OK, time for my .02 worth. I'm a 37 yr. old male driver, military pilot,
have driven extensively throughout Germany, the UK, Belgium, Holland,
Australia, Guam, Panama, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Portugal, Canada, and every
state here with the exception of Alaska. I am classified by both friends
and family as an aggressive driver, however...I have NEVER been involved in
an accident (as victim or cause), my last speeding ticket was over 5 years
ago, and I've only had 4 speeding tickets/moving violations since I was 16.
I do not exceed the speed limit in residential areas, and in most cases wont
exceed the posted speed limit by more than a few MPH until I'm in a 45 MPH
or faster zone. From my experience, we, as a country drive marginally
better than the Saudis and Turks, are about equal to the Panamanians and
Guamanians, and are worse than the remainder of the list in how we drive and
how we take care of our vehicles. The only time most people in this country
drive with any semblance of sanity or courtesy is when they're out in the
middle of nowhere on the interstate. When people start getting close to
cities, towns, or other things that can slow them down (construction,
accidents, exit ramps) they start doing silly things.
Personally, I think that people ought to be cited for reckless
endangerment by the police for use of cell phones, performing personal
grooming, or other distracting activities if it can be shown that this
contributed to an accident. I personally feel that if people paid a bit
more attention to the other vehicles on the road, there would be a fewer
problems.
As far as the "geezer"is concerned, in most civilized countries, cars move
over when a vehicle approaches from behind to overtake them, this is called
being courteous. As for the car approaching at a higher speed, you have a
responsibility to make your intentions known, i.e., turn signal for lane
change, or the beam flash, but tailgating is just plain rude. After a
reasonable amount of time (when it becomes apparent that the driver of the
vehicle in front of you is either ignoring you, or is being less than
courteous) if it is safe and prudent to do so, pass them on the right, and
get on about your business - don't bother to make eye contact, it invites
confrontation, will probably annoy you, and will bring satisfaction to the
other driver.
I have friends, mostly female, who drive like the "geezer" does, and in
many cases they feel not only justified, but self-righteous about this
activity, believing that by driving exactly 5 MPH over the speed limit they
are somehow helping to make the highways safer for everyone. Unfortunately,
like the "geezer", they don't understand that this disrupts traffic flow,
and can actually cause accidents that they will never see if everyone trying
to overtake him has to slam on their brakes because they are used to 10-15
MPH over, and they expect him to move. In many countries, and Texas the law
is "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS" (rechts fahren)
'69 GT6+
'93 Mustang Cobra
Boeing E-3
Boeing B-52
T-37
T-38
-----Original Message-----
From: Stinocher, Bryan D. <bdstinocher@sewsus.com>
To: 'Coday Family' <coday@localaccess.com>; triumphs@autox.team.net
<triumphs@autox.team.net>
Date: Friday, July 17, 1998 3:23 PM
Subject: RE: Geezers in the fast lane
>
>Will the steering wheel only turn every 30 miles or so? What is the fetish
>with driving in the left-hand lane, which I learned in this century was for
>passing, not for those planning on driving a long way. If you ain't in a
>hurry, get in the slow lane. There you can travel at leisure, and let us
>with more testosterone and better eyes blow on through!! Besides, we set
off
>all the speed traps for you guys!!
>
>Bryan
>TR Owner Wannabe (and driving like a madman!!)
>
> ----Original Message-----
> From: Coday Family [SMTP:coday@localaccess.com]
> Sent: Friday, July 17, 1998 7:57 AM
> To: triumphs@autox.team.net
> Subject: Geezers in the fast lane
>
>
>
> > I flash my lights a lot when someone in front of me thinks he is
>entitled to
> > the fast lane, even though he is driving slower than those in the
>slow lane.
> > All it gets me in the states is the "bird"...
>
> You know when I am going 5 miles over the speed limit, and plan to
> travel 30 or more miles, I move to the far left lane to avoid the
> merging traffic at the right where most of the on ramps are.
>
> When I learned to drive last century, the teaching was that the left
>
> lane was essentially an express lane to travel through on, not an
> unlimited speed autobohn lane.
>
> I know it drives the young guys with more testosterone than brain
> cells crazy to travel at only 5 miles over the speed limit, but at
>my
> advanced age, it seems fast enough to me.
>
> Luckily, as my eyesight fails, I don't really see the headlights
> flashing anymore.
>
> > If only they had the death penalty for idiot drivers, the highways
>would be
> > much clearer and faster!!
>
> I agree with you on the death penalty for idiot drivers, we may
> disagree on who the idiots are.
>
> Mike
>
> 59 TR3 TS52320 (a daily driver wannabe)
>
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