What would you do, stay put or pull over?
I have always wondered what other people would do in this situation, or at least what the majority would do. I'll tell you up front that I would have pulled over. Here's the situation. We were retur...
Forum Discussion
Obviously, this issue could be argued forever. It's complex, to say the least.
On one side, cars of today are so far superior to cars of 30-40 years ago. Speed limits have not changed appreciably over that time. Today's vehicles can certainly be operated safely, at much higher speeds, than cars of the 1970's or 80's.
On the other side, there are a lot more cars on the road, causing chronic congestion. A drivers' license and become more of a right than a privilege, with proper testing being a thing of the past. Any lame-brain can get a license and it takes an act of GOD to get it revoked. Add that to the entitlement psychology that dominates society today and the aggressive drivers dominate the landscape.
I have typically been a heavy footed driver. Here in the Boston area, if you drive the speed limit, you pass no one......... EVER! And yes, the passing lane is more often than not, the right hand lane. Everyone seems to drive center/left.
I recently bought a Jeep Wrangler which is anything but a high speed cruiser. I find myself in the right lane at 65-70 most of the time, watching the blurs of cars going by me. I also find that being in the right hand lane is always exciting when passing on-ramps, as cars merging onto the freeway have no clue that they should be yielding to traffic on the freeway when merging in. Most don't even look to see what's coming and just bull their way in.
Fortunately for me, at 58, I have no rage left in me. I just tap my brakes and let them bull their way in. 10 seconds later they're far ahead of me.......
The one thing that still does get my blood pressure up is the idiot in heavy traffic who's weaving from lane to lane, trying to get ahead. They will do that for miles, causing others to take evasive action and never gain more than a couple of hundred feet.
Or, actually losing ground!
As the roads become more and more congested, issues will only get worse. It's reached a point now where there are no easy answers. How do you enforce speed limits when NOBODY obeys them? How do you deal with literally MILLIONS of drivers who are uneducated as to the road rules and incapable of properly controlling their vehicles? Some have proposed GPS tracking of all vehicles (big brother!) to deal with speeders. A scary thought.
I'd suggest law enforcement should work hard to bring the hammer down on the most aggressive drivers. License suspensions, or revocation. Large insurance surcharges. IMO, these drivers are the primary cause of serious car crashes.
Off my soap-box for now........
On one side, cars of today are so far superior to cars of 30-40 years ago. Speed limits have not changed appreciably over that time. Today's vehicles can certainly be operated safely, at much higher speeds, than cars of the 1970's or 80's.
On the other side, there are a lot more cars on the road, causing chronic congestion. A drivers' license and become more of a right than a privilege, with proper testing being a thing of the past. Any lame-brain can get a license and it takes an act of GOD to get it revoked. Add that to the entitlement psychology that dominates society today and the aggressive drivers dominate the landscape.
I have typically been a heavy footed driver. Here in the Boston area, if you drive the speed limit, you pass no one......... EVER! And yes, the passing lane is more often than not, the right hand lane. Everyone seems to drive center/left.
I recently bought a Jeep Wrangler which is anything but a high speed cruiser. I find myself in the right lane at 65-70 most of the time, watching the blurs of cars going by me. I also find that being in the right hand lane is always exciting when passing on-ramps, as cars merging onto the freeway have no clue that they should be yielding to traffic on the freeway when merging in. Most don't even look to see what's coming and just bull their way in.
Fortunately for me, at 58, I have no rage left in me. I just tap my brakes and let them bull their way in. 10 seconds later they're far ahead of me.......
The one thing that still does get my blood pressure up is the idiot in heavy traffic who's weaving from lane to lane, trying to get ahead. They will do that for miles, causing others to take evasive action and never gain more than a couple of hundred feet.
Or, actually losing ground!
As the roads become more and more congested, issues will only get worse. It's reached a point now where there are no easy answers. How do you enforce speed limits when NOBODY obeys them? How do you deal with literally MILLIONS of drivers who are uneducated as to the road rules and incapable of properly controlling their vehicles? Some have proposed GPS tracking of all vehicles (big brother!) to deal with speeders. A scary thought.
I'd suggest law enforcement should work hard to bring the hammer down on the most aggressive drivers. License suspensions, or revocation. Large insurance surcharges. IMO, these drivers are the primary cause of serious car crashes.
Off my soap-box for now........
