One thing I like about Chicagoland drivers is that it's ingrained in them to pull over to the right lane/shoulder and stop as soon as you hear a siren. When I was out at my sister's in Las Vegas last week, I was shocked that nobody pulled over until the last possible minute for an ambulance.
You were very nearly devoured by a giant demon snake. The words 'let that be a lesson' are a tad redundant at this juncture.
Giles ,'Selfless'
Natter 54: Right here, dammit.
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
Kathy A - Oct 16, 2007 8:03:28 am PDT #6905 of 10001
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil
Frankenbuddha - Oct 16, 2007 8:03:51 am PDT #6906 of 10001
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
1) Enter freeway
2) Realize that there's no acceleration lane
3) Realize that there's no shoulder to your right, only a concrete wall
4) Realize that oncoming traffic is screaming toward you at 70mph
5) Wish you'd just stayed home
This reminds of how you used to have to get to Storrow drive from coming in to Boston from the north, except step 5 would be "Cross five lanes of 70 mph traffic in approximately 200 yards". Step 6 would be "Scream and watch your life pass before you".
bon bon - Oct 16, 2007 8:04:21 am PDT #6907 of 10001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
My favorite is 35 meeting up with 30 and 75. It's all, "Chane lanes! Now! To the right! 10 seconds to get all the way to the left! Go! Go! Go!"
L.A. does this all the time. It's very disconcerting.
Also disconcerting in L.A. is portions of the 10 where the road is sort of slotted concrete; when the sun hits it the right way, you can't see the lane markings-- you try to follow the slotted paving, but that just drifts you into a new lane.
I hate driving in L.A.
-t - Oct 16, 2007 8:04:47 am PDT #6908 of 10001
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
I have a theory that at least some of the not-signalling happens because getting through traffic is an antagonistic process with eth other drivers as your enemies, and so you don't want to give them the valuable intel that you're about to move into their lane.
§ ita § - Oct 16, 2007 8:06:29 am PDT #6909 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Bumper sticker: "Using your turn signal is not giving information to the enemy"
Toddson - Oct 16, 2007 8:06:38 am PDT #6910 of 10001
Friends don't let friends read "Atlas Shrugged"
Scariest sight recently - standing on the corner on my narrow, residential, one-way street watching someone going too fast the wrong way. In reverse.
Daisy Jane - Oct 16, 2007 8:07:03 am PDT #6911 of 10001
"This bar smells like kerosene and stripper tears."
Also disconcerting in L.A. is portions of the 10 where the road is sort of slotted concrete; when the sun hits it the right way, you can't see the lane markings-- you try to follow the slotted paving, but that just drifts you into a new lane.
They mostly just never repaint the lanes here.
Tom Scola - Oct 16, 2007 8:07:19 am PDT #6912 of 10001
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
Have I mentioned recently how happy I am that I don't have to drive?
Typo Boy - Oct 16, 2007 8:07:34 am PDT #6913 of 10001
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
Yeah, and before Videogames there was Hawaii 5-0 to blame it on. There is a certain percentage of the population who becomes assholes behind the wheel regardless of personality under other circumstances.
Incidentally I have a question about the study where x percentage of driver violate the speed limit. Does the percentage change as the speed limit increases? I have 55 mph highways and 75 mph within a few miles of each other. And it looks to me like every time I move from the 55 mph segment to the 75 mph segment, all the people who were going 75 mph in the 55 mph zone speed up some more when they enter the 75 mph zone.
Theodosia - Oct 16, 2007 8:08:27 am PDT #6914 of 10001
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"
Rt 128 in MA is also more dangerous because it was built on the cheap (governor's non-civil-engineer brother in charge) and in most cases the acceleration lane for merging traffic is ALSO the deceleration lane for outgoing traffic, all like in 150 feet of highway posted at 55 MPH and running up to 75 MPH in practice.