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Hyrule19023 Posts
(Some of you may remember my rant about moronic drivers for my 3000th post, all of which still holds true, and I recommend you read it if you drive)
In a perfect world, there would be no traffic. Sure, there would be a lot of volume, and occasionally an accident—obviously caused by random happenstance, such as an animal darting across the road or a tire bursting, rather than drivers being...well...bad—but overall driving would be a stress free experience, if not pleasant. But we do not live in a perfect world; oh no, quite far from it.
Today was pretty bad, traffic-wise. My normal commute is about 45 minutes: I live about 30 miles away from my office. The half dozen traffic lights add up to roughly 2 minutes of total stop time (hurray for right turn on red!). There's a bridge which is generally the slowest part of my commute, although also the shortest segment, as it's 3 lanes coming off of 3, although two lanes on the left merge (for whatever reason the port authority decides to move the zipper over in the middle of rush hour rather than the middle of the day, which changes the 4 lane westbound into a 3 lane westbound) and another flows up from an exit off of the southbound highway.
I will take a moment here to mention that the port authority is the Delaware River Port Authority, handily acronymed DRPA; seeing as how Delaware is DE, most people I know call it DERPA.
The front 10 and back 5 minutes of my commute are on town roads, at about 25 miles per hour. The majority of my trip is over freeways at somewhere between 60 and 70 miles per hour. Sometimes there's an accident or a broken down vehicle, which understandably causes delays. Last week, for instance, a fuel truck jack-knifed and spilled diesel across the entirety of northbound I-95, which delayed me by about 30 minutes while it was cleaned up.
So color me confused when today it took me over two hours to get to work, and yet no accidents, incidents, invasions, nuclear war, end of the worlds, or other such delay-causing phenomena were reported during the traffic reports.
Nope.
Nothing.
There was traffic for no reason; at least for the Jersey side of my commute. There were cars just stopped...and then 100 feet later going 60mph. There was no rhyme nor reason—people were just not jiving with that particular part of the road, apparently.
So fuck those guys.
The bridge was stupid, as normal, with the zipper truck midspan. People were slowing down as they approached it, wary of any sudden swerves or accelerations it may attempt—nevermind the fact that it's permanently attached to about 400 tons of steel and concrete and has a max speed of about 2mph and was designed to fit inside a single lane—nope gotta slow down.
So fuck those guys, too.
But that's okay; as soon as we eek past the zipper truck that 4th lane is open so I just zoom by all the idiots not obeying that whole "keep right except to pass" thing some people call The Law. Nope, no reason to obey that rule.
And those guys? Yep: fuck them.
Next up is the exit from the bridge, through the tolls, around a sharp curve, and a merge onto I-95 north. And by merge I mean there lane you're in when you come off the bridge, go around the curve, and get on 95 in keeps going as a lane for about 3 miles after joining with 95. That's a 3 mile lane to get up to speed and get left. So obviously everyone fails at that too.
Do I even need to say it at this point?
After that it's smooth sailing for maybe 5 miles. But then, suddenly, as if from nowhere, 4 lanes of people who were going 70mph not 12 seconds earlier have achieved a net speed of 4. I have hit a 3 mile backup. Not hearing anything about any aforementioned accidents, incidents, etc on the traffic report, my interest is piqued. What's causing the delay? Is it recent? Where is the cause of the backup? Should I get off the next exit? Around a curve in the highway I can see that the congestion clears not far beyond the next exit, so I figure I'll stay on, although at this point I still can't see the cause. For 45 minutes I creep forward, spending more time stopped than moving. Finally, after such a long time of waiting to see what could possibly be so bad as to cause this sort of delay, I catch a glimpse of the culprit: flashing yellow lights; lighted arrow trucks with crash buffers, guys with high visibility vests and....brooms. A street sweeper.....
It's a clean-up crew clearing pieces of tire, car parts, and broken glass from crashes over the past couple of months—it's standard practice for crash crews to clear detritus to the shoulder to facilitate getting traffic cleared up ASAP, rather than spend time cleaning it up then and there, as there are these clean-up crews who every so often do that for them—slowly creeping down the right shoulder. The whole right shoulder. Like....all of it.
You see, it's endemic to Pennsylvanians, nobody knows why, but it is, that if there is absolutely anything happening anywhere within maybe even line of sight from somewhere in their car, they must immediately stop – yes, completely and totally come to full stop, regardless of where they are (usually the middle of a freeway during rush hour while going about 70 mph) – to examine what's happening.
Fuck everyone. It's a damned clean-up crew, picking up the shit that fell off cars who were rear-ended on the highway because they inexplicably slammed on their brakes to look at something wholly uninteresting off to the side of the road. An hour wasted sitting in traffic because a crew was cleaning up the junk while not obstructing traffic in any way whatsoever.
I hate all drivers. Today, I particularly hate Pennsylvanian drivers (well...I always hate them, they are all terrible, without exception).
  
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I feel your pain, traffic in the DC area is a complete joke 90% of the time. Thankfully I don't deal with it on a daily basis as I live 5 minutes away from work and just take backroads.
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Hyrule19023 Posts
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Hehehe, really nice read. This is why im not going to move outside of the city center, (or at least a subway station) no matter what town im living in. Commuting sucks
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PA is the worst state to drive through. Why are cops so anal there? Everytime I drive through PA, you always come upto these trains of cars just leasurily following a trooper, because they're all shitfuck scared to pass them - even drive beside them. My father got ticketed there for having an 'incorrect speedo', from a canadian car. lol.
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Estonia4644 Posts
tofu
you are so cute when you rage
:'D
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On May 17 2012 02:21 a176 wrote:
PA is the worst state to drive through. Why are cops so anal there? Everytime I drive through PA, you always come upto these trains of cars just leasurily following a trooper, because they're all shitfuck scared to pass them - even drive beside them. My father got ticketed there for having an 'incorrect speedo', from a canadian car. lol.
I disagree, cops in NJ are worse because they tend to be sneaky and hide at different places, especially during the night to catch people speeding. One time, I saw a cop car on top of a hill, and sped towards a driver who was going to be ticketed for excessive speeding. Whenever I have a trip through NJ, I have to be careful about whether I should try to speed or not, unlike PA where I can usually go in short bursts up to 140 as a challenge.
