Re: There's much more than drunk drivers that need to be controlled

On 28 Sep 2006 13:09:31 -0700, "donquijote1954"
<[email protected]> wrote:


>
>Description:
>For more than 30 years, the government has been ramming cars into walls
>in an effort to make car crashes safe. The public has been conditioned
>to believe that seatbelts, airbags and more "crashworthy" vehicles are
>the best ways to protect us from harm on the roads. Meanwhile, the most
>basic strategies to deter dangerous driving and prevent crashes have
>been ignored. "It's No Accident" provides a rare glimpse into how the
>government got seduced by the promise of "safe crashing." It then
>examines the major factors involved in crashes today, including
>speeding, aggressive driving, distractions (e.g. cell phones) and
>drowsy driving. The author reveals that many dangerous behaviors are
>now promoted by businesses, and that drivers who kill often walk away
>with just a small fine. This expose is a must-read for anyone concerned
>about what's happening on our roads and how to stop it.
>

Yes indeed, the automotive industy encourages reckless driving because
they make a fortune off replacing all the cars totalled in crashes
every year. And the media is paid to go along with it by carrying all
these sick commercials that glorify speeding and by referring to all
crashes as accidents.

The highway murder problem is the biggest crime problem in america and
the most correctable Stop coddling these deadly speeders and DUIs and
phone-drivers.

On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 06:13:39 GMT, Speeders & Drunk Drivers are
MURDERERS <[email protected]> wrote:
>Stop coddling these deadly speeders and DUIs and phone-drivers.

Yea, and make stepping on the brakes in the merge lanes a felony. You
can't merge on a highway with your foot on the brake!

On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 10:46:22 -0400, PeterD <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 06:13:39 GMT, Speeders & Drunk Drivers are
>MURDERERS <[email protected]> wrote:
>>Stop coddling these deadly speeders and DUIs and phone-drivers.
>
>Yea, and make stepping on the brakes in the merge lanes a felony. You
>can't merge on a highway with your foot on the brake!

Are you serious??. Sometimes you have to slow down to merge. That's
the stupidest idea i ever heard.

On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 15:56:17 GMT, Speeders & Drunk Drivers are
MURDERERS <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 10:46:22 -0400, PeterD <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 06:13:39 GMT, Speeders & Drunk Drivers are
>>MURDERERS <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>Stop coddling these deadly speeders and DUIs and phone-drivers.
>>
>>Yea, and make stepping on the brakes in the merge lanes a felony. You
>>can't merge on a highway with your foot on the brake!
>
>Are you serious??. Sometimes you have to slow down to merge. That's
>the stupidest idea i ever heard.

Repeat after me: you cannot merge on the highway with your foot on the
brake. You have to be going the same speed, (or slightly faster) to
merge, if you slow down, (and then eventually stop) you can't merge.

Then you are stuck at the end of the merge lane, stopped, (or almost
stopped) traffic either wizzing past you at speed (as they should) or
slamming on their brakes (and causing accidents; sorry, that's YOU
causing accidents) to try to be nice and let you in.

I see you are one of those idiots who gets to the merge, at *half* the
speed of the others, twists their head all the way around, puts their
foot on the brakes and then thinks "Damn, it's so hard to merge on
highways".

On Sat, 30 Sep 2006 09:11:44 -0400, PeterD <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 15:56:17 GMT, Speeders & Drunk Drivers are
>MURDERERS <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 10:46:22 -0400, PeterD <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 06:13:39 GMT, Speeders & Drunk Drivers are
>>>MURDERERS <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>Stop coddling these deadly speeders and DUIs and phone-drivers.
>>>
>>>Yea, and make stepping on the brakes in the merge lanes a felony. You
>>>can't merge on a highway with your foot on the brake!
>>
>>Are you serious??. Sometimes you have to slow down to merge. That's
>>the stupidest idea i ever heard.
>
>Repeat after me: you cannot merge on the highway with your foot on the
>brake. You have to be going the same speed, (or slightly faster) to
>merge, if you slow down, (and then eventually stop) you can't merge.
>

But the lane you're merging into often has vehicles going assorted
speeds. THINK

"PeterD" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Repeat after me: you cannot merge on the highway with your foot on the
> brake. You have to be going the same speed, (or slightly faster) to
> merge, if you slow down, (and then eventually stop) you can't merge.

No, no, no. Here's how you merge. First, you MUST be talking on your
hand-held cellphone. Follow the car ahead of you on the on-ramp as closely
as possible. DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, even so much as glance into
the lane into which you are about to merge. After all, you have the
right-of-way, and cars already in the lane into which you and your
bumper-to-bumper butt-buddies are merging are obligated to move to their
left to let you in, regardless of whether it is safe to do so.

This is the way it is done in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where a quiz on rules of
the road actually found that a majority of respondents actually believe that
through traffic is obligated to make way for merging traffic.

