[WARNING: apology, some ranting, some reason :-) ]
Fred Marks wrote:
> Now on to Steven Newell's rant :-)
Apologies in re my "rant". I'll grant that I may have been a
bit overprotective today -- oddly enough probably due
to a email talk with a friend on the list about his friend who
just lost a young son. Anyway, I'm a big believer in waiting
a day before ranting, at which point I usually forget to do so.
Sorry I didn't today.
> >...But if you kill my wife and children*
> > because you want to drive 90 mph on I-25 through
> > downtown Denver -- MOVE TO GERMANY AND DRIVE
> > THE AUTOBAHN!
>
> First off, if I wanted to drive 90 through Denver I
> COULDN'T DO IT ON THE AUTOBAHN!!! The geography just
> doesn't work...
Point was that interstates in the U.S. aren't actually designed
for unlimited speeds, and that driving at such speeds can
endanger other drivers. Fred, you said "if I want to make 90
or better, that's my business" -- but you're not the only guy on the
road. I know you're not one of them, but I see guys on the few miles
of heavily trafficed urban interstate that I drive daily -- treating it like
a raceway and expecting people to get out of their way. I
overreacted in treating your note as championing those drivers.
> What I said--plain and simple-- was this: If
> you're in the left lane and someone wants to pass,
> MOVE OVER. That's it.
You also said "if I want to make 90 or better, that's my business".
That's a bit different from "move over" I think. It sounded to me
like "screw you if you're in my way" though I believe I overreacted.
> By the way Steven, define "TOO High a speed."
Um, I won't take a shot at this, what with my esteemed lawmakers
already doing so, with our fine peace officers seeing that those
definitions are enforced. On mountain roads in Colorado, we
have signed before turns recommending a safe speed, and these
recommendations are enforced by cliffs. <g>
> I believe rural Montana Interstates for example, have
> no speed limit. Do yo have a problem with that?
Well, Montana did. They reinstated a speed limit. I didn't make it
up there in time, I'm afraid.
> Steve, if you MOVE OVER there is no reason to tailgate.
Of course I do. But IMO there is NO reason for tailgating.
> I'm sorry Steve, but IMNSHO, people who hang out in
> the left lane because their left exit is four miles
> ahead should still be tarred and feathered, for not
> knowing how to execute a proper lane change when their
> exit comes around. And if you really are fearful of
> being hit, I daresay you need to work out your fears.
> Bottom line is this: IF YOU ARE BEING PASSED ON THE
> RIGHT, YOU ARE A HAZARD TO NAVIGATION AND A DANGER TO
> THE PEOPLE WHO MUST GO AROUND YOU ON THE WRONG SIDE.
> MOVE OVER!!!
Fred, we're just talking about different things here. I'm talking
about raceway driving on urban interstates. Four lanes one way,
on-ramps and exits on either side. On urban highways, left lane
passing is often irrelevant, since we're all either hauling or crawling.
During the times in between, everyone is looking for a better lane.
I often choose the left (given we're all going the same speed)
because there's only one lane of morons who don't bother to look
for a little car before changing lanes. Again, you must be talking
about someplace else, with less traffic. And when I'm in that place,
I'm driving pretty fast, though I respect the rights of others to live
and drive slowly. I'm not in that much of a hurry, and I have good
music on the radio.
> ...emergency teams responding to a plane crash almost
> always come with a coroner in tow too, yet we deem air
> travel as "safer than driving," do we not?
Well, it's been a long time since I took logic class in college. ;-)
Airplane crashes are not (typically) survivable, high speed
car crashes are not (typically) survivable, low speed car
crashes ARE (typically) survivable. Speed limits in the U.S. are
typically frustratingly low, but crashes at those speeds are
typically survivable.
> Regardless, statistically you're still more likely to
> assume room temperature via a car accident in the USA,
> than in Germany, and statistically there are far more
> auto accidents per mile driven here than there. The
> lower frequency of accidents in Germany is largely
> attributable to better trained and skilled drivers,
> the majority of whom MOVE OVER when they're in the
> left lane and someone wants to pass.
Good stuff here. Still, given that we're all extremely skilled
drivers (list members, Fred, me) but we know that there
are unskilled drivers all over, I don't believe the need for
speed outweighs our own responsibility to value the lives
of other drivers -- whether old, young, or slow for some other
reason. Not to suggest that older list members here are not
driving too fast, I'm sure you are. <g>
> > *the wife and kids are fine, thanks. Ocassionally
> > they are in the left lane, though. Dark green/blue
> > Discovery SE7, please give it room. <g>
>
> Will do. But if _my_ wife comes up behind her, tell
> her the polite thing to do would be to MOVE OVER!
She'll have to wait till my wife stops tailgating me. <g>
> Thanks. No hard feelings Steven, but all's fair and
> all that :-)
In kind. <g>
--
Steven Newell
Denver, CO
'62 TR4
/// triumphs@autox.team.net mailing list
/// To unsubscribe send a plain text message to majordomo@autox.team.net
/// with nothing in it but
///
/// unsubscribe triumphs
///
|