XPost: comp.mobile.android, comp.mobile.ipad   
   From: jollyroger@pobox.com   
      
   On 2014-03-11, nospam  wrote:   
   > In article , Jolly Roger   
   > wrote:   
   >   
   >> >>> If you drive 55mph where the flow of traffic is 70mph then *you*   
   >> >>> are a hazard. Many of those idiots you see are trying to avoid an   
   >> >>> un-anticipated impediment.   
   >> >>   
   >> >> Depends very much on the circumstance. What if the speed limit is   
   >> >> 55?  What if there are multiple flows of traffic - some obeying   
   >> >> the speed limit, and others not? Very often, I'll be driving with   
   >> >> cruise control set to 55-60 in the middle lane of a 3-lane highway   
   >> >> where the posted speed limit is 55, where most of the cars around   
   >> >> me are doing similar speeds (again, around 55-60), and a group of   
   >> >> cars (usually anywhere from 2 to 6 cars) will come up from behind   
   >> >> driving significantly faster than 55 (sometimes 15-25 miles faster   
   >> >> (yes: 75-85 mph in a 55), speeding much faster than the traffic   
   >> >> around me), usually with one or two idiots leading the pack in   
   >> >> some sort of apparent race to see who can get wherever faster.   
   >> >> Inevitably one or more drivers in the speeding group gets upset   
   >> >> that the drivers in my group are "in their way", usually in   
   >> >> various lanes (almost never just the left lane), and start   
   >> >> tailgating and using aggressive and fast lane switching maneuvers   
   >> >> in all three lanes, often making double-lane-switches without   
   >> >> signalling within a few feet of other cars and pulling other   
   >> >> dangerous stunts to get past these "slow" drivers that are   
   >> >> imposing such an inconvenience on their little racing game as   
   >> >> quickly as possible, safety be damned. In such a situation, I'd   
   >> >> typically like to gradually decrease my speed, and make safe lane   
   >> >> changes to the right to get as far away from the idiots as   
   >> >> possible, if and when such opportunities safely become available.   
   >> >> Unfortunately, very often, due to the tailgating aggressive   
   >> >> behavior of the speeding group, there isn't a good opportunity to   
   >> >> do that until *after* they've finished making their dangerous   
   >> >> maneuvers and sped on past. I'm probably one of the last people   
   >> >> who will just gleefully increase my speed to match the speed of   
   >> >> the idiot group when I see them coming in my rear view mirror -   
   >> >> especially if I'm not in the passing lane and I'm already at or   
   >> >> exceeding the posted limit, and the cars around me are doing the   
   >> >> same speed as me. Nor am I going to quickly or dangerously make   
   >> >> lane changes just to get out of their way to make their dangerous   
   >> >> behavior easier for them to continue. Safety comes first, and I   
   >> >> naturally value the safety of the well-behaved drivers around me   
   >> >> more than speeding jackasses. BTW, this isn't a cherry-picked   
   >> >> example situation - it happens *all* *the* *time* on American   
   >> >> highways.   
   >> >   
   >> > What happens on grossly underposted limited access highways is that   
   >> > drivers like Jolly here form packs that impede flow.   
   >>   
   >> I'd like to understand your logic better. Are you suggesting that   
   >> every 55 MPH highway in America us grossly under posted, or just the   
   >> ones on which I personally travel?   
   >   
   > when traffic normally flows faster than the posted limit, you can be   
   > certain the posted speed limit is wrong.   
      
   As I said above, traffic on these roads normally follows the speed limit   
   (roughly 55-60 mph). It's the all-important racers who form packs going   
   15-20 mph faster than everyone else who are not the norm and cause   
   problems for the rest of the drivers on the road. I find it telling that   
   while I described a lot of dangerous behaviors above, you guys seem to   
   want to ignore all of that and focus on one thing: "speed limits are too   
   slow". I wonder what that says about your own personal driving habits...   
      
   >> Are you suggesting that those exceeding   
   >> posted speed limits do not form packs? Also, how do you know the road   
   >> conditions of the highways I typically travel? Are you secretly   
   >> following me, or do you have telepathy and know which highways I travel?   
   >> Please explain.   
   >   
   > the situation you describe is not common, which indicates that it's   
   > not the roads or conditions that are the problem.   
      
   The situation I describe happens a lot in two different cities I   
   frequent. You obviously aren't in a position to say what is common in my   
   neck of the woods.   
      
   >> > Faster drivers then go from pack to pack, neededing to find a way   
   >> > through each pack, often doing a Claybrook weave.   
   >>   
   >> So the dangerous behavior I describe above is necessary in your view?   
   >> Strange. Do you prioritize speed over safety?   
   >   
   > the safest speed is that of prevailing traffic flow (85th percentile to   
   > be exact).   
      
   1. Prevailing traffic flow, as I initially described, is 55-60 MPH on on   
   these 55mph highways I travel.   
      
   2. I described a lot of dangerous behavior above, and you are trying to   
   ignore all of that and make this into a "speeding vs. no speeding"   
   argument. Fail.   
      
   > those driving slower are a hazard, causing the dangerous behavior you   
   > describe.   
      
   So it's not the fault of the drivers  who are making the dangerous   
   maneuvers. The world *makes* them behave that way. Got it. Again, I   
   have to wonder what this says about your own personal driving habits...   
      
   >> > When 55mph was imposed Claybrook stated it   
   >> > was safer to force faster drivers to slow down and weave through   
   >> > blockages of slow drivers who can't be bothered to keep right except to   
   >> > pass.   
   >>   
   >> Experience shows it is the idiots described above who can't be bothered   
   >> to keep right. They stay firmly implanted in the left lane, expecting   
   >> every other drive on the fucking planet to get out of their way,   
   >> regardless of posted speed limits or safety implications.   
   >   
   > that would explain why people pass you on the right.   
      
   Can you read? As I stated above initially, they pass a *bunch* of people   
   in *multiple* lanes, using dangerous maneuvers to do so. You could be in   
   the right lane driving at the same speed as everyone around you and in   
   the next few minutes find that another pack of cars has surrounded   
   everyone around you with people cutting in front of you or tail gating   
   you *in the right lane* just to get around other cars around you.   
   Apparently you think this is justified behavior and the danger is created   
   not by the people making the dangerous maneuvers, but by everyone but   
   them. Again, I really have to wonder about your own personal driving   
   habits.   
      
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