Post #221,659
8/30/05 3:05:17 PM
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False sense of security
I'm the one in control driving the car, not at the mercy of anyone else. Except every one of the dozens of cars near you at any given moment. True that you could be in control of your car, but what about all the others? --
Steve
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Post #221,661
8/30/05 3:16:51 PM
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Well.. occasionally planes manage to run into each other too
crap shoot.
One can do a lot to minimize the effects of the random droids in nearby cars. Attention! appears to me to be the single most Important quality for self-preservation (afer decent lore in the physics of it all).
Lose that to the cel, i-Pod, bored-daydreams, in-car prattle and,
I expect you to Die, Mr. Bond.
:-0
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Post #221,744
8/30/05 10:41:31 PM
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One can do even more in a small aircraft.
Ashton posits: "One can do a lot to minimize the effects of the random droids in nearby cars."
Attention, he rightly points out, is paramount. And that is the case when "driving" at 2 or 3,000 feet AGL. But up there we can also ask for "flight following" even when flying VFR and that can help ... some ... if ATC is not too busy ;0).
But, there is a lot more sky up there than there is the 4 feet or so between oncoming traffic on a 2 lane highway. All in all, I'll take my chances in the sky over those on the road any day when it comes to avoiding oncoming traffic.
bcnu,
Mikem
It would seem, therefore, that the three human impulses embodied in religion are fear, conceit, and hatred. The purpose of religion, one might say, is to give an air of respectibility to these passions. -- Bertrand Russell
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Post #221,708
8/30/05 7:23:39 PM
8/30/05 7:26:56 PM
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What do I do?
Except every one of the dozens of cars near you at any given moment. True that you could be in control of your car, but what about all the others? I stay alert, don't use a cell phone (don't even have one), don't do anything but focus on my driving... therefore I have a better chance of spotting an accident about to happen (been there, done that), and of avoiding said accident, (done that too). I'm not stupid enough to believe I'm immortal, or ever completely safe, but I believe alertness and focus on what you're doing is the key to staying as safe as possible when operating any vehicle. :) Brenda Edit: P.S. Plus, anyone stupid enough to run into my car is likely to get a LOT more hurt and damaged than I ever would.... unless it was an 18-wheeler. A corvette once crashed into my rear bumper... there wasn't much of the corvette left. However, all my car had in the way of damage, was a tiny red scrape on the chrome. Period. My dad, who drove a similar car for many years (A 1968 Dodge Polara), was rear-ended by a speeding ambulance on a highway offramp. The ambulance was totalled, my dad's car had large rubber protectors (I assume that's what they were), on his bumper... they were severely dented in. Other than that, no damage. In other words... I drive a TANK. ;)
"Excel is to math what a Microwave Oven is to cooking!"
Edited by Nightowl
Aug. 30, 2005, 07:26:56 PM EDT
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Post #221,721
8/30/05 8:13:20 PM
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Love. It. - poor/smart person's Hummer. Laugh --> bank.
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Post #221,745
8/30/05 10:43:21 PM
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Nit: maybe not the bank with gas nearly $3/gal.
bcnu,
Mikem
It would seem, therefore, that the three human impulses embodied in religion are fear, conceit, and hatred. The purpose of religion, one might say, is to give an air of respectibility to these passions. -- Bertrand Russell
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Post #221,746
8/30/05 10:46:24 PM
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Re: Nit: maybe not the bank with gas nearly $3/gal.
Yep, and a car that gets about 11 miles to the gallon...
Good thing I only drive her around a couple times a week. ;)
Brenda
"Excel is to math what a Microwave Oven is to cooking!"
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Post #221,771
8/31/05 1:38:08 AM
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I play a really small violin for thee
I'd love petrol to be $3 a gallon.
Peter
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Post #221,787
8/31/05 7:58:34 AM
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Pick some up when you pick up the London Bridge.
Of course, it may be $5 a gallon here by then (premium has been $3/gallon around here for a couple of weeks).
How much has the price over there increased over the last couple of years? It's roughly doubled here. Since much of the price in Europe is in taxes, I assume it hasn't doubled over there.
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #221,788
8/31/05 8:01:01 AM
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Up to \ufffd1/litre in places.
