure your license number at certain angles, say the angle between a camera mounted to the side of the road or up high. Their legality is questionable but they are effective. Sad that some people?fs drive for safety at all costs has caused some people to become criminals or to disrespect the law enough to work around it.

Just my daredeveil lawbreaking not PC Opinion. I promise I won?ft contribute more to this thread since it is like politics. Each of us knows we are right and someone else isn?ft going to change our minds no matter what someone else says. Least I know I am right ;^)

And BTW I like speeders, they distract the police while I am getting my picture taken.

Jim Henderson

 

I've also noticed that Cadillacs tend to go slow but Lincolns tend to go fast.

Around here, the Hondas seem to be a problem- usually with some save the whales bumper sticker or something.

 

Million, you posed the quistion why speed? It only shaves a few seconds off, someone can speed and you will catch up to them at the next light right?


Did you know I drive 24000 miles a year. averaging 60 miles and hour, which is optomistic being that it is all two lane highways.....I would be on the road for a total of 16 DAYS!! and 16 HOURS EVERY YEAR!!!! EVERY YEAR!!! Now at 70 I would be on the road for 14 days and 6 hours....hmm.....I would save 2 days and 10 hours of my life rigt there in 1 year....nor think aobut if I avg 20 over? REMEMBER this is mostly on two lane, open, not occupied roadsm going 90 miles without seeing anyone at all....