Though PA drivers are no better, especially during construction hours. A terrible experience that I had was going through a 2 mile stretch that took 30 minutes because of construction. Even though I couldn't do it, I wanted to get out of the car and started walking as my legs were getting restless from pressing the brake, and I didn't want to leave it on park.
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I live in New Jersey, and I really hate crossing the border from NJ to PA (my girlfriend goes to UPenn, so I'm in PA a decent amount of time).
NJ- where the 65 mph speed limit really means "80 mph or as fast as possible if you don't see a cop". That's how I'm trained. I drive safely with those expectations. PA- where the speed limit means 5 less in the fast lane, 15 less in the others. There's a reason why multiple lanes exist >.<
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On May 17 2012 02:31 Phelix wrote:Show nested quote +On May 17 2012 02:21 a176 wrote:
PA is the worst state to drive through. Why are cops so anal there? Everytime I drive through PA, you always come upto these trains of cars just leasurily following a trooper, because they're all shitfuck scared to pass them - even drive beside them. My father got ticketed there for having an 'incorrect speedo', from a canadian car. lol. I disagree, cops in NJ are worse because they tend to be sneaky and hide at different places, especially during the night to catch people speeding. One time, I saw a cop car on top of a hill, and sped towards a driver who was going to be ticketed for excessive speeding. Whenever I have a trip through NJ, I have to be careful about whether I should try to speed or not, unlike PA where I can usually go in short bursts up to 140 as a challenge. Though PA drivers are no better, especially during construction hours. A terrible experience that I had was going through a 2 mile stretch that took 30 minutes because of construction. Even though I couldn't do it, I wanted to get out of the car and started walking as my legs were getting restless from pressing the brake, and I didn't want to leave it on park.
actually the last time i set my gps to avoid the highway (on my way to virginia). there were alot of nice little towns and great scenery drives. and zero traffic 
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Hyrule19023 Posts
Yeah they don't seem to realize they have the same keep right except to pass law as we do :\
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On May 17 2012 02:21 a176 wrote:
PA is the worst state to drive through. Why are cops so anal there? Everytime I drive through PA, you always come upto these trains of cars just leasurily following a trooper, because they're all shitfuck scared to pass them - even drive beside them. My father got ticketed there for having an 'incorrect speedo', from a canadian car. lol.
Meh. I drove from New Jersey to Columbus, Ohio and back again for MLG... 9 hours each way- 18 hours round trip. Saw over a dozen cops inside my state during that trip; saw fewer than six outside of NJ. And I was only inside of NJ for about three hours total.
I've also gotten tickets for driving five (5) miles over the speed limit. Yes, "tickets" is a plural word. And I've gotten a written warning for having my college parking hangtag on my rearview mirror. And a spoken warning for changing lanes with my blinker on, because the cop wanted to make sure I was being careful (there were no other cars on the road).
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Hyrule19023 Posts
On May 17 2012 02:51 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On May 17 2012 02:21 a176 wrote:
PA is the worst state to drive through. Why are cops so anal there? Everytime I drive through PA, you always come upto these trains of cars just leasurily following a trooper, because they're all shitfuck scared to pass them - even drive beside them. My father got ticketed there for having an 'incorrect speedo', from a canadian car. lol. Meh. I drove from New Jersey to Columbus, Ohio and back again for MLG... 9 hours each way- 18 hours round trip. Saw over a dozen cops inside my state during that trip; saw fewer than six outside of NJ. And I was only inside of NJ for about three hours total. I've also gotten tickets for driving five (5) miles over the speed limit. Yes, "tickets" is a plural word. And I've gotten a written warning for having my college parking hangtag on my rearview mirror. And a spoken warning for changing lanes with my blinker on, because the cop wanted to make sure I was being careful (there were no other cars on the road).
Strict cops are why we are so much better at driving than Pennsylvanians though.
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On May 17 2012 02:59 tofucake wrote:Show nested quote +On May 17 2012 02:51 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On May 17 2012 02:21 a176 wrote:
PA is the worst state to drive through. Why are cops so anal there? Everytime I drive through PA, you always come upto these trains of cars just leasurily following a trooper, because they're all shitfuck scared to pass them - even drive beside them. My father got ticketed there for having an 'incorrect speedo', from a canadian car. lol. Meh. I drove from New Jersey to Columbus, Ohio and back again for MLG... 9 hours each way- 18 hours round trip. Saw over a dozen cops inside my state during that trip; saw fewer than six outside of NJ. And I was only inside of NJ for about three hours total. I've also gotten tickets for driving five (5) miles over the speed limit. Yes, "tickets" is a plural word. And I've gotten a written warning for having my college parking hangtag on my rearview mirror. And a spoken warning for changing lanes with my blinker on, because the cop wanted to make sure I was being careful (there were no other cars on the road). Strict cops are why we are so much better at driving than Pennsylvanians though.
Probably, but it's a hollow victory if I'm paying a higher insurance rate, not to mention pain-in-the-ass parkway and turnpike traffic 
I really just attribute my driving abilities to copious amounts of Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing as a youth. ♥
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On May 17 2012 03:05 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On May 17 2012 02:59 tofucake wrote:On May 17 2012 02:51 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On May 17 2012 02:21 a176 wrote:
PA is the worst state to drive through. Why are cops so anal there? Everytime I drive through PA, you always come upto these trains of cars just leasurily following a trooper, because they're all shitfuck scared to pass them - even drive beside them. My father got ticketed there for having an 'incorrect speedo', from a canadian car. lol. Meh. I drove from New Jersey to Columbus, Ohio and back again for MLG... 9 hours each way- 18 hours round trip. Saw over a dozen cops inside my state during that trip; saw fewer than six outside of NJ. And I was only inside of NJ for about three hours total. I've also gotten tickets for driving five (5) miles over the speed limit. Yes, "tickets" is a plural word. And I've gotten a written warning for having my college parking hangtag on my rearview mirror. And a spoken warning for changing lanes with my blinker on, because the cop wanted to make sure I was being careful (there were no other cars on the road). Strict cops are why we are so much better at driving than Pennsylvanians though. Probably, but it's a hollow victory if I'm paying a higher insurance rate, not to mention pain-in-the-ass parkway and turnpike traffic I really just attribute my driving abilities to copious amounts of Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing as a youth. ♥
You are prolly just granny shifting and not even double clutching like you should.
