Mike Bultemeier wrote:
>
> After 3 days in Detroit in February. I realized that the speed limit signs are
> regarded by the locals as merely a suggested speed to travel.
> It was snowing heavily and visibilty was maybe a 1/4 mile. I got on I-94
>headed
> east. The right lane was doing 10mph over the speed limit. I thought at the
>time,
> "I wonder what these guys drive like when the weather is good?"
Probably the very same. I've noticed the same thing here in Colorado.
It's really surprising, I live here in the Rocky Mountains, where you
would expect people would know how to drive in adverse snowy conditions.
But somehow that doesn't quite work. I've seen a bunch of "types" when
the white stuff begins to fall. I think they can be summarized as this:
1. Too scared to move. This driver becomes petrified behind the wheel
when the slightest adversity shows itself. Whether the road is just wet
from rain or runoff, or if it's covered in a thick sheet of ice, they
calibrate their speeds to 15-20 mph below the speed of traffic
regardless. If there's no traffic, they crawl at amazingly slow speeds.
Not the predominant variety though.
2. Oblivious joe. This driver doesn't think the laws of physics apply to
them, much less the laws of the road. And they're usually in a big rush
to get somewhere, weaving in and out of traffic. Especially if the flow
of traffic isn't up to their personal standards.
3. Super Dude. Usually driving a 4WD pickup, believes that because they
have a 4WD super truck that they can ignore inclement weather. And
invariably, they're the ones that are the first to go off the road. When
they discover that Four-Wheel-Drive does not necessarily mean
Four-Wheel-Grip or Four-Wheel-Stop.
4. The Rest. Always forcing their way through traffic, they seem to need
to always go just that little bit faster than the rest of the road. Do
they have a "need for speed"? Do they feel that their 'superiority' is
threatened by driving with the flow of traffic? Or do they just think
that rest of the people on the road are 'idiots' and shouldn't be
allowed on the road with them? I think this is the majority of the
populace here. Scary.
-Josh2
--
Joshua Hadler '74 914 2.0 CSP/Bi - Hooligan Racing #29 - CONIVOR
'87 Quantum Syncro - aka stealth quattro
jhadler@rmi.net
http://rainbow.rmi.net/~jhadler/
|