So, I was all gun ho about writing a blog about cars and driving and then on a very sad day in July I came into a corner a bit too fast on cold tires and ended up running over a tree with my Subaru. yes the tree was only about 5 inches thick near the base of the trunk, so I took the entire thing out.
I ended up making out pretty good on the insurance and bought the car back. It is currently sitting in my garage as a daily reminder of how one brief moment of not paying close attention behind the wheel can lead to disaster. My hopes are to save some money and start fixing her back up. She is paid for free and clear, and if it came down to it I could part her out or sell the complete car for well more than I bought her back from the insurance for.
Being a car fanatic, it has taken me this long to get back in the mood to talk cars and driving and put it all down on paper, so to speak.
Something happened last night that prompted me to get back into action and hopefully start writing on a more regular basis again.
Last night after dinner My wife and I take our dog for a walk around the neighborhood. I live on a street that has a 30mph speed limit, but people who travel down the hill from the east tend to zoom in around 50-60mph because the speed limit further east is 45mph, and there are no houses that have driveways right into the street. Personally i feel the speed limit should be 25mph cause I have to back my car out into it everyday, kids ride their bikes on the sidewalk, etc, etc.
So we get up the street a bit and right as we are approaching the 30mph speed limit sign a small dog across the street gets loose from his owners. I know this because all of a sudden I hear someone screaming for the dog to stop. It would seem the little guy saw us and our dog and wanted to come say hello.
As the dog enters the street I also see a small Hyundai jamming down the hill going way above 30mph, if I had to estimate at min he was going 50. The dog ran right in front of the car not 15 feet from us and got plowed. A piece of plastic from the underside of the car even came loose. The driver never even slowed down, though he did turn around and come back.
Poor little guy was twitching and bleeding from his head. Two men came out into the road to get him while my wife slowed another speeding idiot heading down the hill to make sure the dog was not hit again.
One of the owners picked up the dog and carried him to the sidewalk while the other was frantically screaming out in agony over the loss of his little buddy.
Shelly and I both felt sooo bad for them and the little dog. It still brings tears to my eyes now re-living that entire scene. It happened so fast yet I remember it happening in slow motion.
I really wish the city would do something extra to slow people down, but I fear a human will have to be injured before anything is done. There was a portable radar machine that showed the speed limit out there a few months ago and that seemed to really slow people down, but the second it left the speeds went back up.
I guess people just don't care to notice the speed limits and why they are slower in neighborhoods, unless they live in those neighborhoods.
Please, please slow down when driving in neighborhoods, I can only imagine how much worse that situation could have been if it was a child who ran out there.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Driver and Brake Pedal, A love story.
I am of the opinion there is too much brake dust in the world. Drivers are always slowing or stopping for the wrong reasons.
Take the person who drives with both feet, the brake lights are on whether you are speeding up, slowing down, turning, maintaining the same speed or stopping. Do you understand how confused the people behind you are? And what happens if a squirrel runs in front of your car and you decide to come to a sudden stop. POW! and according to the insurance the two footed monster is not to blame. Why is there not a law that allows the CHP to pull these morons over, remove their drivers license and have the vehicle towed for the safety of everyone else on the road. There should be.
The next version of the Brake Pedal lover is the person who seems to be in a hurry to go nowhere, you have seen it before. Gas - Brake - Gas - Brake, etc. They speed up and close the gap on the car in front to less then one car length and then have to brake vigorously to avoid running into them, and then the second they have slowed enough for 2 car lengths to form they are back on the gas again, closing that gap. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a fan of aggressive driving and closing the gap to keep someone from cutting me off, but performing this inchworm move forward and back is merely and exercise in futility. I want to be able to have a conversation with this driver and ask exactly what they are trying to accomplish.
I must admit, I do love my brake pedal, especially when charging to the apex of a turn on a tight mountain road, or when some depth perception challenged driver swerves into the lane I am currently occupying. But I do not love my brake pedal just for the sheer exhilaration of creating brake dust and causing those behind me to slow as a result.
I have a theory that much of the traffic patterns of slowing are caused by braking when not needed. What I see is one person does this, and then 10 people behind him react as if there is a REASON he slowed to begin with, which we have determined there was no reason. And then 10 more behind them slow, causing a chain reaction around 3 in the afternoon that stays until about 7pm on most of the major freeways.
