mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on May 6, 2022 14:02:43 GMT -8
I used to drive defensively.... But now I must also drive very aggressively. You have to COMMAND the road and what is going on with it. When towing I don't turn on my blinker until I have started to cross over into the other lane. If you warn people you are changing lanes they will all start passing you and you might miss your off ramp. I also don't drive 55 towing in CA. That's suicide. I stay in the second lane over from the right and do 60 to 65. There are no CHP on the highways except in certain little trap areas anyhow. It's too dangerous towing in the right lane. No one knows how to merge safely on to the highway. I love to follow trucks though. If I can follow a truck for a long ways then I do that. I'm not in a hurry so if he's going 60 or slower I'm good with that. You can't get into a head on collision with a truck in front of you. I do keep a safe distance though. I love trucks...
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turbodaddy
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Post by turbodaddy on May 7, 2022 4:20:54 GMT -8
Larry, you just reminded me of when I was about 18 and drove a VW camper. We'd load that little thing up with 4 guys, food and beer. It went 45 uphill and 70 down. I used to try and get behind trucks on the highway so we'd get caught in the tailwind...it seemed to make us able to go the same speed as the truck most of the time. You had to find the sweet spot, and really pay attention!
Obnoxious,selfish and dangerous drivers are not just in California. It is incredible how stupid some of them are, they seem to think they are infallible. I don't remember seeing roll overs years ago but now they are common.
Here on Cape Cod we have one main 2 lane highway that I avoid when I can. The side roads are better, but the idiots are there as well. At least you're less likely to get killed when going 45mph. Our state enacted a "law" prohibiting the use of hand held cell phones while driving. Every day I find myself having to dodge a head on crash because someone is looking down at their phone while going around a bend and they're on my side of the road...oblivious. Sometimes I wish I had an old beater (big ugly car) so that I could just let them hit me. Demolition derby style. Hijacked again!
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Hamlet
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Post by Hamlet on May 7, 2022 8:18:34 GMT -8
Sinne this thread seems to have ben successfully hijacked, I’ll add my two cents…
I do not drive aggressively, I drive assertively. I suspect that’s what mobiltec meant. The road is filled with agressive (not just obnoxious or dumb) drivers. The vehicles themselves don’t help, and neither do manufacturers who describe a vehicle as having an “agressive stance.” Thèse “agressive” front ends are higher than they used to be and an impact with one of them hits a pedestrian in the chest rather than the abdomen increasing pedestrian mortality. The pandemic and all its ramifications, I’m convinced, has increased the number of angry drivers on the road. I was in a long left hand turn lane last week when I saw a car pulling up rapidly on my right and obviously wanting to get in front of the line waiting to turn. There was another car behind me and it wouldn’t have been safe to slow so he could get in front of me. I stayed where I was, he jammed on his brakes and squeezed in two cars behind me. Funny thing… he still had the temerity to lay on his horn, open his window and flip me off. Sigh.
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mobiltec
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Post by mobiltec on May 7, 2022 10:11:40 GMT -8
No I meant Aggressively... Like I said, I go faster than the speed limit for towing because it is unsafe to drive slow these days on the highways. And I start my lane change before turning on the blinker. I could care less now if the guy behind me knows what I'm about to do so I just do it and don't give him a chance to think about it. And I tow in the next lane over to the merging lane becuase like you said, people are looking at their stupid phones instead of paying attention to what they are doing on the road. When I say aggressively what I mean is that I command what is going on all around me the best that I can. I don't allow others to make my mind up for me.
I've also learned over the last two years that I must live the same way. I deal with people much differently than I used to. I'm not such a nice guy any more. Basically stay out of my way and don't bother me unless you want the kraken released on you.
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Post by danrhodes on May 7, 2022 14:35:55 GMT -8
To me, safe driving is being predictable while assuming everyone around you is not.
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