Highway safety and driving thread

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by masraum

That's why I said that I thought he was hauling butt. I've seen some photos where motorcycles ended up inside cars. I think that's usually due to great speed.

It's funny, there are lots of dashcam videos out there where the "other" driver is at fault. And in most cases, the "other" driver is mostly at fault. But at the same time, like in the case below, the driver with the dashcam should have been more defensive and expected the other driver to be a bonehead. I'm not saying that it couldn't happen to me. I think I, and most others, make a lot of assumptions about what other drivers are going to do. Those assumptions are probably mostly true, right up until they aren't, and then there's an accident.

When stopped to make a turn, it's not easy to judge the speed of an oncoming vehicle, and doubly so when it's a motorcycle's vertical line. Better to hesitate and wait for a large gap in the incoming line than guess speed

[908/930]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

When stopped to make a turn, it's not easy to judge the speed of an oncoming vehicle, and doubly so when it's a motorcycle's vertical line. Better to hesitate and wait for a large gap in the incoming line than guess speed

That is if the bike is actually visible, have you noticed how large car/truck A pillar's are now? But I really don't think it takes more than reg highway speed to put a 800lb bike into a car through the door.

[Baz]

The comments on this one are gold, Jerry....gold!

[berettafan]

Left lane campers always have and will irritate me. What I notice lately is it’s not old peoples but rather youngsters. Frequently soy boy types. I see it and think my goodness what is it like to not feel the joy of driving? They look disgusted at having to transport themselves somewhere and who cares what’s going on around them. Argh!

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Baz

The comments on this one are gold, Jerry....gold!

I've seen that video (without the lawyer's commentary). People are amazing to me. I'd like to think that the woman learned something, but it seems like these sorts of idiots NEVER learn.

Reminds me of a video from years ago. A woman got pulled over for a traffic infraction and had a ton of attitude with the cop and wouldn't comply (far less cooperative than the lady is this video). The cop eventually pulled his taser and warned the lady several times. She got tased and fell out of her car (door was open) and flopped on the ground like a fish out of water.

Watching TV shows, it's not usual to see folks in the TV shows that get attitudes with cops, and I've always thought, "surely, almost no one does that, and most folks are probably scared sheißless when having to deal with LEOs." But now since cell phones and body cams are some prevalent, I know that lots of folks do get attitudes with cops, and I'm flabbergasted.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by berettafan

Left lane campers always have and will irritate me. What I notice lately is it’s not old peoples but rather youngsters. Frequently soy boy types. I see it and think my goodness what is it like to not feel the joy of driving? They look disgusted at having to transport themselves somewhere and who cares what’s going on around them. Argh!

Our driver's education (formal and informal) sucks. I think that's the reason for LLC. People don't know and don't care.

I used to get irritated. I may still a little from time to time, but most of the time these days, I just go around them as soon as I'm able. It's far better to try to stay relaxed/calm and not be bothered.

You can't control what others do any more than you can control a gust of wind, so there's no point in being any more bothered by others than you would be bothered by a gust of wind.

[Baz]

I cannot comprehend how someone, when caught speeding and pulled over, and asked for drivers license, can sit there and argue with the cop and REFUSE to comply when repeatedly asked for your DL.

That level of stupidity goes beyond comprehension.

Last time this happened to me I just got a warning. And to be honest - while I was indeed exceeding the limit - it was not in a neighborhood and IMHO did not pose any danger to myself or society. But did I argue with the officer? Hell no. I was polite, answered all questions asked, and was able to drive away short a few minutes of my time. Big effing deal.....lol....

[oldE]

The only time I have argued with an officer in a traffic stop was a couple of decades ago when I was behind a guy who was pulling away from me after the light turned green. An officer was parked across from a school and stopped the guy. As I went to pull around them, she motioned for me to pull over as well. I was puzzled, but complied. When she finished with the other guy and approached, asking for the usual papers, she claimed I had been speeding in the school zone. I pointed out I had been directly behind the other driver at the lights, but he was pulling away from me, so I could not have been doing the same speed. She checked my data in her car, returned my papers with a short speech about the need to respect school zone speed limits, which I certainly endorse.
Other than that, it is always, "Yes Sir, No Mam. Thank you Officer. "

Best
Les

[Baz]

Some guy bought a brand new Corvette and in the 2nd day totaled it by hitting the left rear corner of a jeep he was illegally passing in Ormond Beach. The Jeep overturned, man and his wife, who didn't have their seat belts buckled, were ejected. She had her leg ripped off and he was killed. The Vette driver wasn't injured and and is now being charged with DUI and vehicular homicide.