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Hyrule19023 Posts
On May 17 2012 03:43 FullNatural wrote:Show nested quote +On May 17 2012 03:05 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On May 17 2012 02:59 tofucake wrote:On May 17 2012 02:51 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On May 17 2012 02:21 a176 wrote:
PA is the worst state to drive through. Why are cops so anal there? Everytime I drive through PA, you always come upto these trains of cars just leasurily following a trooper, because they're all shitfuck scared to pass them - even drive beside them. My father got ticketed there for having an 'incorrect speedo', from a canadian car. lol. Meh. I drove from New Jersey to Columbus, Ohio and back again for MLG... 9 hours each way- 18 hours round trip. Saw over a dozen cops inside my state during that trip; saw fewer than six outside of NJ. And I was only inside of NJ for about three hours total. I've also gotten tickets for driving five (5) miles over the speed limit. Yes, "tickets" is a plural word. And I've gotten a written warning for having my college parking hangtag on my rearview mirror. And a spoken warning for changing lanes with my blinker on, because the cop wanted to make sure I was being careful (there were no other cars on the road). Strict cops are why we are so much better at driving than Pennsylvanians though. Probably, but it's a hollow victory if I'm paying a higher insurance rate, not to mention pain-in-the-ass parkway and turnpike traffic I really just attribute my driving abilities to copious amounts of Mario Kart and Diddy Kong Racing as a youth. ♥ You are prolly just granny shifting and not even double clutching like you should. I too can quote The Fast and the Furious.
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Ahahaha, wow, that sucks. Rubbernecking is the absolute worst when it comes to traffic. It constantly baffles me.
And you think PA is bad? Clearly, you haven't driven through Ohio. People out here love to pass each other while using cruise control, which would be fine if they weren't both going the same speed.
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FREEAGLELAND26781 Posts
tofucake drives scary though :3
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I heard Pennsylvania has really draconian rules about having your license out when you get pulled over.
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Finally another person who understands! I've been preaching for years about how awful PA drivers are and that NJ drivers really aren't worse than any other normal driver. DE has its fair share of idiot drivers, but most of the time when they do things I can see the reasoning, even if it's making douche bag moves. PA drivers just make no sense.
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I want to swap out my car for a big fuck off truck to run every PA and NY driver that's gonna be on our goddamn highway this summer. Fuck them all, forever.
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This is exactly what trains are for
Really, the main problem is that there is so much completely unnecessary traffic. Yes, most drivers are idiots, but that is not going to change in the foreseeable future. The only solution is public transport and/or fully automated driving - but suprisingly, usually the people that whine about driving the most are the most negative about both of these things (like they think that they are better than a computer. they are not).
At the end, I could even argue that those annoying experiences are good for the humanity as a whole, because the more people are annoyed with something, the more they would like to find a solution, but for some reason beyond me, it never works when driving a car is concerned and the public transportation is, even in Europe, getting actually mostly worse with time, not better.
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I have to commute over the Com. Barry every day, fuck that bridge with passion.
I find it hilarious though that when there's a lane with a red light marked over it, cars will actually keep the lane clear, even if it means traffic build up
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Maybe it's because I live there but I really haven't found NJ drivers to be all that bad. Sure every now and again there's someone a little wierd but you get that in any state.
In terms of traffic though, Washington DC takes the cake. Wow that was a nightmare.
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Hyrule19023 Posts
On May 17 2012 05:05 opisska wrote:This is exactly what trains are for Really, the main problem is that there is so much completely unnecessary traffic. Yes, most drivers are idiots, but that is not going to change in the foreseeable future. The only solution is public transport and/or fully automated driving - but suprisingly, usually the people that whine about driving the most are the most negative about both of these things (like they think that they are better than a computer. they are not). At the end, I could even argue that those annoying experiences are good for the humanity as a whole, because the more people are annoyed with something, the more they would like to find a solution, but for some reason beyond me, it never works when driving a car is concerned and the public transportation is, even in Europe, getting actually mostly worse with time, not better.
I am not better than a computer.
But I am better than everyone from Pennsylvania.
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In all honesty it seems pretty normal. I have been to regions of the country that have a certain characteristic of driving and there are cities/towns/counties with police forces that enforce to various degrees, but all in all, traffic is traffic, nothing special about it.
I have actually always been a little fascinated with how traffic forms in the first place, but never really explored it very far. Hard to get the whole picture on the road.
@DarkPlasmaBall: Didn't know your gf went here! :o
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Yeah, I'm from Pennsylvania and have to drive a lot for school. I feel your pain. Everybody is either retarded, or doing construction on the road
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On May 17 2012 07:01 RedJustice wrote:
@DarkPlasmaBall: Didn't know your gf went here! :o
Yeah she's at the vet school at UPenn She looooves it (but it's obviously kicking her ass, as medical schools often do.)
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lol as a driver in PA i just had to giggle at this. While I have some little experience driving anywhere else, this sounds like a pretty good description of tristate/I-95pverall lol.
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United States5162 Posts
It's a shame so many people come from Pennsylvania to Florida, because they clog up our roads and do the same damn shit. Everyday on my way home from work there's a stretch of freeway where they're doing roadwork and if I don't make 3 complete stops I feel as though I got lucky. It's not even like they're working on the road right then(they do night work), people just get nervous around safety cones/barrels and start tapping their brakes, which causes a chain reaction until a mile back were literally stopping on I75. It's annoys the hell out of me.
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I take the train to Philadelphia, don't have to deal with this nonsense.
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As a semi-frequent driver of I-95 in PA, I'd say your perception is a bit skewed. People are idiots on their way to work in the morning, thinking about the next 8 hours and whatnot. Every state has rubberneckers, PA drivers are just a bit more cautious with regards to speed. When I went to Connecticut a couple years ago, people drive 100mph on two-lane parkways like it's nothing. I've lived here in PA most my life, and I don't know anyone who does that gawking shit.
