Until there's a viable alternative (meaning mass-transit), you won't get people out of their cars and since people evidently feel the need to keep reproducing, the population demands are only going to get worse and worse. . .

Since that will never happen in L.A., this city will eventually reach a critical mass, limited by transit. It will (and to a certain extent already does) limit growth. This isn't necessarily a bad thing (although a city manager, whose job it is to maximize tax revenues, might disagree. . .)

I figure I'll stay here for another 2-5 years and then relocate somewhere where traffic isn't an issue. Hawaii, the central CA coast, somewhere like that.

Anyone who drives slower than me is an idiot, and anyone who drives faster than me is a maniac.

I think it was George Carlin who said that, but the funny thing is, a lot of people think that way.

Of course!!!!!

If someone is behind you and wants to drive faster, pull the hell over! It's not your job to decide that 75 in a 50 zone is "fast enough for everybody."

Bingo. And, at least around here, there's ZERO movement in this direction. The commuter rail is a joke, the subway/streetcar system in the city is laughable and the various transit systems in the suburbs aren't any better. If I had to commute downtown entirely by public transit I'd be looking at 45 min. city bus to the train, 1.5 hrs on the train, then maybe another 20 min on the subway. That's over 2.5 hrs to cover 65 kilometres (40 miles).

Strange thing is, it doesn't seem to be an issue among most commuters, especially at election time.

Thank you Moses. I know we are thinking if the same idiot.

Funny, when I lived in Montreal I LOVED the transit system. I tool the commuter train into town, then the subway to work... 35 minutes tops. If I tried to drive into town at the same time it would be 1 1/2 hours. I just can't understand why someone would drive into town from the suburbs in Montreal, the transit system there is AWESOME. Very clean, comfortable and always on time.

Nowhere at all did I ever say I wouldnt pull over for someone who wants to pass me. ( 9 times out of 10, I'm the one doing the passing.)
Moses, the road i'm talking about, Rt 9 through Monmouth Co. NJ,is a 2 lane, sometimes 3 lane road with lights every 3/4 of a mile . there is no "passing lane". It is probably one of the most congested road in the state for commuting.

My point is, dont be a moron because "you" dont think "I am" not going fast enough.

My other point is, that people in the NY area seem to think that they have a special entitlement to the road because of the brand or type of car they drive.

If you don't like your commute, change where you a) live, or b) work. I'm always amazed when people will commute for an hour or more each way every day.

Forget moving to Hawaii to escape traffic. Is worse there than here. And no way to increase road capacity. Most of the 'visitors' are tourists slowing to take pictures or pull over, and the rest are usually impaired in some fashion or other.

Has gotten to be a nightmare in the last ten years.

Yes, there is an Interstate Freeway. The only state with an Interstate that clearly does not go interstate.

i used to be really a bad rager on the road. i have calm down completely and now i really dont give a schit how anyone drives. live is crappy enough without letting somebody i dont know, will never know, and i dont want to know, affect my emotions with something i have zero control over. having said that, it is strange how i still get annoyed with slow walkers, that meander to and fro on a crowded sidewalk. but i think that has more to do with my personal space. same issue when some blowhard crowds me when i try to enter my pin# at the supermarket. back the eff off!

Much easier said than done.

I work with a guy that drives from Wilkes-Barre, PA to Staten Island, NY everyday. 2 1/2 - 3 hour commute each way.
Thats nuts!

Porsche-O- Phile....hate to be the bearer of bad news, but out here in the land of small towns, traffic has gone the same way as the cities....madding to say the least.

The price of gas going up does seem to help with less traffic at certain times of the day but now I am seeing more crouch rockets out there.

In the last 4-5 yrs when I travel on I-5, without a doubt I make way better time staying in the right lane cuz all the lane hogs are in the left lane.

Now didn't I read somewhere that if you pass a driving skills test you can be issued a bazooka to mount on the front of your car to get rid of those pesty hogs :p

Jake, you're absolutely right. I was referring to Toronto/GTA. The transit system in Montreal is awesome - the subway there is far better than the Toronto one. Although to be fair, they've only got what, a third the population?

Mass transit is a big problem in NJ. Unless you live along two certain rail corridors, your transit options are very limited. Buses around here are few and far between and only travel to the major transit hubs. So Unless you drive, you are pretty much screwed.
They are trying to get approval to use a local frieght line as a passenger line, but everyone is screaming about it. The Not In My Backyard Syndrome.

I've found that double flashing the high beams at around 30yards away and then again at a 15, and then if they haven't figured it out, another double flash half a car length from their bumper, will usually give them the idea. This may happen in a very short period of time.
If you're in the left lane and not passing, you're in the wrong lane. Either s#&t or get off the pot! When you're through passing, get back into the appropriate lane. If you're being passed on the right, you're in the wrong lane.
If you're in the left lane with 50 other cars, you're part of the problem not part of the solution.
Freybird has spoken!
Whew

I know that road. And yes, I've been tailgated at 75 MPH there. Sorry about the criticism. My bad.

For the record VINMAN, Moses and I were not thinking of you in the lanehog comment.

No prob, I didnt think you guys where.

Half my office was born in Brooklyn, grew up on Staten Island and now lives out in NJ or Pennsyvania and complains about the commute! Ha! Move back to Brooklyn. I am anywhere in mid-town or downtown in 30 minutes and can sit and read the paper on the subway every morning. SmileWavy

I have passed on the right many times and I make it a point of getting RIGHT BACK OVER to the right lane once I am clear of the Left Lane Looser (LLL). Sometimes they will speed up and cock block you. In my Dodge this would suck, it had a speed limiter at 97MPH.

This was tried once when in the Audi and I had enough to jump past and in front. Then the LLL sped up. So I laid the hammer..... Man, that Audi really likes to cruise at 130. It was like silk. It felt like 80 in my Dodge. The LLL quickly became a dot in my mirror.

I log a tom of miles between Florida and North Carolina and it gets really old. I sometimes can pass more cars in the left than in the right. They line up 50 deep and all seem to be cool with doing 73 in the left lane while the right is empty.

I really need to get the Florida tags off my FJ and Porsche, they spend the most time in North Carolina and I am embarressed to have those tags on them.

To answer the original question, I do not rage anymore, I just laugh now, its so sad no one really has a clue on the road.


When I got my 85 in a 70 in Georgia last year it was because I had moved out to pass a couple of cars. I sped up to get the pass done and move back over. I saw a couple of faster cars coming up on me and wanted to get out of their way. Too bad the cop does not care about that stuff. :(