I filled up on Monday morning and paid 91p/litre.
That's $6.12 a gallon.
So shutyerwhinging.
Peter
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Post #221,791
8/31/05 8:19:32 AM
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Hey. I wasn't whynghyng. Twas a Q about the changes.
I would have expected it to be more.
Condolences.
My last fillup was Monday - $2.59/gal for diesel ($0.68/l). That was ~ $0.30 less than regular. Up until very recently diesel was more than regular, so it's a nice change (in that limited respect).
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #221,805
8/31/05 10:09:04 AM
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Just wait.
If Venezuela carries out its threat to base oil on your Euro instead of the US Dollar (as I think Russia already does) and the other large oil producing countries follow suit, we'll be begging for $9/gal here.
Aside: Gas here went to $2.79 yesterday. Today a gas station owner I know warned me, "Just got a call from xxxx oil. They're telling us to go up 50 cents at noon, to $3.29. If you need gas, you'd better get it now."
bcnu,
Mikem
It would seem, therefore, that the three human impulses embodied in religion are fear, conceit, and hatred. The purpose of religion, one might say, is to give an air of respectibility to these passions. -- Bertrand Russell
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Post #221,807
8/31/05 10:23:18 AM
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Atlanta has a 7 day supply left and pipelines are off
until further notice, oil compasnies are discussing raising the price to $3 per gal to cool demand, It has already jumped 22 cents since Katrina hit.
thanx,
bill
"the reason people don't buy conspiracy theories is that they think conspiracy means everyone is on the same program. Thats not how it works. Everybody has a different program. They just all want the same guy dead. Socrates was a gadfly, but I bet he took time out to screw somebodies wife" Gus Vitelli
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 49 years. meep
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Post #221,819
8/31/05 11:27:24 AM
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It's all about the local vacations now.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #221,832
8/31/05 11:56:16 AM
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Detroit, here you come..
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Post #221,862
8/31/05 12:59:07 PM
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Moved early. As of 10am it's $3.29 here.
bcnu,
Mikem
It would seem, therefore, that the three human impulses embodied in religion are fear, conceit, and hatred. The purpose of religion, one might say, is to give an air of respectibility to these passions. -- Bertrand Russell
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Post #222,096
8/31/05 11:37:37 PM
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I think Peter's got a point.
I'm used to thinking of Petrol in AU$ per litre. US$ per gallon simply doesn't mean anything to me. Around here, it's averaging AU$1.15/l. That's the highest Australia has ever had it - but it's been over AU$0.90/l for more than a year. That's ~US$0.88/l and US$0.69/l respectively.
Throughout the nearly 20 years I've been driving, the US has had cheaper petrol than much of the world. Often much cheaper, and always cheaper than Australia.* Not to wish you any hardship, but I personally think that US$6/gallon petrol might finally start bringing home to the J. Average US Consumer that oil is getting harder to find and like maybe we should stop using it up so fast!
Wade.
* And the UK has AFAIR had much more expensive petrol than Australia.
d-_-b
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Post #222,098
8/31/05 11:44:01 PM
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0.88 USD / Liter here now
$3.20/g on the sign I passed as I drove home, and I think Detroit prices are cheaper than other places by a good bit.
But yes, I agree with the rest of your points. But the problem is that since we *are* used to lower prices, huge increases like this tend to shock the economy badly.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #222,130
9/1/05 12:59:32 AM
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Yes, that's a problem.
d-_-b
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Post #222,164
9/1/05 9:38:26 AM
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RE: Your .sig: Hey, how'd you make the Reversed "d"?
Err... oh... nevermind.
--
[link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg],
[link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ iwethey
[image|http://www.danasoft.com/vipersig.jpg||||]
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Post #221,850
8/31/05 12:43:10 PM
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But is your commute over 30 miles each way?
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #221,851
8/31/05 12:44:20 PM
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What's that got to do with the zen of cucumbers?
Peter
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Post #221,858
8/31/05 12:54:31 PM
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economic pain = price*quantity
Your price is higher than mine, but my demand is higher than yours.
Yeah, yeah. My problem. I know. But it still affects my perspective.
Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #221,860
8/31/05 12:56:40 PM
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That'd be your choice, then.
