A&Q about Lotus
Q:
Originally Posted by Raynman
I guess the California Highway Patrol wants to see Lotus Elise driving in the slow lane going 65, in a jungle of SUV's where no one can see me and every one else is driving and average of 80 MPH.
My first ticket (over 35 years ago) was on the freeway in Southern California. I was in my white '64 Triumph TR-4 sports car. I was traveling with the flow of traffic in the middle of the pack. I was not changing lanes and getting around people - just traveling with the flow.
When the cop pulled me over, I asked "Why me? Everyone else was doing the same speed!" He pulled down his mirrored sun glasses and looked me right in the eye and said "You were the one in the white sports car". I figured out a lot of things in that moment, and it's been true for the last 35 years...
A:
When driving an Elise, drive really fast. Keep your eyes open . Be aware of your surroundings. If you get a ticket, thanks the officer and move on. That's life!
A:
Yeah and when you're driving really fast, drive with tony; cuz the cops will be more interested in pulling over the guy doing over 2x the speed limit than you
A:
The cops should be out to get the ones who weave in and out in an effort to beat all the other traffic.
Phoenix area freeways are getting to be just as bad, or worse, than SoCal freeways.
Strange phenomenon I've noticed... often, the right lane is moving fastest because most people are trying for the left lanes with the idea they'll be faster, but the added congestion actually makes them slower.
Another strange phenomenon... traffic density waves. Since most vehicles have higher absolute acceleration stopping than speeding up, most slow, high density "knots" in traffic tend to move in the opposite direction of traffic flow (there's also a tendency for "standing waves" near major junctions). If you are aware of these, you can sometimes plan your strategy through high density areas by looking far ahead into the dense areas. That's how I discovered that the right lane usually flows better in those areas. Once you get past the "crest" of one of these dense waves, it's usually smooth driving until hit the next one.
A:
My thoughts if anyone cares to read:
Posters who are lecturing about not driving in the #1 lane except for passing have no clue what the traffic scenario is like in California. It's a beautiful concept, and one that would aid in cutting down congestion IF everyone abided, but it's not practical to believe you are going to change millions of drivers habits and perceived needs.
CHP and any officer who is trolling the freeways looking to pick off one speeding car when 80+% of all cars are travelling the same speed as the car he/she just pulled over is wasting everyone's time and doing nothing but generating ill will towards cops and the perceived notion that they have quotas to drum up revenue for their municipalities. It's like they're sharks in a school of fish. The one unlucky fish gets picked off while all others dart away.
I see nothing wrong with driving in the #1 lane as long as that person moves out of the way when faster traffic is approaching. People need to be more aware of all traffic around them including the speck in the mirror approaching from behind. Ideally every car that uses the #1 passing lane would move over immediately after the passing manuever. Gee, what a concept; one so simple and yet would be so effective in cutting down on congestion. Too bad the majority of drivers out there are clueless.
Sorry you got a ticket for driving at the pace of traffic. It's bad luck that eventually catches up to most of us. I would never believe anyone who would say, "I've never driven over the speed limit in my life."
RacyTracy, 80 to 85mph is the average cruising speed on many California freeways. Oh, and the speed limits are 65mph now. 55mph, while those spots do exist, are few and far between. We even have some freeway spots where the limit is 70mph now. The driver doing 55 mph while 75% of traffic is doing 80 mph is the one car causing a hazard. We can only hope that driver is squatting in the rightmost lane of traffic. The car doing the limit in the #1 lane while 75% of traffic around him/her is cruising at 80mph is creating a very dangerous situation and in my book should be cited for impeding the flow of traffic (that law does exist).
A:
Originally Posted by m3m750
I think some of the "left lane is for passing only" folks need to spend some quality time on the freeways of southern California. All lanes are busy pretty much all the time. In that environment I prefer to stick to the left lane as it cuts in half the number of idiots I need to worry about lanechanging into me, plus it give me the shoulder to work with should evasive action become suddenly necessary. When driving through the more rural areas, I use the left lane just for passing.
Those people REALLY need to come up to Oregon for a bit! I am a native Oregonian and I must say...the drivers suck! Going up Hwy 26 out West of Portland, the ONLY open lane is the far RIGHT lane. Actually, at least they leave it open. My contention is this...the farther north you go, the worse the drivers get AND the uglier the girls are. Washington is worse and still Alaska worse than that. People here SLOW DOWN to merge??? You'd get taken out in CA for that! I love the way Californian's drive!
