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From: mom@sftri.UUCP (Mark Modig)
Newsgroups: net.auto
Subject: Re: ignorance and high beams
Message-ID: <407@sftri.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Apr-85 23:54:12 EST
Article-I.D.: sftri.407
Posted: Wed Apr 17 23:54:12 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 18-Apr-85 08:14:05 EST
References: <109@pyuxh.UUCP> <1458@sunybcs.UUCP> <400@sftri.UUCP> <976@vax1.fluke.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Summit N.J.
Lines: 49

> In article <400@sftri.UUCP> mom@sftri.UUCP (Mark Modig) writes:
> >> 
> >When some nut comes barelling along the highway behind me (which is
> >usual, since I normally try to keep the car around 50 on freeways 
> >for various reasons, all of which seem worthwhile to me), flashing
> >
> >of the way.. SAFELY.
> 
> Mark, you have your worrk cut out for you.  Try to convince me that driving
> 5 mph slower than the preponderance of traffic is safe.  It seems that you
> are creating a situation where large numbers of cars must pass you and it seems
> to be a problem for at least some of them. Another question is; if you are
> only going 50 shouldn't you be glued to the right hand lane?  In this state
> the only people driving 50 (barring poor weather) are those that can't drive
> faster.  If you are in the right lane I imagine that most cars pass you on the
> left and your diatribe is meaningless.  If you are driving this slow in one of
> the other lanes you probably deserve one of the cute treatments recently
> discussed, do you prefer lasers or ICBMs? 

Generally, I drive in the right hand lane.  I am not a masochist,
and I realise that a lot of people like to drive faster than I do.
Fine.  That's their problem.  They can judge what speed is safe for
them; I will judge what speed is safe for me.  A lot of my highway
driving takes place on two lane roads over hilly terrain that are
heavily used by trucks.  Needless to say, these suckers sometimes are
not exactly keeping up with the flow of traffic, especially when
they are going up hills.  So, rather than sit behind the truck, I
choose to pass.  Because this frequently occurs going uphill ,and
the trucks can be pretty long, it can take a fair amount of time to
pass, especially if the road is fairly crowded and you can't get
back into the right lane quickly.  This is a typical sort of situation
in which trouble occurs.  I don't feel that it is asking too much to
use the left hand lane to pass-- after all, that's what it's there
for, isn't it?

Also, a lot of people drive slower than you might think in this sort
of terrain, particularly when the traffic is heavy.  I like to keep
a constant speed of about 50 to 55 regardless, unless conditions
dictate otherwise.

As to whether I prefer lasers or ICBMs, I really prefer neither; I
would just like to be left alone on the road and be rid of those
people who seem compelled to play games at high speed.  I nearly
lost one friend who liked to toy with other drivers on the road, but
he got lucky-- he only ended up in a body cast for a year and now
walks with a limp.

Mark Modig
ihnp4!sftri!mom