Post #2,039
7/17/01 10:46:58 AM
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Basic Rules for Driving in New Jersey
1. Turn signals will give away your next move. A real New Jersey driver never uses them.
2. Under no circumstances should you leave a safe distance between you and the car in front of you, or the space will be filled in by somebody else putting you in an even more dangerous situation.
3. Crossing two or more lanes in a single lane-change is considered going with the flow.
4. The faster you drive through a red light, the smaller the chance you have of getting hit.
5. Never, ever come to a complete stop at a stop sign. No one expects it and it will inevitably result in you being rear ended. If you want your insurance company to pay for a new rear bumper, come to a complete stop at all stop signs.
6. A right lane construction closure is just a game to see how many people can cut in line by passing you on the right as you sit in the left lane waiting for the same jerks to squeeze their way back in before hitting the orange construction barrels.
7. Never get in the way of an older car that needs extensive bodywork; New Jersey is a no-fault insurance state and the other guy doesn't have anything to lose.
8. Braking is to be done as hard and late as possible to ensure that your ABS kicks in, giving a nice, relaxing foot massage as the brake pedal pulsates. For those of you without ABS, it's a chance to stretch your legs.
9. Never pass on the left when you can pass on the right. It's a good way to scare people entering the highway.
10. Speed limits are arbitrary figures, given only as suggestions and are apparently not enforceable in New Jersey during rush hour.
11. Just because you're in the left lane and have no room to speed up or move over doesn't mean that a New Jersey driver flashing his high beams behind you doesn't think he can go faster in your spot.
12. Please remember that there is no such thing as a shortcut during rush-hour traffic in New Jersey.
13. Always slow down and rubberneck when you see an accident or even someone changing a tire.
14. Learn to swerve abruptly. New Jersey is the home of high-speed slalom driving thanks to the State Highway Department, which puts potholes in key locations to test drivers' reflexes and keep them on their toes.
15. It is traditional in New Jersey to honk your horn at cars that don't move the instant the light changes.
16. Never take a green light at face value. Always look right and left before proceeding.
17. Remember that the goal of every New Jersey driver is to get there first, by whatever means necessary.
18. Real New Jersey women drivers can put on pantyhose and apply eye makeup at seventy-five miles per hour or in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
19. Real New Jersey men drivers can remove their girlfriend's panties and bra at seventy-five miles per hour or in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
20. In the New Jersey area 'flipping someone the bird' is considered a polite New Jersey salute. This gesture should always be returned.
In order to understand recursion, one must understand recursion.
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Post #2,045
7/17/01 11:09:25 AM
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First two are true all up and down the east coast
Using a turn signal around the D.C. area is considered a sign of weakness, and it will be exploited ruthlessly by those with nothing better to do than make sure you don't get where you want to be.
I've seen drivers in D.C. speed up (and even slow down!) to prevent someone from getting on the highway.
Also, don't ever, ever tap your brake lights to get a tailgater to slow down in D.C. -- I did this once (standard Michigan practice)... the taxi behind me threw on his brakes in a complete over-reaction. Next, he pulled up next to us in a right turn lane, stepped on it at the light to cut us off, stopped his car so that no one could get by (!), and walked back to berate me for about 5 minutes, all the while traffic was stacking up behind my car.
Regards,
-scott anderson
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Post #2,048
7/17/01 11:20:58 AM
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Re: First two are true all up and down the east coast
Also, don't ever, ever tap your brake lights to get a tailgater to slow down in D.C. -- I did this once (standard Michigan practice)... As it was a standard NJ practice when I was there. Then I moved to Texas. Driving home from 6th Street one night on Mopac, I had some idjit zoom up behind me doing something like 95. I was in the left lane, and there was a car I'd just passed not too far back on the next lane over. I was probably doing 75-80 myself. Instead of pulling around to pass me on the right (there was plenty of room), this asshole tailgated me (I couldn't even see the reflection from his headlights, he was so close) for a short while. After tapping my brakes didn't do anything, I removed my foot from the accelerator and slowed it down to about 35 before he got fed up and zoomed around me. -YendorMike In order to understand recursion, one must understand recursion.
