Accidents versus Safe Driving

[69gp]

I thought I would post my thoughts on the recent rash of accidents and driving habits of some RV drivers.

I live in MA but spend a lot of time on the roads in New England. With the fall color almost done here I have seen a lot of bad driving habits from speeding, to driving to slow to towing a dingy in the passing lane.

First off I will be the first to say I don't obey all the laws of the road.

Seen the following over the past week on RT 495.

Looked to be about a 44 MH towing a ford F150 in the passing lane at about 80 MPH I was doing 70 in the center lane in my pu. speed limit is 65

Dually towing a large 5th wheeler in the passing lane. trailers not allowed in that lane in MA.

At least a 40' MH doing about 60 in the passing lane. Ton of people passing on the right including me.

Pickup truck pulling a trailer with a ball hitch and not having the tow setup done correctly. Truck and trailer was all over the road.

RT 290 Worcester Super C towing a boat through the city at about 70 MPH speed limit is 50. lot of turns on this road.

Now for some good was driving along a side road in NH following a MH going a lot slower than the speed limit. Most likely just taking in the fall foliage. MH driver slowed down and pulled to the right signalling me with his hand to pass him. Just want to say thanks.

I figure a lot of the accidents we see are most likely cause by speed, drivers not capable of handling the rig they are driving, not having there tow vehicle set up properly and not knowing the laws of each state as to what the rules of the road are.


just my 2 cents.

[DutchmenSport]

Just to add fuel to the fire, (OK, I'm a trouble maker here).. I still do not understand how ... if you are actually speeding in the far left lane, (anything over the posted speed limit), and you have someone riding your bumper, how that is impeding traffic? Both drivers are wrong, because both drivers are speeding. I just don't get it?

If the front driver is UNDER the speed limit, yes.... I perfectly under stand that. But if going faster than the speed limit, does that mean they should go EVEN faster to get out of the way so the person behind can go even faster yet!

The whole thing is really bad if you ask me. Unfortunately, law enforcement and the courts let speeders get away with this. So... where's the safety factor here? Someone driving 90 mph when the speed limit is 50, or someone driving 50 when the speed limit is 50, and an impatient person who just can't obey the law? I REALLY don't get it. That's why I drive in the far right and let them pass. I don't get it ... left lane, speeding, and that's impeding traffic?

[msmith1199]

rockhillmanor wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
Here we go again.
In

most

of US states slow driving in "passing lane" is perfectly legal.

There is no law

, even less of law enforcement that would organize the traffic.
When the law creates chaos, where do you want to go from here?WILD WILD WEST

Ahhhh, yes there is.

The key word is in most states. When you are RV'ing you most likely don't know where it is legal and where it is not. You can pass but if you stay in the left lane you will get ticketed in MOST states.

...""At least 38 states have laws in place to fine for lingering in the left lane...."
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/driving-left-lane-laws-could-land-motorists-fine-misdemeanor-charge/

Come on down to Chicago Illinois THEY will show you how they enforce that law by taking a $1,000 out of your wallet! :B

I think CBS is wrong. Every vehicle code will have a statute regarding impeding traffic. While they may not specifically have a statute that says you must keep right except to pass, there will be laws that could be applied to somebody impeding traffic in the left lane. In California, you can get a ticket in the left lane even if you're doing the speed limit. In the states that may not have a specific law that says stay right except to pass they will have the impeding traffic law. So in those states you could potentially be in the passing lane and be doing the speed limit and not be in violation, but if you aren't doing at least the speed limit then the impeding traffic section could be applied.

[msmith1199]

Kayteg1 wrote:
Here we go again.
In most of US states slow driving in "passing lane" is perfectly legal.
There is no law, even less of law enforcement that would organize the traffic.
When the law creates chaos, where do you want to go from here?

WILD WILD WEST

Please name a state that has no such law and I will look up their vehicle code and fact check you. I'm willing to bet no state has a law that doesn't require slower traffic to stay right.

[Kayteg1]

wa8yxm wrote:
The big problems are this:
1: The "It is legal so long as I do not get caught" mentality of many drivers (story follows) and
2: Government budget cut backs have greatly reduced police presence.

Story:
Some years ago the Michigan State Police parked either a plane or helicopter over a segment of I-696 international speedway.. er, Freeway early one week. Before the aircraft had to return to base for re-fueling they wrote 85 tickets, Slowest they wrote wasw 85, fastest 105.

A couple days later they parked the other kind of aircraft in the same place.

Another 85 tickets, once again you had to be going 85 to get an invite to visit with a judge, and the winner was doing 105.. Why do I think it was the same guy both times?

Only thing that stops them is a cement wall.

Doing 105 mph on autobahn will get you pulled over for blocking passing lane.
Why do I think you have wrong perception what is safe and what danger?

[RandACampin]

69gp wrote:
I thought I would post my thoughts on the recent rash of accidents and driving habits of some RV drivers.

I live in MA but spend a lot of time on the roads in New England. With the fall color almost done here I have seen a lot of bad driving habits from speeding, to driving to slow to towing a dingy in the passing lane.

First off I will be the first to say I don't obey all the laws of the road.

Seen the following over the past week on RT 495.

Looked to be about a 44 MH towing a ford F150 in the passing lane at about 80 MPH I was doing 70 in the center lane in my pu. speed limit is 65

1. STOP DRIVING IN THE CENTER LANE!
2. So both of you were breaking the law?

Dually towing a large 5th wheeler in the passing lane. trailers not allowed in that lane in MA.