This kind of behavior is hard to punish, but if we are to believe that those in charge are really concerned about saving the environment, this should be punished as a top priority. The more cars are forced to slow and go, the more pollution and waste they create.
I say make love affairs with the brake pedal in this unnatural fashion a crime against humanity.
Take the person who drives with both feet, the brake lights are on whether you are speeding up, slowing down, turning, maintaining the same speed or stopping. Do you understand how confused the people behind you are? And what happens if a squirrel runs in front of your car and you decide to come to a sudden stop. POW! and according to the insurance the two footed monster is not to blame. Why is there not a law that allows the CHP to pull these morons over, remove their drivers license and have the vehicle towed for the safety of everyone else on the road. There should be.
The next version of the Brake Pedal lover is the person who seems to be in a hurry to go nowhere, you have seen it before. Gas - Brake - Gas - Brake, etc. They speed up and close the gap on the car in front to less then one car length and then have to brake vigorously to avoid running into them, and then the second they have slowed enough for 2 car lengths to form they are back on the gas again, closing that gap. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a fan of aggressive driving and closing the gap to keep someone from cutting me off, but performing this inchworm move forward and back is merely and exercise in futility. I want to be able to have a conversation with this driver and ask exactly what they are trying to accomplish.
I must admit, I do love my brake pedal, especially when charging to the apex of a turn on a tight mountain road, or when some depth perception challenged driver swerves into the lane I am currently occupying. But I do not love my brake pedal just for the sheer exhilaration of creating brake dust and causing those behind me to slow as a result.
I have a theory that much of the traffic patterns of slowing are caused by braking when not needed. What I see is one person does this, and then 10 people behind him react as if there is a REASON he slowed to begin with, which we have determined there was no reason. And then 10 more behind them slow, causing a chain reaction around 3 in the afternoon that stays until about 7pm on most of the major freeways.
This kind of behavior is hard to punish, but if we are to believe that those in charge are really concerned about saving the environment, this should be punished as a top priority. The more cars are forced to slow and go, the more pollution and waste they create.
I say make love affairs with the brake pedal in this unnatural fashion a crime against humanity.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Violent Mist
This week in Socal is going to be of an insurance investigators bad dreams. A full week of 3 storms and record rain fall. This might not be news to you, but Southern Californians do not know how to drive in the rain.
Southern California can be described as Desert by the sea, because that is exactly what it is. The average rainfall is very low in this part of the country and "rain" described by the locals is really what my wife and I jokingly refer to as the Violent Mist. Overcast and drizzle is much of what falls from the sky in a typical winter with occasional rain storms.
So, people who have lived here their entire lives do not exactly freak out when it rains, in fact the problem is they don't do anything when it rains, they do not slow down, they do not avoid the roads, they do not look at a deep flooded intersection and think, hmm perhaps I should NOT drive my car into 3 feet of water and hope for the best.
Yesterday we had the first of 3 storms hit the Southern California area and in San Diego county alone there were 172 car accidents, most happening after 2pm when the worst of it hit. The news compared that number to 470 on the first real rain day of the season back in December. The difference in my opinion is that yesterday was Martin Luther King day, and many were not working, and the first rains seem to be the worst since all the oil and other non water soluble crap on the highways cause an extra slickness to the roads.
I was not fortunate enough to be at home yesterday, so when I checked the traffic maps after 4pm and saw mostly red in all directions on the freeways I was not excited. I was able to get out a bit early and on my way north I saw 4 accidents in the center divide on the northbound lanes, and about 4 or 5 southbound that were much worse with flashing reds everywhere. Some were just one moron and his car slammed into the cement barrier. The best was a 2 car accident between two trucks, one which was a pool cleaner whose supplies were strewn about on the shoulder and in the number 1 lane. I watched in horror as a women involved in the accident stepped into the number 1 lane about 5 cars ahead of me to remove some debris. I literally yelled out in horror thinking I was going to see some carnage. The cars ahead of me stopped just in time to avoid her.
So, lets review the facts, you are driving a truck with pool cleaning supplies which lead me to believe your line of business is cleaning pools. I know about 6 pool cleaners personally (happens to be a popular job down here) and I know for a fact they all stay home on rainy days. So why was this inchworm out in the rain? Secondly, you are involved in an accident on a major freeway and either you or a passenger in your vehicle decides to step into the road to start picking up your trash? Can we call up the Darwin award people cause I just found a runner up.