Something that PENNDOT has got to stop doing though, is placing those signs that tell you how long to certain exits. It's almost always a mile-to-minute ratio, but everyone slows down to read the goddamn sign, slowing down traffic. Why not just post a notice when something is actually different.
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The issue with the North-east is that there's a high percentage of aggressive drivers combined with a high percentage of elderly/those nearing retirement age who drive like they REALLY can't tell the accelerator or brake apart (It's the pedal on the RIGHT moron!) I especially remember seeing an old woman BRAKING while going up a steep hill on a local highway for absolutely, unquestionably, no fucking reason.
So I feel you, I'm from PA and there really are atrocious drivers in this state. Probably gonna have some heart issues because of how angry driving makes me...
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Breaking News: Most people are too stupid to be competent at anything.
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One things i love about the south is the amount of space we have. Legit my commute to highschool is about 10-15 minutes with traffic and a bad light, without that i have made it there in 5. Its amazing and its one thing i will sorely miss wherever i end up.
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I just drove ~6200 miles over the last 8 days, mainly from Ottawa to southwestern Ontario to Florida and then back to Ottawa. Fuck, there really are a lot of bad drivers in the US.
Small example while I was on the I 81 heading Northbound in West Virginia - There's almost no cars on the road, so I've got cruise on and I'm going ~5 above the speed limit and sticking in the right lane. Two cars are entering the highway from an on-ramp, and since they're going to merge onto the highway at roughly the same time as I am passing by that point, I switch into the left lane to make it easier for them to get onto the highway.
Suddenly, the blonde in the 2nd car that enters decides to try to overtake the car in front of her. We're side by side at this point, and she nearly runs me off the road.
Now, I'm not sure how many of you guys know what WV looks like, but it's a semi-mountainous region. There was virtually no shoulder on the road, and to the left of that narrow shoulder was a ~30 foot drop before landing right on the southbound
Of course I honked my horn at the bitch. She looked completely indifferent and gave a *shrug* while mouthing out "I'm sorry". She then proceeded to speed off, only to get caught in traffic at an off-ramp about 5 miles down the road, and her speeding antics didn't even allow her to get a single car forward in that line. Meanwhile, her face could have been the last one I ever had a chance of seeing. And she was definitely not pretty enough for that.
Tbh, I really didn't see a huge difference in "bad" drivers along the entire trip. Nothing really stood out that much, except Florida drivers were generally more dickish, and people in the Carolina's don't know how to park in a single parking spot, even when they're driving a smaller vehicle.
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Hyrule19023 Posts
It's much more obvious when you have to make the same trip 5 days a week. I'm not saying that other people are good drivers, but this blog is particularly about PA drivers.
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Now imagine you lived in PA, Tofucake is making PA drivers seem too competent. Thank GOD it didn't snow this year, because those morons are the worst morons.
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Korea (South)11575 Posts
I didn't know you could drive tofu.
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On May 17 2012 10:09 Bigtony wrote:
Fuck Pennsylvania.
I think it is important to note this.
Also, fuck 2 lane highways. Why does South Jersey have this on the GSP ughhhh
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Just be glad you guys don't live in the Washington DC area. I lived just outside of DC for about 16 years and the traffic around there is just unbelievable, particularly on 495 (DC's Beltway) and I-95. Not only is there a tremendous volume of cars on the road at all times, but the general attitude of drivers is "fuck everyone else, I'm getting where I need to go NOW!" So you see shit all the time where people will, for example, sit at a traffic light in the left turn lane for several minutes, only to flip on their right turn signal and proceed to cut off EVERYONE in the other lanes to make a right hand turn when the light changes. I've almost been mushed by tractor trailers, I've had to swerve out of the way of a car going the wrong direction on 495, people just generally can't drive up there.
I moved away from the DC area a few years ago but most of my family still lives there, and I absolutely dread having to drive back up there to visit them. Not because I have any problem with my family, it's just I have to prepare myself mentally for the drive because I know I'm gonna see some wild shit and I'll have to be ready for anything. On the plus side, I learned to drive there. And if you can drive in DC, you can drive anywhere.
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Hyrule19023 Posts
On May 17 2012 21:56 CaucasianAsian wrote:
I didn't know you could drive tofu.
I can. I'm amazing at it. Although it's hard to tell because I'm surrounded by idiots.
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I live in PA and just got my permit and seem to be the best driver in the state. And yeah fuck everyone here.
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Hyrule19023 Posts
On May 17 2012 23:47 Juggernaut477 wrote:
I live in PA and just got my permit and seem to be the best driver in the state. And yeah fuck everyone here.
While that may seem true, you are cursed by the fact that you live in PA. You will practice driving on amazingly terrible roads. Please learn the difference between Yield, Stop, and Merge; I beg you. Also, KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS. It's state law in PA and NJ (but not DE because fuck those guys). Always. Seriously. Keep right. In fact, until you have 5 years of driving experience, just never try to pass anyone, stay entirely in the right lane unless it's closed for some reason.
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On May 17 2012 22:32 Dopeyabyss wrote:
Just be glad you guys don't live in the Washington DC area. I lived just outside of DC for about 16 years and the traffic around there is just unbelievable, particularly on 495 (DC's Beltway) and I-95. Not only is there a tremendous volume of cars on the road at all times, but the general attitude of drivers is "fuck everyone else, I'm getting where I need to go NOW!" So you see shit all the time where people will, for example, sit at a traffic light in the left turn lane for several minutes, only to flip on their right turn signal and proceed to cut off EVERYONE in the other lanes to make a right hand turn when the light changes. I've almost been mushed by tractor trailers, I've had to swerve out of the way of a car going the wrong direction on 495, people just generally can't drive up there.
I moved away from the DC area a few years ago but most of my family still lives there, and I absolutely dread having to drive back up there to visit them. Not because I have any problem with my family, it's just I have to prepare myself mentally for the drive because I know I'm gonna see some wild shit and I'll have to be ready for anything. On the plus side, I learned to drive there. And if you can drive in DC, you can drive anywhere.
lol true stories. Especially if you can drive in DC and not die, you can drive anywhere.