*hides*
Peter
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Post #221,876
8/31/05 1:11:08 PM
8/31/05 1:12:35 PM
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Yes, it would. As I said up front.
The alternatives were that my wife could have the commute, I could change my job or my wife could give up her residency.
So far I want to stay in a job I'm happy with, and I'm willing to face the commute for it.
Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
Edited by ben_tilly
Aug. 31, 2005, 01:12:35 PM EDT
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Post #221,912
8/31/05 3:17:52 PM
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Any remote chance: a ride-pool sorta thing, given 'hours' ?
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Post #222,122
9/1/05 12:33:50 AM
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Nope. I have odd hours. And they move a lot.
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #221,861
8/31/05 12:57:44 PM
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Mine's 57 miles each way.
Funny thing is, now auto gas is higher than Avgas - I know, I know, just wait.
bcnu,
Mikem
It would seem, therefore, that the three human impulses embodied in religion are fear, conceit, and hatred. The purpose of religion, one might say, is to give an air of respectibility to these passions. -- Bertrand Russell
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Post #221,993
8/31/05 6:10:21 PM
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Gocha beat...63 miles each way
And Chicago has the highest gas prices in the nation, according to a AAA survey.
Merry Christmas, Big Oil fatasses! Please try to clean up your jizz before you leave....
jb4
shrub●bish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #222,006
8/31/05 6:45:15 PM
8/21/07 6:01:32 AM
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I'd say both of you ought to consider relocation
"Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain
"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein
"This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush
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Post #222,190
9/1/05 11:28:17 AM
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Heh.
We just built a house up at the a in 2000 to get out of Fort Wayne. I'm not complaining about the price of gas. We could sell the dream house my wife and I worked and saved for almost 20 years or I could keep it and jack ever increasing amounts of cash up the arses of families like the Bushes and the Cheneys. I am aware that those are my choices. ;0)
bcnu,
Mikem
It would seem, therefore, that the three human impulses embodied in religion are fear, conceit, and hatred. The purpose of religion, one might say, is to give an air of respectibility to these passions. -- Bertrand Russell
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Post #222,324
9/1/05 6:29:09 PM
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In this housing market,
you don't just up and leave. But relocation was in the cards...however, now that the scratch needed to fix up the place to seel it is going out the tailpipe...
jb4
shrub●bish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #222,050
8/31/05 8:58:36 PM
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Pshaw
98 miles each way.
I am telecommuting 2 or 3 days per week now. However, I drove every day of July and first half of August.
If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. Fudd's First Law of Opposition
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #222,055
8/31/05 9:21:53 PM
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Wanna borrow my cycle?
Long pickup, but - ~53 mpg if kept under 75ish.
(Besides, you'll Love It and then we can deal..)
'81 KZ-550 DOHC-4 mint + trick floating-iron Grimeka f.brake = 2 fingers for squealie wheels.
Impossibly lo-miles, etc.
(One o'those corner office guys with a free hold in a Gulfstream?)
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Post #222,214
9/1/05 12:55:07 PM
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I've been thinking along those lines
Looking into 40+ mpg cars and realizing that I could go 50+ on 2 wheels.
Problem is it is all very large NJ highways and not necessarily the safest place to be without doors and bumpers.
If you push something hard enough, it will fall over. Fudd's First Law of Opposition
[link|mailto:bepatient@aol.com|BePatient]
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Post #222,221
9/1/05 1:07:29 PM
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I had fewer problems on TPK and GSP
than local roads and streets.
A ride that long would suck in the rain, almost any time in the winter, and any time traffic got snarled.
That being said, there's nothing like riding; it beats the hell out of driving. You'd love it!
[link|http://www.runningworks.com|
] Imric's Tips for Living
- Paranoia Is a Survival Trait
- Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised...
- Even though everyone is out to get you, it doesn't matter unless you let them win.
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Nothing is as simple as it seems in the beginning,
As hopeless as it seems in the middle,
Or as finished as it seems in the end.
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Post #222,222
9/1/05 1:08:05 PM
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Just bought one
I just found an '81 Honda CX500 for $800. 18K miles on it, guy said he got about 55mpg with it. It's in the shop getting new front fork seals and a tune up right now.
