Just got back from an emergency work trip to Southern California.
People down there actually KNOW HOW TO OPERATE THEIR MOTORIZED CONVEYANCES PROPERLY!
It wasn't until Santa Barbara on northbound US 101 that we encountered a driver that DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO GET ON THE DAMNED FREEWAY!
Sacramento is a mess, people stopping in the active lanes, blocking lanes because they can't change lanes. On my way home after dropping equipment off at the office I'm yelling at people like a madman PARK IT OR DRIVE IT FOR GAWD'S SAKES...I JUST WANT TO GET HOME! I blasted the idiot that was waiting for the idiot to change lanes in front of him but couldn't figure out how to navigate from lane 2 to lane 3 Jesus.
Mr. K,
I'll take that.?ÿ
Thanks.
JA, PLS, SoCal
Sounds like South Florida without the gunfire. Stop in a thru lane in Miami you'll either die from a rear end collision or have the rear of your car shot multiple times so as to "encourage" you that wasn't the correct exit after all. 😉 ?ÿ
@flga-pls-2-2
Atlanta has a lot of that gunfire you speak of, hence the reason I avoid that God awful place.
My favorite is the little old lady (or man) that gets up to highway speed on the entrance ramp and then STOPS at the bottom to check if anyone is coming.
In the North Georgia mountains there are a lot of, what the locals call, Halfbacks.?ÿ They retired from New York, Ohio, Michigan, etc. and moved to Florida to get away from the cold.?ÿ Along comes summer heat and humidity and THEN comes a hurricane or two.?ÿ Then they move, halfway back, to the mountains of Georgia, North Carolina or Tennessee.?ÿ They have no idea where they are going and are in no hurry to get there.?ÿ 25 MPH on a winding mountain road that has double yellow lines for its entire length.?ÿ You don't hear much about road rage up there but it's a wonder Bubba or Wanda June haven't shot somebody yet.
Andy
I guess I was wrong about our locals being the worst about merging.?ÿ Some come off the ramp at 45 mph into 60 or 70 mph traffic.?ÿ Some come down the ramp matching your speed and position, making you maneuver when there are spaces of 10 car lengths ahead and behind you.
My rules would be a) you have to make sure there is a space for them, and b) they have to fit themselves into an available space at a reasonable speed.
When getting on the freeway ("The Interstate" in Midwestern English) do it like you mean it. The ramp metering lights (starting in the 1990s) is what messed it up. Before that people knew how to get on the freeway, after that we've had the 35mph trying to merge into 65mph without looking and making the guy in the lane have to slam on his brakes but it's okay because I'm the only one out here.
We have turn-outs, big giant white sign "SLOW VEHICLES MUST PULL OVER TO PERMIT PASSING", they never do.
It's great towing a camper or driving a motorhome too. I normally drive in the right hand lane but will move left to allow merging traffic. When there is traffic to the left I keep a close eye on the merging traffic. There is usually one that will refuse to merge behind but will race ahead (sometimes in the emergency lane) just so they won't have to be behind me, even of I'm going the speed limit.
Andy
You are preaching to the choir. As a farm boy you know how much fun it is to be hauling or towing a load on any road where the safe speed to do so is significantly below what other drivers view as normal. One juicy blob of waste material flying out of a livestock trailer, for example, will quickly motivate other drivers to pass you immediately. Following a four-wheel trailer that swings a good three feet from side to side while being towed is intimidating, even to me. But, we have the exact same right to be on the road so long as we are on roads without designated minimum speed limits. Following, or approaching, a combine with a 30-foot header is in a category all to itself.
In Nebraska, they have MINIMUM SPEED 40 MPH signs (on their interstates)
What a concept!
In Nebraska, they have MINIMUM SPEED 40 MPH signs (on their interstates)
What a concept!
We use to have those in Oklahoma, particularly in the urban 65mph zones.?ÿ While the 40 mph minimum is still a law in most states, posting such is no longer required in a number of states that have actually adopted the minimum limit as a state law and not just a federal signage requirement.?ÿ?ÿ