I travel for work about twice a month to various other states, DC area is by far the worst. Take Tofucake's stories and multiply it by 4x as many people and gg. It's not uncommon here to have a three lane highway blocked (55mph speedlimit) and stuck going 30-35mph because three slow people are driving side by side going HUEHUEHUEHUE the whole time.
Pennsylvania drivers are probably 2nd, maybe 3rd on the list of shitfest drivers though. They are probably tied with NYC drivers but they are two different kinds of terrible drivers that it's hard to put one on top of the other. NJ isn't all that bad, though 90% of the time I am driving on NJ Turnpike or 95, you can generally get pretty zippy in there and a lot of people on the NJ Turnpike are good about the stay right thing.
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Good read, though this sounds like pretty standard traffic that I deal with.
If you think i-95 is frustrating you've never been on the 401 (in Ontario) at rush hour. Imagine a 100kmh highway, in which an easy 40-50 km's of it have cars moving no faster than 40 km/h. Every weekday it's like this at rush hour. At least you can drive normally a little bit?
Sounds pretty road rage inducing.
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Tennessee is about the same. It's like as soon as you cross that state line everyone becomes an incompetent moron.
It's actually quite incredible... you'll see some signs like "No Littering", "Work Zone: Fines Doubles", "Speed Limit 45", "Stay in Lane", etc. There are no marked lines on the road, lanes are uneven, and there are concrete barriers 3 inches on the side of you due to construction. And yet everyone and their mother is doing 80+ through there.
Then you see some jackass driving 90+, throwing trash out the window, changing lanes like he's auditioning for the next Fast and Furious movie, and a girl with a sign reading "HELP ME!" is visible in the back window. A few seconds later a police car passes you and you're like "Thank god, that prick is going to be arrested now". The police car catches up, waves at the prick, and speeds off.
Nobody in that state can drive for shit and I'm convinced they don't even have to take a test or anything to get a license. Easily tops DC for shittiest place to drive. Jersey is a close #3.
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Completely unrelated... I saw some seemingly drunk guy on a motorcycle yesterday. Here is a drawing of his traffic pattern:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/rMGvm.jpg)
A) Red light. He drove up on the sidewalk, almost running over a pedestrian, then drove through two bushes before getting back on the road and almost being hit by the front car in the turning lane (light had now turned green for us).
B) Red light. He slows down but fails to stop at the light and instead zig zags through the intersection. Luckily there we no cars coming at the time.
C) He randomly drives into oncoming traffic for a second.
D) Red light. He once again fails to stop, only this time he's nearly ran over by a car in the middle. He stops, walks his bike backwards to the line, then floors it (still red light). I lost track of him after this.
Point is people are retards.
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On May 18 2012 05:28 Serejai wrote:Completely unrelated... I saw some seemingly drunk guy on a motorcycle yesterday. Here is a drawing of his traffic pattern: A) Red light. He drove up on the sidewalk, almost running over a pedestrian, then drove through two bushes before getting back on the road and almost being hit by the front car in the turning lane (light had now turned green for us). B) Red light. He slows down but fails to stop at the light and instead zig zags through the intersection. Luckily there we no cars coming at the time. C) He randomly drives into oncoming traffic for a second. D) Red light. He once again fails to stop, only this time he's nearly ran over by a car in the middle. He stops, walks his bike backwards to the line, then floors it (still red light). I lost track of him after this. Point is people are retards.
I love you.
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Man that blows, but you don't know bad drivers until you've driven in southern california.
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Before you start topping each other for the worst drivers in the world, you should try something spicier. I have never been tgo southeastern Asia, but I heard stories. I was only a pedestrian in Egypt, but I can't even imagine to drive there for more than ten seconds without a crash (yet, there are almost no accidents at all, the traffic is only stupid, not too dangerous). But I get sometimes to drive in Argentina and the more educated people over there are sersiously scared about driving in their own country - and I can very much understand why....
In a global perspecive, US drivers are very nice
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We get this in sweden too. The ammount of traffic caused by stupid people with empty pointless lives that have to stop and look at something completely mundane just because it's out of the ordinary.
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Don't forget PA is filled with old-fucks who are awful drivers and are delaying death to their maximum ability.
Here in WA, have phases, a cycle, if you will, of how to drive on the interstate:
But first, some constants:
- on the whole, the left lane IS actually properly used as the passing lane, and the right lane usually the slowest
- on the whole, the average speeds is about 5 over.
- if there is a single cop on the road, EVERYONE EVERYONE EVERYONE slows down to 5 under for no reason, and I say no reason because 1) the cop has someone pulled over already and 2) cops clock you with their radar gun long before you can spot them and slow down
Anyway, the cycle:
- early morning, you can beat the to-Seattle/Renton traffic, people are usually going 5 to 10 over if they can. One asshole on a crotchrocket or bike weaves recklessly through traffic, often never making it more than a few car-lengths ahead
- morning (7 or later), the to-SEA/REN traffic crawls as you approach your destination. Random spurts of speedup, then long drawls of 2 mph. Carpool laners going about 65 and laughing their asses off
- pre-noon, people are usually at work, or at school, flow of traffic is fine, still lots and lots of cars, but most people going 65.
- 2:30 to 4, first and second waves of Boeing/industrial traffic make I-5 north a hell on Earth. Lot's of people using exit only lanes to cut off rolling traffic, Highway 2 exit traffic, lots of futile weaving, Murphy's Law, and so on. But if you're going towards Seattle from the North, the freeway is completely vacant, people are flying.
- 5:30 to 6:30, thick traffic heading towards SEA, occasional slowdowns especially closer to downtown, but not bad. Traffic going north still a bit beefy.
- "darkening," pre-10pm, people are flying, suddenly not going 70 or faster is a social crime. Tailgating, illegal use of carpool lane, high-beamers, honkers, a lot of very important people it seems.
- night, 10pm to 2am, everyone is going about 5 under, out of fear of being drunk, fear or state patrol, or perhaps out of simply being drunk themselves. People get really paranoid these hours. Traffic is thin enough where I stay in the passing lane and leave all these grandma's in the dust. I go 5 over everywhere if I can, regardless of time of day. At least I'm consistent.