--
Steve
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Post #222,361
9/1/05 9:04:20 PM
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Synchronicity!
Stopped by local Post Office after a town run.. parked next to a well-worn
CX-500.
Admit I hadn't thought much about a small V-twin, despite Loving the torque of the Vincent 55\ufffd V-twin / 1000 cc. Think I never rode a CX, and have rarely seen them on road.. could be a sleeper though, as in - smooth, reliable, decent handling (but just no Macho Waay-Too-Big pizzazz for Murican tastes.)
I perused it a bit before leaving - nice handily located teeny starter; typ Honda neatness in layout -- and in winter: a pair of handwarmers (one-at-a-time) strategically located.
Lucky you,
Ashton
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Post #222,401
9/1/05 11:48:09 PM
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Rode it some tonight
I had the same thought re: handwarmers, convenient! It's a decent runner, and fairly nimble. Nothing like my former CB750F, VFR750 Interceptor, or Suzuki Katana 600, but that's not it's purpose. I wanted something with enough power to not be dangerous, yet small enough to be light on fuel demands. Unfortunately, though, it's going to be a couple of weeks before I can ride full time, I stupidly opted against renewing the M/C classification on my driver's license, so need to go through that process again.
--
Steve
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Post #222,416
9/2/05 6:32:46 AM
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Oh Yeah: Always renew!
You silly :-0
I've always held that ~250 - 350 cc was an optimum size for man- or woman-handling with maximum control; actually I mean ~280-330 #, whatever the displacement.
(A 350 cc Velocette was Nice - in 'coaster races' == engine off and just go down some nice 2-lane; see who has to use brakes First. A decent comparo of raw-manageability.)
And I traded-down, after getting "the first commercially produced 'Four Cylinder!'" - the CB-750. Beautifully smooth, just too much avoirdupois -- though of course, in a class way beyond the Harley Trucks of almost any jour; et 'em for lunch, including re mere comfort, along with the handling, decent brakes for the day.
Give us a report when you've had it down the twisties, y'hear?
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Post #222,327
9/1/05 6:30:54 PM
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Not sure you'd wanna ride 2 wheels in a NJ winter...
I know for a fact I wouldn't in a Chicago/Milwaukee winter...!
jb4
shrub●bish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #222,423
9/2/05 7:35:52 AM
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I did it one Cleveland winter
I was broke, living off campus up the hill in Cleveland Hts, and going to Case at the bottom of the hill. I'd show up for 8:00 class with a thermos of coffee, ice in my beard and moustache, and be shaking so hard I could barely pour the coffee. Ice patches on hills were also good for a little excitement too. The next winter I managed to get a cheapie car.
The good old days, eh?
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Post #222,409
9/2/05 2:14:01 AM
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So had a co-worker
She'd long said that if gas got to $3/gallon, she'd get a motorcycle.
I asked her about it today and she said that she'd been noticing a lot more dangerous drivers lately, and her life wasn't worth risking.
Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #221,772
8/31/05 1:48:49 AM
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COAST
Concentration
Observation
Anticipation
Speed
Time
AKA "how to not die", and "how to try to drive like the best drivers in the world (i.e. UK Police Class One drivers)".
Don't be putting too much faith in your car's ability to protect you; without crumple zones, if you hit something harder than your car, much energy will be transmitted to the soft, squishy things inside. Ralph Nader called it "the second collision" in Unsafe At Any Speed.
Peter
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Post #221,778
8/31/05 5:28:16 AM
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That's GOOD!
Fangio would endorse that one.
(En Espa\ufffdol, natch)
Concentraci\ufffdn
Observaci\ufffdn
Anticipaci\ufffdn
Velocidad
Tiempo
Esos ingleses son m\ufffds elegantes que aparecen, dado ese compa\ufffdero de Sr. Blair.
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Post #221,781
8/31/05 7:04:03 AM
8/31/05 7:38:38 AM
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COAST in depth, by a UK trafpol from another forum:
OK! For the new guys and for those who need a little reminder.