So after this is past I continue north and enter the express lanes and pay to drive without the traffic around me (see previous article). Near the end of these express lanes there are a few exit and entrance lanes to the expressway. As I was nearing the end of one entrance section I thought I was about to become the next victim of rainy day idiots.
Traveling in the number 1 lane of the 2 lane expressway I was passing a full size GMC truck. As i pulled along side him (I did not see the sex of the driver, just using the "him" as a descriptor) I noticed the vehicle begin to change lanes into me. I gave a quick honk and continued to pass as quickly as I could but braced for impact. My heart stopped, the adrenaline began to course through my veins, and nothing happened. As soon as I got ahead a bit I saw the GMC move back over as a vehicle entering the expresslane pulled behind the GMC.
It would seem rain and slippery or not, people have no idea how to merge.
So, two more storms and 25 million drivers in Socal for the rest of this week. If I live to post again see you next week.
Southern California can be described as Desert by the sea, because that is exactly what it is. The average rainfall is very low in this part of the country and "rain" described by the locals is really what my wife and I jokingly refer to as the Violent Mist. Overcast and drizzle is much of what falls from the sky in a typical winter with occasional rain storms.
So, people who have lived here their entire lives do not exactly freak out when it rains, in fact the problem is they don't do anything when it rains, they do not slow down, they do not avoid the roads, they do not look at a deep flooded intersection and think, hmm perhaps I should NOT drive my car into 3 feet of water and hope for the best.
Yesterday we had the first of 3 storms hit the Southern California area and in San Diego county alone there were 172 car accidents, most happening after 2pm when the worst of it hit. The news compared that number to 470 on the first real rain day of the season back in December. The difference in my opinion is that yesterday was Martin Luther King day, and many were not working, and the first rains seem to be the worst since all the oil and other non water soluble crap on the highways cause an extra slickness to the roads.
I was not fortunate enough to be at home yesterday, so when I checked the traffic maps after 4pm and saw mostly red in all directions on the freeways I was not excited. I was able to get out a bit early and on my way north I saw 4 accidents in the center divide on the northbound lanes, and about 4 or 5 southbound that were much worse with flashing reds everywhere. Some were just one moron and his car slammed into the cement barrier. The best was a 2 car accident between two trucks, one which was a pool cleaner whose supplies were strewn about on the shoulder and in the number 1 lane. I watched in horror as a women involved in the accident stepped into the number 1 lane about 5 cars ahead of me to remove some debris. I literally yelled out in horror thinking I was going to see some carnage. The cars ahead of me stopped just in time to avoid her.
So, lets review the facts, you are driving a truck with pool cleaning supplies which lead me to believe your line of business is cleaning pools. I know about 6 pool cleaners personally (happens to be a popular job down here) and I know for a fact they all stay home on rainy days. So why was this inchworm out in the rain? Secondly, you are involved in an accident on a major freeway and either you or a passenger in your vehicle decides to step into the road to start picking up your trash? Can we call up the Darwin award people cause I just found a runner up.
So after this is past I continue north and enter the express lanes and pay to drive without the traffic around me (see previous article). Near the end of these express lanes there are a few exit and entrance lanes to the expressway. As I was nearing the end of one entrance section I thought I was about to become the next victim of rainy day idiots.
Traveling in the number 1 lane of the 2 lane expressway I was passing a full size GMC truck. As i pulled along side him (I did not see the sex of the driver, just using the "him" as a descriptor) I noticed the vehicle begin to change lanes into me. I gave a quick honk and continued to pass as quickly as I could but braced for impact. My heart stopped, the adrenaline began to course through my veins, and nothing happened. As soon as I got ahead a bit I saw the GMC move back over as a vehicle entering the expresslane pulled behind the GMC.
It would seem rain and slippery or not, people have no idea how to merge.
So, two more storms and 25 million drivers in Socal for the rest of this week. If I live to post again see you next week.
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Car Pool lane is FAIL
The California handbook has a very small section on the carpool lanes, here is the link:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/traffic_lanes.htm#carpool
Car Pooling was originally introduced as a way to encourage ride sharing to both lower emissions and traffic on the highways by rewarding those who did so with a special lane on the freeway. I don' think this has actually ever worked as intended and needs to be done away with. The rules of carpooling says 2 or more persons, and since a child is by law a person a single adult with children in the car are allowed access to the Car Pool lane. This is not stopping congestion or emissions, since children do not have driver's licenses or cars. Sometimes I would like to install a baby car seat in the back of my car and keep a fake baby in it cause essentially there is no difference in emissions or traffic.
