It only takes a second....

[seldomseensmith]

Hey all,

Been a long while since I posted, mostly because I haven't had much new to say or offer. But I'm going to make one last post to offer a cautionary tale of how things can change suddenly and dramatically all through no fault of ones own.

I was returning home from a trip to Colorado last Saturday, driving along U.S. Highway 160. At the time I was just cruising along, doing the speed limit and observing all of the rules of the road. As most people know, driving the speed limit is never enough for others with whom we share the highway, so I am constantly being passed by other vehicles with some frequency.

Right after 12:00 noon, a car began to pass me on a straight and level 2 lane section of the highway. What the driver of this car did not realize until it was too late was that the vehicle behind it had also decided to pass. 3 cars going the same direction cannot occupy the same space on a 2 lane road, and when the driver in the middle saw what was happening she swerved violently in my direction, hitting my truck with enough force to spin me around. I slid across both lanes and onto the shoulder, where soft sand caused me to roll onto the passenger side.

Fortunately, despite the speed and force of the crash I suffered no discernible injury. I cannot say the same for the truck and camper.

I don't know for certain that the truck is totaled, but I suspect it will be more expensive to repair than what the insurance company is willing to pay. The camper is unquestionably destroyed, and that loss will be harder to calculate. I am now in the unenviable position of trying to get the at fault driver's insurance to admit their liability and assess the cost.

Whatever I might receive in money cannot replace what has been lost, and I am understandably upset at being forced into a situation in which I had no choice or chance to avoid. Yes, I know it could have been worse, and I'm grateful to be alive. But in a very real sense I am experiencing almost as much pain and suffering as if I had been injured.

In any event, I would never wish this on anyone else, but know for a certainty that you can do everything right, make no mistakes, pay your bills on time, have a clean conscience, and do all in your power to live a good life - it doesn't matter. Some idiot can still take it all away from you.

[slickrock_steve]

Well welcome to "Kalifornia"....where drivers are the best in the world....driving 80MPH bumper to bumper!

And you can now pay .71cents a gallon fuel tax.....on top of the federal and local taxes

[bighatnohorse]

@ seldomseen

People do do stupid things. A dodo making a quick U-turn from an oncoming lane can do the same or worse. There's no avoiding it.

My cure for passing is to reduce speed or even step on the brakes so that the left lane "passer" is out in front of me before they know what's happening.

When a big rig trucker is in the left lane making a pass, I will usually cut the cruise control and slow down. It helps him make their pass more quickly and safely.

I can't speak to your situation, but three cars in the left lane to pass me and I would de-accelerate rapidly. . .simply to reduce the side-by-side driving time in which accidents can happen.

If people want to run over the cliff edge, I'll step aside.
😉

[jefe_4x4]

This kind of talk always reminds me of a great philosopher many moons ago on this very forum who, in response to a similar thread said, "Just fold in your mirrors and have a good day." Dumb-Axx folks are going to do what they do and it's good to be out of their way in as much as you have control over that. Me being responsible for their stupidity?: not so much.
jefe

[Camper_Jeff___K]

Bedlam wrote:
However, there are times I wished I had a menacing vehicle that looked like it belongs in a Death Race, Road Warrior or Stephen King movie to help in that selection.

Pete, Have you looked at your truck and camper combo setup next others? Your truck and camper is a fearful behemoth on steroids compared to others truck campers. Nicer looking too.

[Terryallan]

jimh425 wrote:
Maybe some of our East Coast members aren't understanding the scale of driving we are talking about. Adding a few minutes to a trip is no big deal. Adding hours to a trip is fairly significant to me. Crazy as it sounds, many of us travel hundreds of miles one way to camp even on a weekend.

Oh, and real mtn roads is a cute comment. Sounds like someone hasn't been out West yet. Oh yeah, I grew up in TN and lived in NC, and I'm completely familiar with those mtns. There are pretty curvy roads out West as well.

and I have driven out west, and am familiar with those mountains. A 9 degree grade is a 9 degree grade, here or there. but none of those grades are on the interstate. They are off the beaten path in both places.

But then of course we can't drive. The busses don't go where you live do they.

[SidecarFlip]

Appears to me that a whole bunch of people are in a hurry to die...

I had one do that on the shoulder thing last winter and I was on a divided highway preparing to turn LEFT and he passed me on the LEFT shoulder. If he had been a few seconds later, he would have been in for a big surprise and I probably would have been in the hospital as I was in my car, not the truck. I would have had no compunction about owning him, his house (if he had one) and all his worldly possessions as I would have sued the **** out of him, if, I had lived.

