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A thread for with which to vent.

#541
Chainsaw Willie said:
That's kind of a cartoony extreme extrapolation. Of course people should not be driving stupid fast, but people shouldn't be blocking traffic either.

It's really simple, don't cruise the left lane. If you are not passing stay right.

If the car in front of you is traveling slower than you want, check your mirrors to make sure someone is not currently passing you. Then signal, check again, and merge into the left lane to pass. Once you have safely passed, get out of the left lane. Keep right until you need to pass again.

Let law enforcement deal with the speeders. Do not make them weave left and right through traffic and mix some innocent driver in their recklessness.
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I'm not going to change your mind, so I'm not going to continue going back and forth, but I will say that "cartoony extrapolation" is not any different than what I see on a daily basis during my 8 years as a professional driver.

The destruction that can be caused by flagrantly disobeying the posted speed limit is not worth the extra couple of minutes you *think* you are saving.

I'm speaking both from personal experience and statistics provided by both NYS and NYC, so before the "anecdotal evidence" police come to tear me down, I know what I'm talking about and don't feel the need to post links on TB.
 
#542
The left lane is the passing lane in most places, but driving in New York City/Long Island is a different animal. Here, the left lane is the fast lane. Cruising in it is ok as long as they're isn't a line of cars behind you. When everything's going well, everyone in the left lane is cruising at about 70, with the middle lane going slightly slower, and the slowpokes and dilly-dallyers in the right.
 
#545
Chainsaw Willie said:
Wait a minute. I'm not defending speeding. Speeding is a separate issue. I am addressing blocking the passing lane.

Both speeding and blocking the passing lane are dangerous behaviors.
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But you seem to believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that it is ok to drive 70mph so long as you are doing so in the name of "passing".

But if you have to drive 70mph to pass someone, it is very likely the vehicle you are passing is doing the speed limit as posted.

I am not saying anyone should be traveling 40mph in the left lane, or any lane of a highway for that matter. I believe the LIE in particular has a posted *minimum* speed of 45mph.. But it has been a few years since i drove out the Glenn Cove, so it may have changed.
 
#546
3234718 said:
The left lane is the passing lane in most places, but driving in New York City/Long Island is a different animal. Here, the left lane is the fast lane. Cruising in it is ok as long as they're isn't a line of cars behind you. When everything's going well, everyone in the left lane is cruising at about 70, with the middle lane going slightly slower, and the slowpokes and dilly-dallyers in the right.
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I'll be driving the express bus up Madison ave tonight - and there's a gridlock warning in effect - I'm pretty familiar with the beast that is NYC driving. :p:D
 
#549
It's the Gorn Captain that battled a James T. Kirk on Cestus-III.

I think it's ok to drive 70 mph when 90% of other drivers on the highway are doing the same on a mostly empty road at 5:50 in the morning.

Call me crazy, but when one guy doing 55 goes into the left lane causing everyone else to bunch together, that's more of a danger then everyone maintaining a comfortable distance from eachother cruising at 75.
 
#550
3234718 said:
I think it's ok to drive 70 mph when 90% of other drivers on the highway are doing the same on a mostly empty road at 5:50 in the morning.

Call me crazy, but when one guy doing 55 goes into the left lane causing everyone else to bunch together, that's more of a danger then everyone maintaining a comfortable distance from eachother cruising at 75.
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I couldn't agree more.
 
#551
3234718 said:
It's the Gorn Captain that battled a James T. Kirk on Cestus-III.

I think it's ok to drive 70 mph when 90% of other drivers on the highway are doing the same on a mostly empty road at 5:50 in the morning.

Call me crazy, but when one guy doing 55 goes into the left lane causing everyone else to bunch together, that's more of a danger then everyone maintaining a comfortable distance from eachother cruising at 75.
Click to expand...

Ok. But the guy going 55 isn't breaking the law :p
 
#554
FilterFunk said:
That depends. Aside from the posted speed limit, legally you're only supposed to go as fast - or as slow - as is safe.
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True, but in the hypothetical we have been using, I assumed normal weather/road conditions.

If that is the case, then the person driving 55mph is not doing anything wrong in the *legal* sense.

In real world driving, however, driving 55mph in the left lane is a total douche move :D
 
#556
I keep hearing a commercial on the radio aimed at people who are collecting (or are about to collect) SSI. The ad states that SSI recipients get a 3% yearly adjustment, but those who receive "O____a's SNAP benefits are seeing a 30% increase in their monthly benefits".

I call BS. Some of you have heard me gripe about my never ending financial difficulties and now I have more. Over the last 2 years, this is how our SNAP benefits have gone (food only, we receive no cash):

$200
$175
$125
$113
And this morning, I checked my balance and we now receive $104 a month. So, after two years on SNAP, our monthly benefit has almost been cut in half. We went the first year at $200 a month and the rest of the cuts happened in 2013. I'm ready to give up.

How can ads like that run on the radio? Why do they refer to it as "O____a's" SNAP program?

I wish I was born in France. This country blows.
 
#557
And furthermore, the US is no longer the best place to be or the strongest economy in the world. Policies and changes made in the last 30 years have made it so, and if you think it's gonna get better, forget it. The chances of becoming upward mobile are decreasing. The amount of globalization and outsourcing (along with tech advancements) are making it harder for a lot of people to survive, let alone move upward.

As soon as corporations were allowed to build overseas (which allows them an easy way to sell their products there and that's good) and ship the products back here, that spelled the end for a lot of folks to become upwardly mobile. Not everybody can be a college grad and soon, not every college grad will have a job.

Two years ago, a plant in the Midwest that made automotive sensors closed. For three months prior to closing, Chinese workers came here and were trained by the soon-to-be unemployed workers. Did the price of the sensors drop? Unlikely. Did they move to keep the price the same? Doubtful. They probably moved so some fatcat can make more money. One of the members of the board just happen to be running for office at the time.

That's what's wrong with this joint and it will affect more people until things change, but I fear we've passed that point.

Make it a great day!
 
#559
Man, my daughter got sick and I stayed home to take care of her. I was up at 3am last night to 5am with a screaming child I had to put in a cold bath who had a 103.5 temp. Slept for maybe an 1 hour and a half after that. Been taking care of her all day, crying and whiny. I'm exhausted. This part of being a parent sucks.
 

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