- 2am to 4am, a good time to not be on the road. City cops, deputies, and patrol everywhere, and the only people driving are usually drunk or tired, so about as good as drunk. Roads are clear, but for good reason.
I feel a little better reading some of your complaints. I guess it's at least worse somewhere else 
PS, the more expensive the car, the bigger the asshole. An exception to the rule is the penis-compensator F-350/Titan/Ram3500. Oh, and shitty '90s civic rice cannons.
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On May 18 2012 05:55 JinDesu wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 05:28 Serejai wrote:Completely unrelated... I saw some seemingly drunk guy on a motorcycle yesterday. Here is a drawing of his traffic pattern: A) Red light. He drove up on the sidewalk, almost running over a pedestrian, then drove through two bushes before getting back on the road and almost being hit by the front car in the turning lane (light had now turned green for us). B) Red light. He slows down but fails to stop at the light and instead zig zags through the intersection. Luckily there we no cars coming at the time. C) He randomly drives into oncoming traffic for a second. D) Red light. He once again fails to stop, only this time he's nearly ran over by a car in the middle. He stops, walks his bike backwards to the line, then floors it (still red light). I lost track of him after this. Point is people are retards. I love you.
Dude that's nothing. Today I was driving and pulled up to a red light, and a biker just casually drove through it a few seconds after I was stopped, as if it were as green as the Hulk's ass. Didn't even look into the intersection before cruising through. Fortunately, no cars were passing at the time.
Here's an in-depth sketch of what happened:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/MJHPa.jpg)
Do they even have laws to follow? Seriously, fuck motorcyclists.
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Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare.
If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country.
(You wish I was kidding.)
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Shoulda told those dick fucks to get out the way....
Just sayin
P.S. can we be friends?
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I live in a part of Florida that is dense with elderly people. I see people driving for long distances in the wrong lane once a week... you have to keep your eyes peeled because one of them could be coming right at you at any moment.
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United States4796 Posts
I'm a Pennsylvania Driver.
Sorry.
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Hyrule19023 Posts
On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.)
I will fuck with a pickup no problem, as long as I actually have right of way. You guys don't want people crashing into your truck any more than someone in a compact wants someone crashing into their car.
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Hyrule19023 Posts
On May 18 2012 14:01 DivinO wrote:I'm a Pennsylvania Driver. Sorry.
It's okay. I offer driving lessons; $19.99 per one hour session. It's called Driving with tofu: A complete course on how to not fail at driving and life in general
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This thread makes me laugh and cry; all the markings of an Academy Award-winning movie.
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On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.)
Fuck yeah hook me up with that truck stop career.
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On May 18 2012 17:56 Grobyc wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.) Fuck yeah hook me up with that truck stop career.
::gasp:: The world's largest! That makes me want to travel to Iowa!
Welcome to Iowa. The Truck Stop State.
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On May 18 2012 16:16 tofucake wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.) I will fuck with a pickup no problem, as long as I actually have right of way. You guys don't want people crashing into your truck any more than someone in a compact wants someone crashing into their car.
Ah, but that's the thing, I actually obey the law. I just happen to drive a decent size, steel body thing, and people see it, and don't fuck with it unless there's room.
I also won't hit the brakes to avoid a wreck if it's someone else's fault, unless my kid is in the truck. Pretty funny to watch some clown get all pissed off because they can't force me to back off when it's my right of way.
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On May 18 2012 19:12 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 17:56 Grobyc wrote:On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.) Fuck yeah hook me up with that truck stop career. ::gasp:: The world's largest! That makes me want to travel to Iowa! Welcome to Iowa. The Truck Stop State.
You joke, but I80 and 380 are practically autobahns.
I'll take a less-than-noteworthy reputation as long as I get some of the least inconvenienced driving.
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On May 18 2012 22:39 Hnnngg wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 19:12 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On May 18 2012 17:56 Grobyc wrote:On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.) Fuck yeah hook me up with that truck stop career. ::gasp:: The world's largest! That makes me want to travel to Iowa! Welcome to Iowa. The Truck Stop State. You joke, but I80 and 380 are practically autobahns. I'll take a less-than-noteworthy reputation as long as I get some of the least inconvenienced driving.
It's inconvenienced by falling asleep and running off the road, because there's nothing to keep you awake.
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On May 18 2012 22:43 JingleHell wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 22:39 Hnnngg wrote:On May 18 2012 19:12 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:On May 18 2012 17:56 Grobyc wrote:On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.) Fuck yeah hook me up with that truck stop career. ::gasp:: The world's largest! That makes me want to travel to Iowa! Welcome to Iowa. The Truck Stop State. You joke, but I80 and 380 are practically autobahns. I'll take a less-than-noteworthy reputation as long as I get some of the least inconvenienced driving. It's inconvenienced by falling asleep and running off the road, because there's nothing to keep you awake.
I don't know, I think it's pretty difficult to be tired while driving when you're pushing triple digits in terms of mph.
And when you're going that fast (as per usual) you don't have time to go to sleep because you get to wherever you want to go in less time than it takes an average person to fall asleep.
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I actually just drove through Philly about a week ago for a concert, and I agree, the driving is horrendous. A lot of two-lane highway driving moving at around 8-18 mph on a Saturday afternoon. The drive took an extra hour to leave the city in an already eight hour drive.
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Philly is pretty bad to drive in, I'll give you that. But somehow, these morons have managed to fuck up just about every major interstate in the country! How can we stop this!?!?!
My solution: We start charging people a "time fee" based upon [X amount of money per minute] multiplied by [the total number of people who's time was just wasted] and make that person pay up. It'd be a great way to seriously discourage stupid accidents and hold-ups, which are the most common ones anyways. Maybe that fee would actually fix some of these horrible friggin roads I drive on every day too!
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Hyrule19023 Posts
I'd rather everyone just be jailed so I can get where I want to go hassle-free.
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On May 19 2012 00:25 tofucake wrote:
I'd rather everyone just be jailed so I can get where I want to go hassle-free.
Yeah, but imagine the tax rates?
My proposed solution is actually to publically remove all traffic laws. All the people that survived the following two weeks by staying inside would probably not be the ones you needed to worry about on the road to begin with, and we're all happy. Also makes the US population much more sustainable.