C
CONCENTRATION (and it also means COURTESY AND CONSIDERATION)
I reckon concentration should be a relaxed concentration. By this I mean that if you consciously try to concentrate - you may be concentrating on what you perceive to be correct behaviour and not concentrating at all. It is the sort of concentration which you use when watching a good film - looking at the points of interest and the nuances of the plot. It is a bout leaving the worries of what to have for tea or the argument with the boss or the wife or the best pal behind and focusing on the drive and the road ahead - watching the road furniture "tell you a story of what to expect ahead".
It is about not getting carried away by your CD player playing "Born to be Wild" - loudly!
It is about refraining from eating apples whilst driving, reading maps, and arguing with passengers or on the hands free set whilst driving.
Consideration is about being understanding: the person may have just passed the test or be new to the area.
It is about accepting people do make errors and not getting worked up about it. It is about dealing with it - safely.
O
OBSERVATION
This means what it says - use sight, ears and smell.
You need to scan systematically. The road paint on the road tells you about the hazards to expect (Check out "Know Your Road Signs!" (DSA publication).
It means using mirrors. and constantly adjusting your driving.
It means looking at the road layout - continuously assessing the moving point and the limit point on the road as it unfolds ahead of you.
It means observing other traffic: the ball under the parked car, the potential chap who may open the door or just set off without the life saver glance over his shoulder (and again this applies to cyclists as they are the ones who get caught the most by this numpty error )
It means positioning for view. Positioning for view depends on circumstances at the time -but you need to ensure you can observe the antics of the driver at least two cars ahead of you!
It means keeping eyes moving and using peripheral vision.
It means being aware of that line of persons at a bus stop means bus is around here somwhere.
It means using every means of observation at your disposal.
Smell of cut grass? Council workers on the loose.
A
ANTICIPATION
More time you have to react to a hazard - the better.
It is based on your observations. Their behaviour, position, head , hand and general progress all give you clues. Never assume they will behave as you do.
Once you have observed and anticpated - you then have to plan - take control of the situation. react to the hazards ahead and defend yourself. Because "PLAN" is so difficult to define we split this as follows:
S
SPACE
This is the two second rule. You give space to the tailgater and increase your space for reactions.
It means adjusting speed to the safest one for the conditions ahead. It means reacting to what might reasonably be expected to happen and you are responding to what can be seen and what cannot be seen
It is about dropping your speed so that you can see what is happening 2- 3 vehicles ahead of you.
T
TIME
Time is linked to the above. Only a fool breaks the two second rule! It is your two second gap. It is the time you allowed for your journey. It is the time you allow for other road users in your planning and decisions based on the above OAP per "ROADCRAFT"
There are lots of variations of COAST - but these are the main ones.
I cannot stress its importance enough - and this little word forms the basis of DIS and Speed Aware courses where offered. It is a part of my training as well - and we do include elements of it in our lectures to naughty-ish drivers here.
It should have more prominence on the Partnership sites - especially thos which offer Speed Awares as alternative to points. It could help improve standards after all. It appears to work here -but then it is delivered on the spot by slightly amused BiBs.
I cannot think of a single reason why one would have any reason to not try to apply the above when driving on the public roads. Edit: Removed the other-forum-specific bits. BTW, "BiB" is other-forum-ese for "Boys in Blue", an affectionate term for friendly PCs.
Peter
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Edited by pwhysall
Aug. 31, 2005, 07:38:38 AM EDT
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Post #221,916
8/31/05 3:41:18 PM
|
Saved for distribution.
Reminds of various discussions in the VOC (Vincent Owner's Club) of yesteryear. As it was an expensive marque, generally the owners were older than the usual cyclist. As it was also a fast machine - it was presumed that these 'older' ones were at least a tad wiser (than the usual cyclist).
While these were pre-ACRONYM times, I don't recall an effort to create a (these were also pre-'algorithm'-usage times.) I'm sure though, given the decently rampant humour in this small publication -- KISS would have elicited a chortle and maybe have begun a Contest, too.
Most 'drivers' never ever consider the 'philosophy' of what they are doing; quite fewer seem to possess an instinctive ability to say, overlay? map what they grok of basic physics -- into an actual subroutine/task which they are (at least subliminally) aware they must Do, to survive.