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Post #2,050
7/17/01 11:29:27 AM
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My standard tailgater reaction now:
Much like that: the closer he follows me, the slower I drive.
I got tailgated once in a snowstorm (in my Mustang)... ice everywhere, people are driving about 5 miles an hour, and this idiot is tailgating me going UP an icy hill.
Regards,
-scott anderson
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Post #2,058
7/17/01 12:57:07 PM
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err
when you see a car approaching at a high rate of speed remember the rule and the sign slower traffic keep right and get out of the way. If there is room of course. Nothing worse than judging to go round on the right and have someone sideswipe you because they wernt paying attention moving out of the way "usually" means that you have been seen and makes it a little less hazarduse for all of us. Used to have that problem in Cal till all the road rage shootings took place. (about 1986) after that people got the heck out of the way.
thanx,
bill
can I have my ones and zeros back?
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Post #2,062
7/17/01 1:18:03 PM
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The way I see it
they are in a hurry to get a speeding ticket or in a hurry to get to the hospital via a car-wreck. If I speed up, I may get a ticket as well, if I don't get out of the way I may end up in a car-wreck as well.
I just let them pass, usually I'll see them pulled over by a cop further down the road, or find them stopped at a stoplight right next to my car, or find them in a wreck that slows down the rest of the traffic.
| "I can see if I want anything done right around here, I'll have to do it myself!" | Moe Howard |
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Post #2,136
7/17/01 8:37:22 PM
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Anti-taxi practices.
I've had success in reporting to taxi companies when they break road rules. Or do things like refuse a fare. What with all the bad rap taxis get in Sydney, the various Customer Service departments are keen to hear of dissatisfaction.
Requires a memory for their phone number and their licence plate, though.
Wade.
"All around me are nothing but fakes
Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
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Post #2,143
7/17/01 9:01:46 PM
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Yabut.. remember too:
They know where you live.
They took you there.
May remember the guy with white knuckles and - boss's little reprimand - and
Be Nice.
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Post #2,152
7/17/01 10:15:36 PM
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Actually, no, they don't.
Taxis I have reported have either whilst I was driving to or from work or ones I have caught between work venues. I've only ever caught 3 taxis home - twice from the airport (40 minute drive) - and been happy with the service each time.
Wade.
"All around me are nothing but fakes
Come with me on the biggest fake of all!"
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Post #2,070
7/17/01 1:48:05 PM
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Sounds about right...
Come visit the Garden State...
Hey, I'm at exit 131a or 11, depending on which freeway you're on. At the intersection of Route 1, the Garden State Parkway (sounds heavenly, doesn't it!), the NJ Turnpike, and Route 287.
On second thought, take the train. *grin*
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...
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Post #2,084
7/17/01 3:04:23 PM
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Hey, I know (about) where that is...
Closest exit to me was (I think) Exit 7 off of 287. Manville/Zarephath.
Closest big intersection was 206/202/22 (the Somerville Circle, which has recently (~3 years, IIRC) had a bypass built over it).
-YendorMike
In order to understand recursion, one must understand recursion.
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Post #2,185
7/18/01 8:41:43 AM
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And good riddance to that circle! (rotary, for non-Jersians)
Hiya, neighbor! I grew up in Flemington...!
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...
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Post #2,188
7/18/01 9:27:50 AM
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Ah, Flemington...
...The place where we would make a semi-annual trek to either drop off or pick up my mother's fur coat at some fur-coat-storage-place near the Flemington Mall.
Hillsborough, here, to be more precise...
-YendorMike
In order to understand recursion, one must understand recursion.
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Post #2,214
7/18/01 1:32:27 PM
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*grin* Used to work @ Design Systems, in Belle Meade...
- and one of my close buddies is just bought a town house in Hillsborough.
Small world!
Fur coat storage? Not 'the famous' Flemington Furs? God knows that town has enough outlet stores, etc, now.
When I grew up there, it was an agricultural area - now, it's too developed.
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...
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Post #2,834
7/25/01 9:58:41 PM
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Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
New Jersey during rush hour is its own speed limit, and its own enforcement. Rather draconian, too.
And particulary galling, since whenever I'm in New Jersey, I'm in a hurry to get somewhere else.
[link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html|http://www.angelfir...e/index.html]
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