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On May 18 2012 16:16 tofucake wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.) I will fuck with a pickup no problem, as long as I actually have right of way. You guys don't want people crashing into your truck any more than someone in a compact wants someone crashing into their car.
Truckasaurus will win any fight he gets into. 1/2 ton pickup truck that already has body damage on all four sides gets people out of the way pretty dang quick, even when I don't have right of way. Merging onto a highway people scramble to get out of my way even though I'm just trying to merge properly (at speed and not at 25mph below the highway speed)
Everyone is always like HOLY SHIT THAT TRUCK IS DRIVING WAY TOO FAST HE MUST BE OUT OF CONTROL and then there's like 6 cars worth of space in the right lane for me to merge into gg.
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So I was driving on 95 N a couple nights ago after crossing through the city on 676. And there was something of an accident, parts all over the road and one car got really wrecked, but certainly navigable. There were like 4 people in front of me that had no idea what to do and just basically stopped, but they did figure it out after 20 or 30 seconds. I just drove right on through the stuff, and luckily it was 3 AM so there wasn't any real traffic. That was my first time getting a sense of how Philly drivers react to accidents that are right in front of them. And considering all of them were probably going home from a bar, I don't think they did a bad job.
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Hyrule19023 Posts
The do the same thing when there's a guy with a flat tire pulled over on the shoulder
So no, they are just idiots
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On May 19 2012 01:51 tofucake wrote:
The do the same thing when there's a guy with a flat tire pulled over on the shoulder
So no, they are just idiots
That happens down here in Texas too. It's not exclusive to your area. The best is when people seem to not have the slightest clue how to handle local weather conditions. Like in Colorado, watching people not have a clue how to drive on snow. What the hell, people.
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You guys need to drive in Southeast Asia. Or better yet, China. They have the most incompetent, rude and stupid drivers in the world.
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On May 19 2012 02:06 andrewlt wrote:
You guys need to drive in Southeast Asia. Or better yet, China. They have the most incompetent, rude and stupid drivers in the world.
Meh. Southwest Asia is pretty bad too. Luckily, when I was on the road there, we ALWAYS had right of way, by virtue of 50 cals mounted on our trucks.
I think it's more just a universal truth that drivers are bad.
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Universally, yes, no where has "good drivers" unless there are next to no other people on the road.
Some places are certainly worse than others though.
tbh I'd rather just train + walk every day. DC Metro is pretty nice, I wouldn't mind using it as my daily commute.
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On May 18 2012 22:21 JingleHell wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 16:16 tofucake wrote:On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.) I will fuck with a pickup no problem, as long as I actually have right of way. You guys don't want people crashing into your truck any more than someone in a compact wants someone crashing into their car. Ah, but that's the thing, I actually obey the law. I just happen to drive a decent size, steel body thing, and people see it, and don't fuck with it unless there's room. I also won't hit the brakes to avoid a wreck if it's someone else's fault, unless my kid is in the truck. Pretty funny to watch some clown get all pissed off because they can't force me to back off when it's my right of way.
I think that's kind of silly because
1. They might have known they fucked up and it was their fault. i.e. actual accident. Now it's not even funny and just sucks.
2. Now you have to go through their insurance to fix any damage to your truck, wasting your time and delaying you in whatever you were going to do that day.
Knowing both of those and still not preventing the accident seems kind of... dumb.
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On May 19 2012 03:21 Grobyc wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 22:21 JingleHell wrote:On May 18 2012 16:16 tofucake wrote:On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.) I will fuck with a pickup no problem, as long as I actually have right of way. You guys don't want people crashing into your truck any more than someone in a compact wants someone crashing into their car. Ah, but that's the thing, I actually obey the law. I just happen to drive a decent size, steel body thing, and people see it, and don't fuck with it unless there's room. I also won't hit the brakes to avoid a wreck if it's someone else's fault, unless my kid is in the truck. Pretty funny to watch some clown get all pissed off because they can't force me to back off when it's my right of way. I think that's kind of silly because 1. They might have known they fucked up and it was their fault. i.e. actual accident. Now it's not even funny and just sucks. 2. Now you have to go through their insurance to fix any damage to your truck, wasting your time and delaying you in whatever you were going to do that day. Knowing both of those and still not preventing the accident seems kind of... dumb.
I'm a stay at home dad with a vindictive streak. The time and inclination aren't huge issues.
And I'm not talking about people just "fucking up", so much as people who think I should yield so they can turn left across traffic out of a stop sign. I'm talking about people who seem to think when they're merging into traffic from the on ramp, that if they spot eight inches between me and the car in front of me, it's my job to yield. I'm talking about people who are at best far too inattentive to be driving, and at worst, the biggest sort of assholes on the road. They can go fuck themselves.
It's not like I get in a crazy number of wrecks this way. I just piss off a lot of people who seem to think they should be able to take right of way by force from someone with more nerve and a bigger, sturdier vehicle.
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What did your job say when you came in so late? Did you just tell them it was traffic?
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Hyrule19023 Posts
I'm a consultant. I do what I want.
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driving 18 wheelers in downtown boston is worse and then dealing with motherfuckers blazing by when the signs for 2 miles have said LEFT LANE ENDS - MERGE and they just keep coming and aslo trying to a climb a steep grade and doing good in 8 gear, only to have some cockbag merge with no signal right in front of you and you need to brake and start the climb in 5th gear fucker fuckhead.
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Baltimore, USA22251 Posts
Ahhhhhhhhahahaha, as a Marylander who likes to speed with a 45 minute commute, the majority of which is down I-95, I empathize completely. Holy FUCK @ PA and NJ drivers (for different reasons).
My road rage has subsided with age though so I handle it better now. But luckily, I work off hours so I generally miss all the traffic and stay a happy camper. Every now and then though I need to come in during normal hours and proceed to curse every single bitch on a cell phone, old fucker drifting in and out of lanes, idiots who jump out in front of me coming down only to go the same speed as the person next to them, and TBH women in-their-own-world-and-apparently-the-only-one-on-the-road.
I sooo couldn't work normal hours.