So many of SoCal's car pool lanes are useless anyway even if you do have a full car of fellow commuters. Lets start with the one I drive next to most of the week, the 5 North and South between the 805 merge and Cardiff. It is a express lane style Car Pool lane in that there are no entrances or exits for 8 miles of freeway, except for the northbound lanes which have one exit just before the lane ends. Here is the Problem, in the afternoons heading north the freeway backs up a few miles after the lane starts, and the reason the traffic backs up is not because of a large number of cars, it is because the freeway loses a lane at Manchester drive, right where the Car Pool lane ends. Any time a freeway loses a lane I feel the need to hunt down the designer and slap them silly. I would really like to meet one road designer and have them explain to me why they would ever take a busy Freeway from 5 to 4 lanes in the middle of a metropolitan area. I understand if the freeway has left the city and is heading into the mountains where the number of cars using it will be less, but that is not the Case in the middle of San Diego County. It is apparent to me that just about all road designers have never driven a car or commuted a day in their life. I would imagine Jeremy Clarkson would say they probably have beards and ride the metro.
Lets look at another example of where a Car Pool lane is broken, the 5 South in Orange County where the 57 south merges into it. The 57 also has a Car Pool lane, and thus the 2 Car Pool lanes merge at the same time as the freeway, in fact they merge in about 150 feet of road which causes a backup several miles long during rush hour, causing many to illegally jump out of the lane into regular traffic lanes. Essentially if you are in the car pool you are moving slower then the main freeway, and if you jump out of it you are making the regular lanes have to slow down to let you over impeding traffic even more then it has to be. This does not have to be this way, in fact further down this same freeway there is another merge with the 405 which also has a Car Pool lane. The person who designed this merge obviously is the one person who designs road who did not take the short bus to school. The 2 lanes come together to form a 2 lane Car Pool lane for about 3 miles before they finally merge together. Besides this rare case of good design, Road Designers, you fail, emissions are not lower and traffic is not better.
The only time traffic has been reduced was 2 years ago when gas shot up to $4 per gallon and people stopped driving around if they did not have a good reason to do so. I am not saying increase gas prices to reduce traffic and emissions, but so far that has been the only solution I have seen to do this.
Hybrids, Specifically the Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid of a few years were given a special sticker that allows them to travel the Car Pool lane with only a driver and no passengers. At the time the reason behind doing this was to encourage people to waste thousands of dollars on brand new un-proven technology by giving them a perk. Who was the moron that came up with this idea? At 65+ miles per hour a hybrid is really no different then any other 4 cylinder vehicle on the road, if you do not know this or understand why this is so, time to do some research on how Hybrids work. If the idea of a Car Pool lane is to both reduce emissions and traffic, putting a Hybrid in them violates both of these principles as the mileage is not better and you are encouraging people to drive alone. If the lawmakers want to use Hybrid technology the law should stat Hybrids are restricted to roads where the speed limit is 40mph or less so they can stay in electric mode as long as possible. That is the only time a Hybrid is being "green". The fact of the matter is in SoCal the average speed for many is 75-85 on a regular basis, at that speed the underpowered Prius motor is actually getting less MPG then many lighter 4 cylinder cars. Oh Sure, YOU would never speed in your Hybrid. Don't bother trying to lie to yourself, I see it all the time. In fact just last week I was cruising above the speed limit when a new Honda insight blew by me. i decided to catch up and clock him to see just how fast he was going, 84. Give me your keys, you fail. Top Gear did an interesting piece on this a few years ago, if you have not seen it I suggest you go to finalgear.com and download all the TOP GEAR episodes and watch them until you do see it. So, Hybrids in the Car Pool lane, FAIL.
Weekends in the Car Pool lane can be horrendous, this past weekend we drove 150 miles up through LA to visit some family. On the way home Sunday mid-day the traffic was moving faster in the main freeway lanes then the Car Pool lane in many parts of LA because of one person out for a Sunday drive not caring that the rest of the world had somewhere to be. Car Pool does not mean get in and drive what ever speed you want, see the "fast lane" post from last week, all of that applies to you drivers, GET OUT and drive in the middle or right hand lane if you want to go slow.
