Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!floyd!vax135!ariel!houti!kdh From: kdh@houti.UUCP (K.HUNTER) Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Re: 55mph & common courtesy Message-ID: <365@houti.UUCP> Date: Thu, 4-Aug-83 13:06:01 EDT Article-I.D.: houti.365 Posted: Thu Aug 4 13:06:01 1983 Date-Received: Thu, 4-Aug-83 17:16:54 EDT Lines: 46 WRT the following: ... I think that I can safely say that the majority of us drivers who resort to getting close to the {G, g}uh`y in front of them as a hint to please pull over to the right have at that point gone through the normal hints - (getting moderately close, quick flick headlights...) only to be ignored or somehow not seen. (J. Morton) Respectfully, I must disagree with this point. In my experience, which includes driving from New Jersey, New York, and a LOT in Mass (I first got my license there) I have seen relatively few of the 90-mph-er's who do that. Most of the ones I have encountered roar right up to about 3 feet off your bumper, pause there, presumably waiting for you to pull over through the car which is cruising on your right, and, if you don't within 3.8 milliseconds, turn on the high beams. I DO make it a point to pull over under such circumstances, but I get highly annoyed that these people will not let me have the time to safely pull out of their way, without speeding up to their speed to get around the car to my right, or cutting him/her off sharply. This is of particular annoyance in heavy traffic, when it may be nearly impossible to pull to the right, a fact of which these people must be aware. Which brings me to my own personal pet peeve. Why is it that you (that's a global, generic, not personal "you") people who claim to be able to drive safely at high speed, to get less tired, etc., don't tend to pass safely? In the circumstance mentioned above, I have yet to see a driver who doesn't begin to pass me when I have only about half pulled over. This applies to the 90-mph-up-the-middle-lane-pull-left-to-get-around-me people too. The net result of this is that your car comes within about 1.5 feet of mine (.5 meters, sorry), a distance which not only makes me highly nervous, but which is an extreme safety hazard to me should something happen in front of me. (This actually happened - I was pulling over, when I saw a HUGE pothole (the car I was pulling in behind swerved around it) and thus pulled a foot or so back into my original lane (which I had only partially left at this point) to avoid being creamed. Lo and behold, I find myself married to the front bumper of the Caddie which was trying to get around me). Moral: There are those of us out here who don't like to exceed 60mph, but who are perfectly willing to get out of your way if given sufficient (a few seconds) time to do it safely. Please let us do so before you resume your previous velocity. I drive a Pinto and don't want to be rear-ended, Kevin Hunter