As it was, he flew past and I turned, thinking to myself...what a tool.

[Jfet]

I can't even go the speed limit in a lot of places because our rig just doesn't have enough HP to get the 19,000 pounds and sailboat up steep hills. If there is a truck lane I am in it. If there is a turnout I use it. I am sure I still piss people off because there are places where the state or county just doesn't think they need turnouts or passing lanes. I have never made a line of cars follow us more than a mile or so though before I find some shoulder or something to pull over.

That being said, we were traveling in our new F150 in fairly heavy traffic and were at least 4 cars back from a slow leader car. The guy behind me doesn't pass us during an opening...no, he goes at 70mph past all five of us on the shoulder, with two tires in the grass. I had never wished so hard for LEO to be around. He would have killed a pedestrian, cyclist or anyone who happened to be pulled off with an emergency.

Moral of the story, people are impatient ********. Always have been, always will be.

[jimh406]

Maybe some of our East Coast members aren't understanding the scale of driving we are talking about. Adding a few minutes to a trip is no big deal. Adding hours to a trip is fairly significant to me. Crazy as it sounds, many of us travel hundreds of miles one way to camp even on a weekend.

Oh, and real mtn roads is a cute comment. Sounds like someone hasn't been out West yet. Oh yeah, I grew up in TN and lived in NC, and I'm completely familiar with those mtns. There are pretty curvy roads out West as well.

[wnjj]

Terryallan wrote:

jimh425 wrote:
I wish I lived in your black/white world that some of you guys live in sometimes. Other times, I'm glad I don't.

Not saying this is the OP scenario, but stay with me ... BTW, you could just as well put any speed close to 60 in these scenarios. A person going 57 is still "legal". What do you think the experience is like for those behind you in each of these cases? Maybe you don't care.

Let's say you are driving a modern diesel pickup. That generally means you can out accelerate almost every vehicle on the road even with TC. At least, you can accelerate fast enough that it is hard to pass without exceeding the speed limit. You could be someone who slows down in each curve to follow the "guidance" for that curve, and prevent others from going the speed limit during the entire distance. Then, on the straight away you rightly accelerate. After all, you don't want to go "too" slow.

Then, there is the obvious. You think you are going the speed limit, but your speedometer is actually indicating a few miles per hour faster than your actual speed. You could very well think you are going the speed limit, but actually, you are not. Maybe based on your eyesight, you think you are going 60, but you are actually going 59. How is someone reasonably going to pass in that scenario without exceeding the speed limit?

I believe all of the states out West have impeding laws probably to deal with some of these scenarios. BTW, I'm not breaking any laws by letting people pass me when I'm the slow one. I appreciate consideration when I'm the one following in a faster vehicle.

I have been driving, and passing slower vehicles on single lane roads for 45 years. NOt ONCE have I been cited for going over the speedlimit while passing another vehicle. It is pretty well expected. so you can get out, get by, and back in soon as possible. However once past. You have to slow down back to the speedlimit.

As for your faster car, and thinking that you just have to pass a vehicle running the speedlimit. You should have left home earlier.
I will not pull over while running the speedlimit, to allow YOU to break the speedlimit. And BTW. Our mountain roads don't have pullovers, and the speedlimt is usually in the 25 to 35 MPH range.

Disclaimer: I'm not arguing the point to prove anything about what the OP did or did not do in his situation. There's no judgement from me. I find topic interesting and is causing what I consider to be constructive discussion. It's fair to say none of us would like to be in the OP's shoes and maybe there's something good that can come of it.

That said, I think you still missed Jim's point and are using a Straw Man. Jim proposed very real scenarios in which a driver could "think" they are going the speed limit and yet are not (slowing in corners or speedometer error). He was attempting to explain why some of these "lunatics" may want to pass and be completely in the right for doing it. Not to mention, many do not like to follow a camper or RV wall, no matter what travel speed. I know I don't and completely get those wanting around me, no matter my speed.

For the record, it is still illegal to exceed the limit when passing. How is ignoring that law OK but not OK for a sedan who doesn't want to travel at the speed of an RV? The reason cops don't stop everyone for a little over the limit is because one size fits all speed limits don't apply well in real life and discretion is applied.

[Terryallan]

ticki2 wrote:

korbe wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
.............I will not pull over while running the speedlimit, to allow YOU to break the speedlimit. And BTW. Our mountain roads don't have pullovers, and the speedlimt is usually in the 25 to 35 MPH range.