A:
A coworker of mine proposed this theory about drivers in the SF Bay Area. Everyone living here (very loose generality, but go with it) is from out of state or from another country, mostly india, china, russia, vietnam and the philipines. The theory goes like so: since everyone is from everywhere, everybody brings their own bad driving habits from their part of the world and brings it into the Bay Area. That makes for a big melting pot of really bad, unpredictable driving. I'd say drivers in LA are much better than those in the Bay Area.
All I gotta say is beware the 40 something chinese woman driving a minivan!!
Some drivers are so hesitant and scared, they're just plain dangerous! And the more scared they are, the more likely they are to be driving an impenetrable tank like a Hummer.
A:
Those are also the people that have nearly run over me half a dozen times in a radioactive KG Elise! Go figure.
A:
Radioactive KG eh? Good idea for a plate
The plate "RDIOKTV" is still available in California... The better spellings for it were taken
A:
PP, while there may be some merit to your argument, the blame has to lie with our simple DMV requirements for a driver's license. And how about the ridiculous notion that a driver's test can be given in a foreign language?!?
A:
Man... Some of you guys should try driving in some Atlanta traffic. It would probably be a rude awakening.
-Whit
A:
Originally Posted by raggedy1
I see nothing wrong with driving in the #1 lane as long as that person moves out of the way when faster traffic is approaching.
This is wrong. WHY do people feel the need to drive in the #1 lane??? I've never driven in California south of Carmel so I don't know what it's like - but in other areas of the country, one should avoid camping out in the left lane. It's wrong and selfish. We're trying to have a society here.
A:
Mini, read the rest of my post. It's not practical in congested areas to leave the #1 lane open. Doing so would only lead to more congestion since the areas we're talking about are short on lanes already. During commute hours the #1 lane turns into an HOV lane in some areas and you can see how it contributes to congestion. The HOV lane as very few cars while every other lane is stop-and-go. This would lead one to make the simple conclusion that the open #1 lane would alleviate some of the congestion in the other lanes. I agree that in rural areas the #1 lane should be left open for passing only.
I never condoned "camping out" in the #1. In fact if you were to map out what I hap written you would see that if every car moved out of the way for oncoming traffic in the #1 lane then effectively it would be a "passing only" lane.
One of the many problems with drivers are that I believe only 10% understand "slower traffic keep right." These signs are posted everywhere but does the average driver really understand it? Heck, around here a good number of drivers don't even speak or write English!!!
A:
Originally Posted by zcar222
Man... Some of you guys should try driving in some Atlanta traffic. It would probably be a rude awakening.
-Whit
Been there done that - the Bay area is much much worse. Though the low speed limit in ATL (55) makes speeding tickets much more expensive over there
A:
Originally Posted by bli8
I just feel more invisible in the other lanes. The left most lane is for passing only.
Exactly!!! That's another reason I only use the left lane for passing. People who drive in the left lane all the time are greatly increasing the odds that they will get a speeding ticket.
A:
same thing happened to someone last week here. They were pulled over for speeding when they were clearly not.
She needs to open her f*ckin' eyes. How fast was she going to catch up to you? 100mph? If you were going 85 she would have to be going well over that to catch up to you. Bullsh*t. She was doing 85 to catch up which means you were in the 60mph range. Pace my nuts. I always avoid driving in the fastlane whenever I can also. Cops look for speeders there all the time. When slower lanes are vacant, I move into them and still travel the same speed. Good luck getting it resolved. I would fight it.
They better not play games like that on me when I get my car. Homie don't play dat. I'll even bop them over the head with my long stuffed sock.
A:
california driving.
also watching 'LA story' helps.
chilling out helps the most.
A:
Originally Posted by SweetDaddyD
When are the going to change the motto's on police cars nationwide to better represent what they are really about? To serve and protect? My A55. They should say "to GENERATE, GENERATE, GENERATE, revenue"
I think the motto on police cars should say "Police: Tax-Collector with a Gun"
A:
I don't see how you guys can complain, on Maui we don't even HAVE a passing lane, we've got slow and slower! If you want to go fast you have to get up very early. Shay2nak, will you ever get a Lotus???
Aloha,
Thomas Praetzel
Livin life in the slow lane, Maui time, happy 666!
Think I have to go do some devil worshipping now, playing both sides of the field can't be that bad
A:
Originally Posted by Thomas Praetzel
Shay2nak, will you ever get a Lotus???
LOL. Yes, I finally can get one...it seems. Order in a few months. I'll probably get it Nov/Dec.