Language often fails when "crossing scales" like this. So I appreciate that the example hints shown, just could galvanize a first-appreciation of just how Much needs to be "going on inside", if you really mean to reach Point B, 100.0% of the time.
Or, as the Murican Emcee allus used to Say: Good Shew!
(Bonus points for IDing that famous Murican presenter~of~Talent)
Ashton,
MPH sententious natterings worked por moi; I be still ~here.
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Post #221,798
8/31/05 9:46:18 AM
8/21/07 5:55:34 AM
|
CRAP
American model of driving:
Consumption of
Resources for
Accelleration and
Passing
"Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain
"The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein
"This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush
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Post #221,784
8/31/05 7:35:02 AM
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Oh lovely, it runs in the family.
Our resident featherbrain twitters: My dad [...] was rear-ended by a speeding ambulance on a highway offramp. The ambulance was totalled I doubt there is such a thing as a "speeding" ambulance; I've always thought those were called 'rescue vehicle responding to an emergency'. The old fart probably wasn't "rear-ended", but ILLEGALLY OBSTRUCTING AN AMBULANCE. Sheesh...
[link|mailto:MyUserId@MyISP.CountryCode|Christian R. Conrad]
(I live in Finland, and my e-mail in-box is at the Saunalahti company.)
Your lies are of Microsoftian Scale and boring to boot. Your 'depression' may be the closest you ever come to recognizing truth: you have no 'inferiority complex', you are inferior - and something inside you recognizes this. - [link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=71575|Ashton Brown]
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Post #221,785
8/31/05 7:41:00 AM
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Yeah, I wondered about that.
I'm also not sure whether the fact that one totalled an ambulance is something to be proud of.
Whichever way you stir fry this particular puppy, it doesn't speak volumes for Featherbrain Snr's driving.
Peter
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Post #221,793
8/31/05 9:04:34 AM
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especially the car he was driving
see a flasher in your peripheral vision or mirror and stomp the gas, the ambulance would have a hard time matching speeds and you could look for a spot to get out of its way. One very annoying thing, if you see an emergency vehicle get out of the way, it could be your loved one they are trying to save.I dont care if your light is green, wait.
thanx,
bill
"the reason people don't buy conspiracy theories is that they think conspiracy means everyone is on the same program. Thats not how it works. Everybody has a different program. They just all want the same guy dead. Socrates was a gadfly, but I bet he took time out to screw somebodies wife" Gus Vitelli
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 49 years. meep
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Post #221,836
8/31/05 12:05:22 PM
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Re: especially the car he was driving
see a flasher in your peripheral vision or mirror and stomp the gas, the ambulance would have a hard time matching speeds and you could look for a spot to get out of its way. One very annoying thing, if you see an emergency vehicle get out of the way, it could be your loved one they are trying to save.I dont care if your light is green, wait. I explained it better in the other post. Ambulance was on a slanted off-ramp, Dad was on the outer road. Ambulance failed to hit siren, flashing lights weren't seen till it was right smack behind Dad. They took full responsibility. Brenda
"Excel is to math what a Microwave Oven is to cooking!"
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Post #221,855
8/31/05 12:48:48 PM
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Feh.
If it was on flashers it was visible from miles away. Pops didn't check the sliproad as he passed it. They may have taken responsibility, but the old giffer was still at fault.
A = Anticipation (i.e. silly shit happens around sliproads, so Be Prepared)
Peter
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Post #221,863
8/31/05 1:01:38 PM
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I beg to differ
On this particular off-ramp, the person trying to bypass it on the outer road can't even see a vehicle coming down it until it's at the very top of the off-ramp.
Blame whoever you want, but I've seen the intersection and I know you can't see anything behind you for more than the length of the on-ramp.
Brenda
"Excel is to math what a Microwave Oven is to cooking!"
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Post #221,867
8/31/05 1:03:24 PM
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You didn't drive much when you were here, did you?
We have lots of on and off ramps with no visibility at all of merging traffic until it's way too damn late to change your mind. There are some on ramps I won't take in rush hour unless I'm driving something with really good 0-70 peformance.
So no, just because they had the lights on doesn't mean he could see it.
===
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Post #221,924
8/31/05 4:02:06 PM
8/31/05 4:03:50 PM
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So?