The way I look at the above scenario is that I will pull over and use a paved turnout to allow passing regardless of my speed or the speed limit, as long as my decision to use the turn out does not appear to be an unsafe maneuver.

I will also slow down when I come upon a passing lane to allow all the vehicles behind me to pass. Nothing worse than the lead vehicle speeding up when a passing lane occurs and forcing all the pack to haul a$$ to pass in time. That, IMHO, contributes to accidents.

Well said .

Read it again. I said our mountain roads don't have pull overs. No where to move over too. Maybe you should get off the interstate, and drive a real mountain road.

In truth. the roads to the mountain CGs. I usually have to use BOTH sides to make the curves.

[Bedlam]

In my state, you have to use the pull offs if you are delaying five or more vehicles. There is no speed stipulation with this law - Even if you are driving over the speed limit, you have to let faster traffic pass you. If there are no pull offs, the vehicles behind you have to wait until you turn or there is a safe place to pass. I have hit my 4-ways and slowed to allow vehicles to pass, but I will not get so far to the right that I am pulled into a ditch or soft shoulder.

I'm fine driving the limit, but I will not play rolling road block to enforce those speed limits. I only hope natural selection will weed out the ones with poor judgement and not create too much collateral damage in the process. However, there are times I wished I had a menacing vehicle that looked like it belongs in a Death Race, Road Warrior or Stephen King movie to help in that selection.

[ticki2]

Back on topic .

Seldomseen , your thread title says it all . We have all dodged multiple bullets , glad you are OK .

[ticki2]

korbe wrote:

Terryallan wrote:
.............I will not pull over while running the speedlimit, to allow YOU to break the speedlimit. And BTW. Our mountain roads don't have pullovers, and the speedlimt is usually in the 25 to 35 MPH range.

The way I look at the above scenario is that I will pull over and use a paved turnout to allow passing regardless of my speed or the speed limit, as long as my decision to use the turn out does not appear to be an unsafe maneuver.

I will also slow down when I come upon a passing lane to allow all the vehicles behind me to pass. Nothing worse than the lead vehicle speeding up when a passing lane occurs and forcing all the pack to haul a$$ to pass in time. That, IMHO, contributes to accidents.

Well said .

[ticki2]

jimh425 wrote:
I wish I lived in your black/white world that some of you guys live in sometimes. Other times, I'm glad I don't.

Not saying this is the OP scenario, but stay with me ... BTW, you could just as well put any speed close to 60 in these scenarios. A person going 57 is still "legal". What do you think the experience is like for those behind you in each of these cases? Maybe you don't care.

Let's say you are driving a modern diesel pickup. That generally means you can out accelerate almost every vehicle on the road even with TC. At least, you can accelerate fast enough that it is hard to pass without exceeding the speed limit. You could be someone who slows down in each curve to follow the "guidance" for that curve, and prevent others from going the speed limit during the entire distance. Then, on the straight away you rightly accelerate. After all, you don't want to go "too" slow.

Then, there is the obvious. You think you are going the speed limit, but your speedometer is actually indicating a few miles per hour faster than your actual speed. You could very well think you are going the speed limit, but actually, you are not. Maybe based on your eyesight, you think you are going 60, but you are actually going 59. How is someone reasonably going to pass in that scenario without exceeding the speed limit?

I believe all of the states out West have impeding laws probably to deal with some of these scenarios. BTW, I'm not breaking any laws by letting people pass me when I'm the slow one. I appreciate consideration when I'm the one following in a faster vehicle.

For every scenario you have given there is a counter scenario just as valid .
Obviously the people trying to pass the OP were not doing it safely regardless of how fast or slow he was going . Why someone feels they have the RIGHT to travel faster than the speed limit is beyond me .

[korbe]

Terryallan wrote:
.............I will not pull over while running the speedlimit, to allow YOU to break the speedlimit. And BTW. Our mountain roads don't have pullovers, and the speedlimt is usually in the 25 to 35 MPH range.

The way I look at the above scenario is that I will pull over and use a paved turnout to allow passing regardless of my speed or the speed limit, as long as my decision to use the turn out does not appear to be an unsafe maneuver.

I will also slow down when I come upon a passing lane to allow all the vehicles behind me to pass. Nothing worse than the lead vehicle speeding up when a passing lane occurs and forcing all the pack to haul a$$ to pass in time. That, IMHO, contributes to accidents.