[geeks] RE: [rescue] fans fans fans...

[Kris Kirby]

On Fri, 21 Jun 2002, Dave McGuire wrote:
>   Hey man, don't complain.  The spirit of Darwin helps us from above. ;)
>
>      -Dave
>       Fast but non-idiotic, non-rude driver

I'm sure a few people now think of me as rude. Last trip into BHM, AL, I
changed lanes and broke traffic so a *crane* could get over. See, ALDOT
decided to make all the trucks move to the left-hand lane in the
construction zone (15 miles) before BHM. When they get to BHM, they all
have to move to the right-hand lane. Couple this with idiots that cannot
grok the idea that `if the truck lane is the *left* lane, the *left* lane
is the *slow* lane'. So you wind up with your usual group of speeders
trying to push the folks in the right-hand lane even faster and the folks
in the right-hand lane not realizing they should move left!

I have a few uncles who drive trucks. I'm also aware of backlash in the
trucking community about the way `four-wheelers'(0) drive. Being that I've
spent a number of days over the last two months on the interstate, often
drafting those trucks when I could. A few of them indicated to me that
they did not want me back there. Others ignored me. But I've learned how
to do this right; watch as far up under the truck as you can, watch his
brakelights and turn signals. Be ready to panic stop and be certain you
can stop faster than he can.

If I'm drafting a truck, and he puts on his turn signal and can't
immediately move over, I will change lanes and block traffic for him. It's
not polite, but it makes his job a little easier and confers some sort of
benefit for allowing me to ride in right behind his bumper. My car has the
aerodynamics of a box on wheels.

I like to apply logic to my driving. It makes much more sense. Ignore the
speed limit, everyone does already. If you're not the fastest moving thing
in the left-hand lane, move right. Those rules make life a lot easier to
deal with.

I've had conversations at $ORK[-2] with factory workers who believe that
if they are doing the speed limit in the left-hand lane, You just have to
deal with it. I tried to reason with them: "What if a road-rager comes
along and gets behind you? What if he rams you?" "Not my problem." "How is
getting injured or possibly killed not your problem?" No answer.

I try to interject a litle sensiblity into things; as humans, we are very
unrespectful of others rights on the highway and carelessly operate motor
vehicles in manners we know to be unsafe. How many times have you seen an
SUV get right on someone's bumper, knowing that if the driver in front of
them tapped the brakes, they wouldn't even have the time to notice, let
alone react. I try to maintain three to five carlength of space in between
me and the car in front of me on the interstate or any other time I am
moving in excess of 50 MPH. Time and time again, people want to close the
gap. Time and time again, I back off. It's waaay too easy to get yourself
killed and take someone with you than most people realize.

I, for one, would like to be around a little bit longer.

(08/22/79)

(0): Cars, pickups, SUVs

--
Kris Kirby, KE4AHR          | TGIFreeBSD... 'Nuff said.
<kris at nospam.catonic.net>   | IM: KrisBSD | HSV, AL.
-------------------------------------------------------
"Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony."