Kent Shook

Oh my, those pictures are awful.

I can only shake my head when I see drivers speed up to cut off a truck or race the other guy to get the lane around the truck. Car drivers act as if trucks are simply obstacles to be gotten around quickly. If that means cutting off other cars or even a truck, so be it. Of course, they drive like they're overinsured and expect trucks to stop on a dime.

In August I attended a traffic school (speeding). The teacher asked how many thought the highway traffic should, by law, give way to merging traffic. Only 5 in a class of 42 didn't raise their hands. I was flummoxed and appalled.

I do what I can to accomodate the trucks but it seems that old stlye of commuication between drivers is lost. Which leads me to my question for Kent. When I see trucks wanting to change into my lane I sometimes flash my headlights to let them know I got their backdoor. Often, it seems this isn't understood or worse, it's misunderstood. I know it used to be very well understood in the past. Which signals work best to let the truckers know it's safe to start their maneuver?
 
Because the pictures are unbelievably graphic, I won't post the story here, but any reader of either fark or somethingawful probably saw the story about the girl on the day before Thanksgiving that was driving like a moron and luckily only killed herself.

She was driving exactly the way Kent is describing, and in the end, her head looked much different than it did the day before Veterans Day.

I am a very fast driver, I accellerate a lot, and I skip into and out of traffic when I can, but I also know when its time to slow down, and that is when there is not a lot of gaps in traffic. Some people just push it when they can't afford to to.
 
SkyHog said:
I am a very fast driver, I accellerate a lot, and I skip into and out of traffic when I can, but I also know when its time to slow down, and that is when there is not a lot of gaps in traffic.
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I feel so honored. You drove like an old lady when I was there. You mean you did that for me?
 
Richard said:
I feel so honored. You drove like an old lady when I was there. You mean you did that for me?
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Heh, no need to take a young kid and an old man out in one accident, right?

Just kidding, man.
 
SkyHog said:
Heh, no need to take a young kid and an old man out in one accident, right?

Just kidding, man.
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Just kidding? You mean you aint a young kid? Or do you mean that you felt you might hurt my old feelings? I'm not that fragile....yet.

Have a good day.
 
Richard said:
Oh my, those pictures are awful.

I do what I can to accomodate the trucks but it seems that old stlye of commuication between drivers is lost. Which leads me to my question for Kent. When I see trucks wanting to change into my lane I sometimes flash my headlights to let them know I got their backdoor. Often, it seems this isn't understood or worse, it's misunderstood. I know it used to be very well understood in the past. Which signals work best to let the truckers know it's safe to start their maneuver?
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By "flashing" your lights, it seems that turning them off and on is more readily accepted by the bigger rig guys on the road rather than a millisecond of high beams, which doesn't seem to be acceptable, I guess to help preserve their night vision.
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
By "flashing" your lights, it seems that turning them off and on is more readily accepted by the bigger rig guys on the road rather than a millisecond of high beams, which doesn't seem to be acceptable, I guess to help preserve their night vision.
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That's what I meant. Turning them on and off 3 times at a not too rapid frequency.
 
Folks, I like to drive fast, I sure do. But I have scared myself enough times to understand some basic limits and ground rules.

I don't tailgate- puts my life in the hands of an already-demonstrated-nimrod.

I always signal- why not?

And in heavier traffic, I do something like the author of that article, above, does- I don't exactly try to drive more slowly, but I also do not try to accelerate to match every car in front of me. What I have discovered (read it in an article years ago, not sure, probably Car & Driver but definitely in the pre-internet era) is that, if you simply stop accelerating and hold off on braking (be ready to brake), you may be amazed at how rarely you actually *need* to use the brake.

The vast majority of people apply the brakes everytime they see a brake light, so simply not touching the brakes unless they are actually needed serves to help reduce the wave motion and congestion a bit -- and it's more relaxing.

Since drivers' ed teachers since time immemorial have taught the use of the brake pedal as a signaling device, to be used whether you are actually applying the brakes or not, it is an uphill battle, but it matters.

Let us start it here, 'K?

And Kent, I always let trucks signaling a lane change over, figure it's the least I can do; I do sorta resent when a truck pulls over to pass another truck right at the start of a long (and obvious) grade, and ends up flying formation for 5 or 6 miles.

Be safe, Kent, we're with ya'.
 
SCCutler said:
And in heavier traffic, I do something like the author of that article, above, does- I don't exactly try to drive more slowly, but I also do not try to accelerate to match every car in front of me. What I have discovered (read it in an article years ago, not sure, probably Car & Driver but definitely in the pre-internet era) is that, if you simply stop accelerating and hold off on braking (be ready to brake), you may be amazed at how rarely you actually *need* to use the brake.
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I do that all the time. All you have to do is plan ahead. Isn't that what we were taught as we were learning to fly? I try and look through the windshield of the car in front of me. What is the guy in front of him doing? Gotta laugh at the folks that race from stoplight to stoplight.

Driving like a Formula One racer probably won't get you to your destination anytime sooner. I try and stay at the speed limit (or slower, depending on road conditions), maybe 1-3 above, and it never fails. When I come into town in the morning, I always seem to 'catch up' to the cars that were doing 10-15 over. Brakes jobs are expensive. Gas is expensive. And I'm not in a hurry. In a hundred years, no one is going to care if I got to work three minutes late today.
 
DeeG said:
I do that all the time. All you have to do is plan ahead. Isn't that what we were taught as we were learning to fly? I try and look through the windshield of the car in front of me. What is the guy in front of him doing? Gotta laugh at the folks that race from stoplight to stoplight.

Driving like a Formula One racer probably won't get you to your destination anytime sooner. I try and stay at the speed limit (or slower, depending on road conditions), maybe 1-3 above, and it never fails. When I come into town in the morning, I always seem to 'catch up' to the cars that were doing 10-15 over. Brakes jobs are expensive. Gas is expensive. And I'm not in a hurry. In a hundred years, no one is going to care if I got to work three minutes late today.
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Ah, but it's the Formula 1 racers who drive smoothly just like that site recommends. They need to car - and the brakes - to last until the end the race.

I've seen auto writers write when driving with the likes of Jackie Stewart and Mario Andretti that they are amazed how smoothly they drive in the family station wagon.
 
mikea said:
Then we have the wheels, the privileged, "My time is valuable, and you're in the way. "
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Oh yeah. I have read about a study that indicated while people are driving, they consider it their "personal space," much like sitting in their living room. That's why they do obnoxious stuff like cut people off, not let them merge, give the finger, and pick their nose at stoplights. Protecting their turf.

mikea said:
PAY ATTENTION AND WE'LL ALL GET THERE SOONER!
http://amasci.com/amateur/traffic/traffic1.html
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Interesting. I think I had heard somewhere that traffic speed can be roughly modeled as a first order differential equation - speed is inversely proportional to distance between cars, to a certain extent.


-Rich
 
Richard said:
I do what I can to accomodate the trucks but it seems that old stlye of commuication between drivers is lost. Which leads me to my question for Kent. When I see trucks wanting to change into my lane I sometimes flash my headlights to let them know I got their backdoor. Often, it seems this isn't understood or worse, it's misunderstood. I know it used to be very well understood in the past. Which signals work best to let the truckers know it's safe to start their maneuver?
Click to expand...

Dave Krall CFII said:
By "flashing" your lights, it seems that turning them off and on is more readily accepted by the bigger rig guys on the road rather than a millisecond of high beams, which doesn't seem to be acceptable, I guess to help preserve their night vision.
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High beams don't work any more because a significant portion of the car-driving population now uses that as "Hey, I'm here! Stay out of my way, you big bully!" For the same reason, Richard, your flashing may be interpreted that way. Try just a single long "blink" (maybe 3 seconds or so), that might work better.

It's a real wake-up call the first time a car flashes their brights and you start to move over, only to realize they are just a wee bit close and half their car is next to your trailer and they don't mean what you thought they did... :hairraise:
 
DeeG said:
In a hundred years, no one is going to care if I got to work three minutes late today.
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Yabut, your kid's kid's kids will know the story of how granma couldn't keep a job.:dunno:
 
I'm not talking of use of high beams, I mean only the regular headlights. On--turn off completely--On.
 
Richard said:
Yabut, your kid's kid's kids will know the story of how granma couldn't keep a job.:dunno:
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If I lose my job because I was three minutes late one morning, because I chose to drive a bit slow do to road conditions, then I should have already been out looking for another job. My job is not worth my life. There is a clause in our admin policy that pretty much states that if the road conditions suck, call the comm center and let them know that you're enroute and will get there as soon as you can. I live about 18 miles from the center. On 'normal' days I give myself 45 minutes to get to work. (We have no traffic out here in the sticks, BTW). I check the weather before I go to bed and if there is even a hint of crappy conditions come morning, I'll give myself about 1 -1 1/2 hours to get there.
 
SCCutler said:
I like to drive fast
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Me too. :D

I don't tailgate
I always signal- why not?
I always let trucks signaling a lane change over
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And that puts you in about the top 15 percent of drivers these days. So, go on and go fast, you're still safer than most.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
SCCutler said:
I don't tailgate
I always signal- why not?
I always let trucks signaling a lane change over
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And that puts you in about the top 15 percent of drivers these days. So, go on and go fast, you're still safer than most.
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Well, I don't tailgate except during rush hour in the Chicago area!:rolleyes: I try to watch a couple of cars ahead and use the buffer to keep from needing to brake, but in so doing, there are definitely times when I'm a lot closer than I'd be if I followed the old "two second" rule. Other than that, I'm with Spike, including speed :yes:.

I generally drive with lights on, and have been using the lights off for a couple seconds to signal that it's safe to change lanes since I observed the big rigs doing it amongst themselves driving down to Indianapolis when Leslie was stationed there.
 
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