[Baz]

** Update late model Corvette driving extreme speeds on A1A with numerous 911 calls crashes into Black Jeep Wrangler at Lagerheads ejecting the passengers of the Jeep with at least one fatality. **

Ormond by the Sea, FL
"A fatal crash happened on State Road A1A near Sandpiper Ridge Drive when a 2026 Chevrolet Corvette tried to pass a 2016 Jeep Wrangler in a no-passing zone.
The crash caused the Jeep’s driver to die, while the passenger was critically injured and airlifted to Halifax Health Medical Center. The Corvette driver had minor injuries and was also transported there.
The accident occurred as both vehicles were heading north on State Road A1A, with the Corvette following behind the Jeep. The Corvette’s driver tried to pass the Jeep in a no-passing zone, resulting in a collision where the front right of the Corvette hit the rear left of the Jeep."

https://www.facebook.com/reel/816986277960411/

[oldE]

Neither occupant of the Jeep were wearing their seat belts. You don't wear the things for fashion. They are meant to save your life in case of an accident.

[john70t]

Good signage prevents a majority of last second decisions:

-Most on-ramps merge but some don't. Same with freeway connections.
Arrows/signs are missing.
I've seen a lot of cars driving on the shoulder on the rumble strip next to a semi refusing to alter their situation. Hopefully nobody else is broken down there.

-Many thruways or byways have several names and directions.
This is not identified on ALL the signs.
Some overheads give names of some random small distant city instead of north vs south. Let's check the map quick.

-Major interstate exchanges sometimes have only one single overhead sign...right at the split...
Drivers then dart across four lanes. Totally safe.

-Merges for highway construction can be a problem.
They create wasteful accidents, idling, traffic jams, and general frustration for thousands of drivers per day.
MERGE RIGHT OR LEFT? WHAT ARE OTHER PEOPLE DOING?
It's a simple equation: Traffic flow X speed X amount of vehicles to place advance warning. GPS in temp signs. Give simple instructions to road crews. Hello? You have one job to do.

-Merge signs should be in:
Green (suggestion),
Yellow (no we really mean it unless you are turning),
Red (troopers collecting revenue or bodies...giving hefty fines to jackhats swerve-driving on the shoulder all the way to the front of the line). Solving budget problem one jackhat at a time.


-Too many signs can also be a problem.
1) This city removed parking spaces and lanes to install raised wide ~4ft concrete curb dividers for protecting bike lanes.
Good idea. Terrible implementation for both. You're fired.

2) These are broken into segments for the driveways. Every rounded face means an instant broken axle...instead of bouncing off a curb or getting reminder-slapped by rumble strips or cones. Both lanes tend to drive into the center. The irony is this 'super bike corridor' abruptly ends at the downhill where cars will turn right at speed and the bike lane is dumped into a huge impassible island curb. They literally have nowhere to go and are forced into traffic.

3) Trash collection bins have to be put on top the un-level dividers, which often topple over into the street.

4) The whipped cream on this poopcake engineering is installation of a wall of extra-large reflective wands all along the street on both sides and between lanes at cross-walks. The ones in the middle are destroyed within a week. When driving at night these reflect back and blind drivers of the neon corridor. It's absolutely blinding. The end result is an inability to see pedestrians crossing or dark trash cans in the street. From bad to worse for both mean of transportation.

5) Architects need a few years actually building houses before any license is bestowed.
Traffic engineers need a few years traveling the same path before being allowed to alter it for the better.

[/rant]

[Baz]

Crazy high speed chase in the Florida Keys.....will try to find the vid.......

[A930Rocket]

I was on the way home today and this jackass on a dirt bike was weaving in and out of traffic. Then he stands up on the pegs and starts pumping the bike. When we got to the stoplight, he was about 10 rows in front of me. As the light turned green, he did a wheelie for as far as I could see. I see him living a short life.

[Brian 162]

Originally Posted by Baz

Crazy high speed chase in the Florida Keys.....will try to find the vid.......

I saw it on X
The guy being chased hit a brand new boat on a trailer that the owner just picked up from a marina. It was worth $250,000

[bmcuscgr94]

Idiot.

https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/corvette-driver-arrested-after-clocked-going-147-mph-on-panama-ln-chp/

[Baz]

"Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly!"

[David]

A tip I learned in physics class and eventually started using while driving or motorcycling especially after I hit two cars that pulled out in front of me in my first year of motorcycling:

The top of a wheel is moving at twice the speed of the vehicle so rather than look at the vehicle to see if it's moving and may pull out in front of me, I look at the top of the front wheel. If it starts to move at all, I get on the brakes.

[Baz]

OK I'm not taking sides here. But if, as reported by eye witnesses, the step-father (with his step-son in the car) engaged with the other driver at ALL....he certainly shares some of the blame for his step-son's death.

"My ego is huge, and my brain is tiny. Sometimes one size fits all."

[Baz]

More on that question......agree or disagree.......