On May 19 2012 13:29 WniO wrote:
driving 18 wheelers in downtown boston is worse and then dealing with motherfuckers blazing by when the signs for 2 miles have said LEFT LANE ENDS - MERGE and they just keep coming and aslo trying to a climb a steep grade and doing good in 8 gear, only to have some cockbag merge with no signal right in front of you and you need to brake and start the climb in 5th gear fucker fuckhead.
I always feel horrible for truck drivers and try to be extra courteous to 'em... drives me absolutely crazy when someone blocks them from merging on and off a ramp as if the truck driver has nearly as much of a chance to adjust as the car does.
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Dude, nothing is worse than a CT driver.
Like... NOTHING.
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I always hated driving in NY and PA.
I saw this title and have been avoiding this because the only thing I could imagine would be in the body was "don't do it" instead you made how awful these people are really funny. Well done.
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On May 19 2012 21:34 vx70GTOJudgexv wrote:
Dude, nothing is worse than a CT driver.
Like... NOTHING.
Seeing as I live in Philly ( I rarely drive now, though, only out of necessity due to no insurance... ) and I used to live in VT/MA, I can agree with this so easily.
CT < PA < NJ in terms of driving quality, easily. And inside Philadelphia, people get dumber than Boston drivers. It's incredible.
The East Coast outside of New England in general has awful drivers, I suspect...
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Whatever you do don't drive in New York City.... My Dad was driving me and my Mom around New York City to find Pasty's a famous italian restaurant and all these drivers would do random pulling in front of you without signling to turn and just cut us off and forced my dad to drive like the locals do just so we get around New York City :\
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On May 18 2012 22:21 JingleHell wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 16:16 tofucake wrote:On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.) I will fuck with a pickup no problem, as long as I actually have right of way. You guys don't want people crashing into your truck any more than someone in a compact wants someone crashing into their car. Ah, but that's the thing, I actually obey the law. I just happen to drive a decent size, steel body thing, and people see it, and don't fuck with it unless there's room. I also won't hit the brakes to avoid a wreck if it's someone else's fault, unless my kid is in the truck. Pretty funny to watch some clown get all pissed off because they can't force me to back off when it's my right of way.
This is actually interesting. Is that really the law in the US?
Because here (and I believe it is common in Europe), you are legally obligated to avoid the collision, if you can. Even if it is not technically your fault (someone crossed a red light, for example), if you do not brake, you are also guilty. So with this approach, you won't get very far in here ...
As a side remark for several people that mentioned that drivers are bad everywhere: seriously, visit Germany and rent a car there. You will understand the difference. Even in Norway, with all the draconian fees and what not, people are generally bad (only just bad and slow).. but Germans, they have the natural sense for order (with some obvious exceptions, of course).
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On May 21 2012 07:29 opisska wrote:Show nested quote +On May 18 2012 22:21 JingleHell wrote:On May 18 2012 16:16 tofucake wrote:On May 18 2012 11:35 JingleHell wrote:Heh. This reminds me yet again of why I love my truck, and hate my wife's car. Very few dumbasses fuck with my truck in traffic. It DOES happen, but it's rare. If it's any consolation, I have yet to find the state where people don't drive like this. Except Iowa and Nebraska. Actually, I assume the 6 people who live in those states still find ways to drive like this, I just haven't seen it happen because they were all busy hanging out at Iowa's #1 tourist attraction, the biggest truck stop in the country. ( You wish I was kidding.) I will fuck with a pickup no problem, as long as I actually have right of way. You guys don't want people crashing into your truck any more than someone in a compact wants someone crashing into their car. Ah, but that's the thing, I actually obey the law. I just happen to drive a decent size, steel body thing, and people see it, and don't fuck with it unless there's room. I also won't hit the brakes to avoid a wreck if it's someone else's fault, unless my kid is in the truck. Pretty funny to watch some clown get all pissed off because they can't force me to back off when it's my right of way. This is actually interesting. Is that really the law in the US? Because here (and I believe it is common in Europe), you are legally obligated to avoid the collision, if you can. Even if it is not technically your fault (someone crossed a red light, for example), if you do not brake, you are also guilty. So with this approach, you won't get very far in here ... As a side remark for several people that mentioned that drivers are bad everywhere: seriously, visit Germany and rent a car there. You will understand the difference. Even in Norway, with all the draconian fees and what not, people are generally bad (only just bad and slow).. but Germans, they have the natural sense for order (with some obvious exceptions, of course).
How exactly do you enforce that law? Didn't have time. Car next to me. Car in the oncoming lane. A law like that essentially makes every other traffic law legally optional. "It was their fault, officer, I ran the red light, but he should have seen me coming and stopped."
No idea if we have some half baked law like that here or not, but the fact is, I'm not going to risk 6 other kinds of worse wreck to avoid getting sideswiped by some idiot who thinks I'm obliged to yield because he's an asshole.
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Hyrule19023 Posts
If it's a yield, you're in the right. If it's a merge, you actually are required to yield provided he's not trying to get in front of you behind another guy who just merged in.
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On May 21 2012 07:58 tofucake wrote:
If it's a yield, you're in the right. If it's a merge, you actually are required to yield provided he's not trying to get in front of you behind another guy who just merged in.
Oh, I'm talking average jackass A who cuts me off. None of whom signal, which makes it utterly moot, since I didn't know they wanted to merge.
Frankly, our traffic laws are such a moronic mess that I just go by the basics, and if someone wants in, they can damn well signal and not try to fit a 12 foot car into an 8 foot gap.
Also, that may be local, most of our traffic is state by state law, not federal.
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Mmm, signalling has becoming rarer and rarer around the places I drive.
Apparently the faster you drive, the bigger car you have and the louder music you are playing, the less obligated you are to signal.
Oh, and I actually see girls & slutty looking women put their makeup on while driving with their knees 15 mph above the speed limit. This shit pisses me off the most. I have never literally felt an urge this bad to cut them off, stop, drag them out of their car and commit bloody homicide with my fist.
It's amazing with so many idiot drivers there's still very few accidents per mile driven in the united states. I guess the cars have gotten a lot better and more idiotproof. I think we need to remove seat belts and airbags to let the problem solve itself.
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EPT