On 30 Sep 2006 13:07:35 -0700, "Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>PeterD wrote:
>> On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 06:13:39 GMT, Speeders & Drunk Drivers are
>> MURDERERS <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >Stop coddling these deadly speeders and DUIs and phone-drivers.
>>
>> Yea, and make stepping on the brakes in the merge lanes a felony. You
>> can't merge on a highway with your foot on the brake!
>
>Yes you can, if you are going significantly faster on the entrance ramp
>that the traffic in the right lane. This situation is common during
>congested periods where the traffic on the controlled access road is
>moving significantly SLOWER than the speed limit.

Well, Jonny or Tom or whoever... Since you are supposed to accelerate
to the speed of the traffic on the road.

The eventual outcome of slowing down is stopping.

Just what one old IDIOT did to me in Boston some years ago. Slammed on
his brakes at the merge because he was afraid! I almost rear ended
him, did pass him on the right (wrong by law, but the option was a big
bang, body damage and probably injury) and still was able to merge on
the highway. Without stopping. Without slowing down!

On 30 Sep 2006 16:43:20 -0700, "Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman"
<[email protected]> wrote:


>
>If one accelerates up the entrance ramp at a normal rate for a modern
>automobile, the traffic on the controlled access road can not be seen
>until one is traveling 40-60 mph (depending on the exact rate of
>acceleration and relative heights of the vehicles). Now if that traffic
>is moving slower than that speed due to congestion, should one brake to
>match speeds and merge, or not brake and crash into the slower moving
>vehicles?
>
>Please tell me, since I encounter this exact situation almost every
>week day.
>

Sadly, the answer is obvious. If you are going too fast, slow down. Of
course. But that's not the problem:

What is sadder is that I see all the time drivers coming down the
merge lane, at 10 to 20 MPH *LESS* than the traffic, and hit the
brakes.

I've learned that if you are going the speed of the highway traffic it
is most rare that you can't merge. If you are going faster, it is
difficult to merge, but experience at the particular ramp can help
with this. But if you are going slower then it is *IMPOSSIBLE* to
merge, and hitting the brakes only makes things worse.

I usually drive a truck. If I see a car trying to merge, and
accelerating I'll do everything I can possibly do to help that driver
get in. But if the brake lights flash on, all bets are off--there's
nothing I can do. I can't slow down (way too unsafe), usually speeding
up isn't an option. Often times, moving over (especially if I"m in a
slower truck) doesn't (usually) always work.

Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman wrote:
> PeterD wrote:
>> On 30 Sep 2006 16:43:20 -0700, "Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> If one accelerates up the entrance ramp at a normal rate for a modern
>>> automobile, the traffic on the controlled access road can not be seen
>>> until one is traveling 40-60 mph (depending on the exact rate of
>>> acceleration and relative heights of the vehicles). Now if that traffic
>>> is moving slower than that speed due to congestion, should one brake to
>>> match speeds and merge, or not brake and crash into the slower moving
>>> vehicles?
>>>
>>> Please tell me, since I encounter this exact situation almost every
>>> week day.
>>>
>> Sadly, the answer is obvious. If you are going too fast, slow down. Of
>> course. But that's not the problem:
>
> The car I drive at the engine speed range I normally use on the ramp
> will have about 25 pounds per horsepower, which puts it in the normal
> range for modern passenger vehicles. Since I can not accelerate from 30
> to 60 mph in 3 seconds or less, I would rather be going 60 mph on the
> ramp so I can merge with the traffic if it is moving at normal "free
> flow" speed, rather than counting on it moving slowly and only
> accelerating to a lower speed. If there was a hard and fast rule that
> braking on the ramp was illegal, I would be violating the law for doing
> what is logical from a safety viewpoint, since I can decelerate at a
> much greater rate than I can accelerate.

Sounds like my 'Merge at 90' that I used to do when I first started
driving. That wound up being my nick name in High school driver's ED.
Of course the fact that we were doing the driving tests with big block
1964 Dodges made some difference. The point of my high speed merges was
that I could slow down to pop into a hole in traffic. My instructor did
not agree.
Either way, I hate traffic.
Bill Baka
>
>> What is sadder is that I see all the time drivers coming down the
>> merge lane, at 10 to 20 MPH *LESS* than the traffic, and hit the
>> brakes.
>
> These people should have their licenses suspended until they learn to
> merge.
>
> One of the amazing things I find about many US drivers is that they
> feel competent to follow another vehicle at less than 0.5 seconds of
> separation and drive at 70+ mph on two lane rural roads, yet they are
> scared to merge onto freeways and pass on two lane roads.
>

On Sat, 30 Sep 2006 09:11:44 -0400, PeterD wrote:

> I see you are one of those idiots who gets to the merge, at *half* the
> speed of the others, twists their head all the way around, puts their
> foot on the brakes and then thinks "Damn, it's so hard to merge on
> highways".

Bingo!

Having seen this behavior for so long, I'm amazed that I haven't seen more
crashes as a result. Also, many merge lanes are poorly designed by running
uphill and shorter than need be for most vehicles to get up to speed when
merging. Then there's grandpa and grandma who normally putt along at 25
MPH no matter where they are suddenly finding themselves on the Interstate...

- Nate >>

--

"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds,
the pessimist fears this is true."