At least a 40' MH doing about 60 in the passing lane. Ton of people passing on the right including me.

So what?

Pickup truck pulling a trailer with a ball hitch and not having the tow setup done correctly. Truck and trailer was all over the road.

And you know it wasn't set up correctly how?

RT 290 Worcester Super C towing a boat through the city at about 70 MPH speed limit is 50. lot of turns on this road.

Now for some good was driving along a side road in NH following a MH going a lot slower than the speed limit. Most likely just taking in the fall foliage. MH driver slowed down and pulled to the right signalling me with his hand to pass him. Just want to say thanks.

I figure a lot of the accidents we see are most likely cause by speed, drivers not capable of handling the rig they are driving, not having there tow vehicle set up properly and not knowing the laws of each state as to what the rules of the road are.


just my 2 cents.

[Executive45]

Fox News

[Ivylog]

There is always a few in any group that gives the rest a bad reputation. Since we are bigger a few can make us look really bad. Lack of courtesy is not unique to RVing. I do not need a sign to remind me to pull over if I am holding up traffic. Unfortunately it's usually a slow car in front of me that's causing the problem but I'll still pull over so that the cars behind me stand a better chance of passing it. If there is a passing lane coming up I'll lay back and get a running start on it so that I can pass quickly and not tie up the passing lane.

It's lack of courtesy and you can't fix stupid.

[rgatijnet1]

[D_E_Bishop]

I too feel that the OP has merit, 69gp simply offered an observation about some things he saw. He wasn't preaching simply pointing out the need for restraint and defensive driving.

Kayteg1 wrote:
Here we go again.
In most of US states slow driving in "passing lane" is perfectly legal.
There is no law, even less of law enforcement that would organize the traffic.
When the law creates chaos, where do you want to go from here?

WILD WILD WEST

As far as slow driving in the #1 lane(that's what it is called in CA) at a speed that impedes traffic is a violation of the CMVC. LEO's have a lot of discretion in enforcing that part of the code as they do the posted speed limit. Because there is no maximum speed limit anymore, if the majority of drivers are exceeding the speed limit in a safe and prudent manner, it can be considered the de facto speed limit.

There are exceptions to that rule, school districts, residential areas and when towing.

[down_home]

We have a stretch of Interstate where there are numerous truck and truck truck and car accidents.
Truckers, even though it is a big fine for them are on the cellphone and all over the road and slowing down to 30. So many rigs and they are regulated to 66, 68 and 62 mph. They block the left land micro passing or just hanging out and cause miles long backups. When you have thousands driving bumper to bumper and as semi pulls out in front, of that line there is going to be a lot hard braking and a lot of accidents.
The largest number of these semi wrecks involve cell phones and going off the road and running over cars, in front slowed down because a semi is climbing the grade in the left lane at 40 mph. Then there is the speeding overloaded semis that jack knife going into the curb.
Then in the am women on the cell phone, and reading and writing on notepads on the steering wheel, or sometimes putting on makeup.

[Executive45]

After spending a good portion of my adult life scraping people off the highways, I thank you for your post. IMO, we all need to be reminded occasionally to be courteous and considerate of others on the road. The easiest way to do that is to obey the traffic laws in place.....Stay safe so you can go camping again in the spring......Dennis

[DSDP_Don]

"69gp"......I think it's a good post and one that could use some discussion. Unfortunately, I think it will be just like the dog posts. Everyone who has a dog says theirs never poops, barks or misbehaves and everyone here never drives faster than the speed limit.

In reality, there are very few RV accidents as compared to other vehicles on the road. I think most people drive sensibly and even more cautiously than normal because of the large size of the rig. Yet we see some maniacs driving down the road.

I think some of the problem areas are large DP's that feel their size and stability promote higher speeds, yet stopping something that size takes a lot more distance than the family car. The other group is the large toy haulers, towing overweight rigs or using undersized vehicles that are lifted for off road use, yet provide little stability.

In California, the speed limit, when towing, is 55mph. Personally, I believe that is too slow. I typically tow at 62 mph. This speed keeps me from getting a ticket and gets good economy. I've pushed my very stable coach to 70-75 mph for a brief point on occasion, while passing, but I never felt comfortable going that fast. I also know that my tires are rated at 75mph.

I would like to say we should police our own, but there is no way of doing that. Hopefully, maybe just discussing it will slow down some of those who drive like maniacs.

[jwmII]

First off I will be the first to say I don't obey all the laws of the road.


Looked to be about a 44 MH towing a ford F150 in the passing lane at about 80 MPH I was doing 70 in the center lane in my pu. speed limit is 65




So! You are part of the problem along with all those you are complaining about. Why don't you become part of the solution?

[MinnCamper]

I spend 75,000 miles a year behind the wheel. Don't be in the fast lane in MN or ND other than passing, they do pull over people napping in that lane.

[rockhillmanor]

Accidents versus Safe Driving

Defensive Driving.

I don't know about the younger generation on the road but we were 'taught' defensive driving in drivers school.

Drivers just moving forward in a daze oblivious of what is going around them? They might be driving 'safe' but they aren't driving defensively.
THOSE are the drivers that are involved in accidents.

My eyes are peeled all around me when I am driving including up ahead instead of just the vehicle in front of me.