He didn't have to be in the merging lane.
That's the A in COAST: Anticipation.
Peter
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Edited by pwhysall
Aug. 31, 2005, 04:03:50 PM EDT
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Post #221,977
8/31/05 5:41:43 PM
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You've never driven the Southfield Freeway, either.
Sometimes, you just don't have that choice... get boxed in by a couple of semis on a road with merge lanes about 30 yards long and you'll see what I mean.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #221,992
8/31/05 6:10:11 PM
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So?
He didn't have to be in the merging lane. There was no merging lane, it was a two lane road. Brenda
"Excel is to math what a Microwave Oven is to cooking!"
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Post #222,132
9/1/05 1:34:39 AM
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I mean a different thing, it seems.
To me, "merging lane" is the running lane that the sliproad feeds into. You can get out of that by moving to the right (left, in USia).
Peter
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Post #222,136
9/1/05 3:14:38 AM
9/1/05 3:16:27 AM
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Re: I mean a different thing, it seems.
To me, "merging lane" is the running lane that the sliproad feeds into. You can get out of that by moving to the right (left, in USia). Hmm if the sliproad is the exit ramp, and the running lane is the road that bypasses it, it doesn't widen into three lanes until well far ahead, so essentially, the off-ramp brings you into the one single lane the cars are in on the bypassing road. Hence the yield signs and the stopping to check behind you before going on past the highway offramp. Normal cars at normal speed, once they are seen at the top of the ramp, you can get beyond. Ambulances and emergency vehicles, aren't traveling at normal speed and are there before you know it. It's been addressed a few times at that particular intersection here, which is by the hospital. And sometimes there just is NOWHERE to go when an Emergency vehicle is approaching. The other day I was in a very long turn lane (with curbs on both sides and a concrete island alongside me), that was for veering off one main road to another smaller two lane road. However, it started as a one lane road for several car lengths before widening. A Fire emergency vehicle suddenly appeared behind me. I tried to pull over, but there was simply no where to go, and it was obvious the truck wouldn't fit past my huge car in that concrete curbed lane... so I had to stomp the gas and speed up ahead of him, and then slip off to the dirt shoulder (which is normally illegal), to give him any room to pass. We do our best, but there isn't always time or room to get out of the way. Brenda
"Excel is to math what a Microwave Oven is to cooking!"
Edited by Nightowl
Sept. 1, 2005, 03:16:27 AM EDT
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Post #222,144
9/1/05 5:01:14 AM
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Shiny things. Look in them occasionally.
Was the fire engine teleported in behind you?
Or did you, like most drivers (including me) not look in your mirrors regularly enough (every 4-7 seconds)?
People who have things "suddenly appear" behind them cause a lot of SMIDSY* accidents involving bikes. Having witnessed the regular near-misses at one of the roundabouts en-route to work, I'm very careful about bikes. Your wing mirrors are your friends.
Mind you, some bikers don't help themselves; I saw a spectacularly bad piece of riding this morning.
I was approaching a roundabout, saw it to be clear, and joined it. As I passed the entry on my left, a scooter attempted to cut me up+. Yes. A vehicle capable of a stonking 35MPH attempted to carve up a car that was already doing 35. I saw him in plenty of time and made an annoying but not dangerous move to the right (this inconvenienced but did not endanger the car behind me and to my right, which was turning right) and gave Mr Teenage Halfwit a good blast of my horn, because he either didn't know or didn't care that I was there.
* SMIDSY: Sorry Mate I Didn't See You. A common excuse used by car drivers for splattering bikers all over the asphalt.
+ On UK roundabouts, you yield to traffic on the roundabout and to the right (remember, we drive on the correct side of the road). Traffic on the roundabout does not yield to traffic joining the roundabout unless there are traffic lights. It's the principle of "hard to join but easy to leave" which makes them safer.
Peter
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Post #222,169
9/1/05 10:11:40 AM
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That's what I'm telling you
There are on some ramps here that are so bad, with merge lanes so short, that you can have things appear right behind you.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
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Post #222,207
9/1/05 12:42:33 PM
9/1/05 12:44:21 PM
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Exactly
And worse even, was the fact that the Fire Station was RIGHT behind me (around the corner to the left), so that I heard the siren while entering the long curbed turn lane (more like a huge Y road), and glanced back to see it turning behind me.
I got out of the way, I just had to move forward, I couldn't go sideways, no where to go there.
Brenda
Edit: Peter, I'm not saying I NEVER am at fault. Of course I am, everyone is sometimes, we're only human. But in this case, he was out of the station and behind me just as I entered the Y-road and there was virtually no time or warning.
"Excel is to math what a Microwave Oven is to cooking!"
Edited by Nightowl
Sept. 1, 2005, 12:44:21 PM EDT
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Post #222,230
9/1/05 1:56:54 PM
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Some of the worst one *I* know about...
Were within 3 or 4 miles of Beeps House.
Let alone, New York... where you best have a car that can go from 0-50 in a heart bea and 50-0 in less than a heart beat.
That's just to get out of your driveway/alley/service road. Trust me when I say you just ain't seen aggressive driving until you are right in Jamacia, Queens in New York on the main drag in Queens.
--
[link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg],
[link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ iwethey
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Post #222,232
9/1/05 2:04:39 PM
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I'm thinking PA Tunrpike
Some of them have the 5-foot barriers between the lanes, which you can't see over unless you're in a semi, and merge lanes sometimes about two car lengths.
===
Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link|http://DocHope.com|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats].
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Post #222,236
9/1/05 2:10:12 PM
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Buncha wimps
Just call it accelerated evolution.
Darwin in action.
Driver incapable of handling the situation, you die.
And there is a good chance your kids die with you, which means your genes won't spread any further.
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Post #222,330
9/1/05 6:33:59 PM
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Might just be Darwin in action...
...Because it sure wasn't intelligent design....
jb4
shrub●bish (Am., from shrub + rubbish, after the derisive name for America's 43 president; 2003) n. 1. a form of nonsensical political doubletalk wherein the speaker attempts to defend the indefensible by lying, obfuscation, or otherwise misstating the facts; GIBBERISH. 2. any of a collection of utterances from America's putative 43rd president. cf. BULLSHIT
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Post #222,363
9/1/05 9:08:22 PM
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There are multiple evolved strategies for this problem
The one that I've evolved to use is called "avoidance".
Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #222,419
9/2/05 7:00:18 AM
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Hmmm - spent a couple summers at 119-14 Union Tpke
in Queens. BMT, IRT, IND.. too young to have a car; didn't realize that the traffic zooming near the sidewalk I learned to skate on {Ouch!} was destined for such infamy!
Would skate to Forest Hills (didn't know about 'tennis' either) for a movie {sniff}.
(in early '90s, enroute Boston RT to Miami - I drove past that Tpke, had a few seconds to glance: yup that brownish building stood!)
Time.. wounder of all heels.
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Post #222,366
9/1/05 9:21:08 PM
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Bikers in all-black on black cycles should be banned.
Some years ago I came out of a side-street near where I worked onto a not-busy connecting road, both fairly flat and quite straight. Checked both ways before turning left, went round the corner to find a motor-cyclist skite past. I *know* never saw anything before I turned - the only explanation was that he was almost impossible to see because he was in 100% black leathers.
And I bet he was wondering how I didn't see him, too.
Wade.
d-_-b
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Post #222,123
9/1/05 12:35:42 AM
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That depends on area
On ramps in Los Angeles tend to be fairly sane.
Cheers,
Ben
I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
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Post #221,834
8/31/05 12:03:40 PM
8/31/05 12:08:06 PM
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Actually, no
Yes, I didn't mean speeding, per se, I meant moving at a very high emergency speed. It also wasn't when my dad was that old, I think he was in his 50's.
He was driving on the outer road, Ambulance forgot to hit siren on the way down the ramp, and rear-ended him.
Hospital/Ambulance service took responsibility for the accident, admitted it was their fault for not alerting him sooner with siren, and paid costs.
Brenda
Edit: had written it wrong, he didn't try to pull over until he suddenly saw the lights about a car or two length behind him.
"Excel is to math what a Microwave Oven is to cooking!"
Edited by Nightowl
Aug. 31, 2005, 12:08:06 PM EDT
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