Why Bus's are allowed in the Car Pool or "fast lanes" is beyond me. If Tractor Trailers are not allowed to travel above 55 and thus must remain in the right 2 lanes for safety reasons why would a giant bus or motor home be allowed to? I understand people like to think those who are riding the bus are "being green" by not driving their own car. In reality they are just "being cheap" cause they cannot afford their own car, every single face looking out at you as you drive by are jealous. A large Bus cannot stop as fast as a car, yet I see them regularly driving 70+, and half the bus's in Southern California are not Grey Hounds. Most of them are Intercalifornia's Bus's bringing people to and from Mexico, and thus have Mexican Plates. Last time I checked Mexico basically has ZERO rules about emissions and safety equipment. Essentially there are huge death machines polluting like mad in our "green" state and endangering the lives of everyone around them with high speed and who knows when the last time the brakes were checked. Plus, you cannot see around a huge bus which is a major danger in itself. In Drivers Ed I remember being taught to keep your eyes scanning the road a number of cars ahead of you in case you need to react to something you are coming upon, even looking though the windows of the vehicle in front of you. Unless you are driving another bus or motor home you cannot see anything but the black cloud coming from the back of a bus. Bus's in the Car Pool lane is FAIL. Big time FAIL.
So, what to do with the this vile thing known as a Car Pool lane? Change em, Change em to Express Lanes. There are 2 very good express lanes in Southern California, the better of the two being the 15 freeway Express lane that runs from San Diego to Escondido on one of the busiest Southern California freeways. To use the Express Lane one must either be traveling with 2 or more persons OR pay to use the express lane in the same way one pays for many of the toll roads, Fast Trak responders. I do this and on a Thursday or Friday afternoon it is pure joy to be traveling on the 2 lane Express lane while all the cheapo's sit in bumper to bumper traffic. Of course there is a slight flaw in that the Express Lane ends before the traffic does and thus I get to sit in it for about 3 miles before I connect to another freeway. I say remove the Car Pool portion all together and force all Express Lanes to be pay to use. I am not the richest person on the road, but I would fully support a pay to use system on every freeway I travel, and all the cheap people in the world can enjoy the traffic. I would even like to take this to another level, before you can qualify to use the "Express" lane you have to pass a high speed drivers course, and take a special class to get a high speed Drivers License. The Express lane should have a minimum speed of 75 and be highly enforced to make sure people get where they want to be on time. Modern technology has proven that cars can be safe at high rates of speed, but that is a topic for another time. Currently Car Pool lanes generate ZERO revenue for this state which as many know has been sliding down a huge slope of debt for the last 10 years even though the taxes are higher then any other state, the average income is way up there, and the general cost of living is higher then most places in the nation. I am not saying my plan would balance the budget, but it would create revenue. Currently the DMV is closed on Friday's to help the state save money, open it up on Fridays for Express lane tests and classes. I know I would be willing to pay a premium to get a high speed DL and the right to pay to drive faster then the traffic around me. And I can bet there are thousands like me who would do the same, in SoCal that number could possibly be in the millions. I have yet to meet someone who would not pay for such a privilege. I would be more then willing to brave the overall disgusting experience of waiting in line at the DMV to get this privilege. Dear California, Listen to my idea, I will even come up to Sacramento on my own dime to show you how to implement this. The end result would accomplish more then the goals of the failing Car Pool lane, those who want to drive faster and have the privilege to do so can pay for it if they are good enough to pass the high speed driving course and test, and all those who enjoy traveling at a slower pace will get their wish, and as the number of users of the express lanes grow the lanes can be widened until the non-express lane is just one lane on the highway, the off ramp.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/traffic_lanes.htm#carpool
Car Pooling was originally introduced as a way to encourage ride sharing to both lower emissions and traffic on the highways by rewarding those who did so with a special lane on the freeway. I don' think this has actually ever worked as intended and needs to be done away with. The rules of carpooling says 2 or more persons, and since a child is by law a person a single adult with children in the car are allowed access to the Car Pool lane. This is not stopping congestion or emissions, since children do not have driver's licenses or cars. Sometimes I would like to install a baby car seat in the back of my car and keep a fake baby in it cause essentially there is no difference in emissions or traffic.
So many of SoCal's car pool lanes are useless anyway even if you do have a full car of fellow commuters. Lets start with the one I drive next to most of the week, the 5 North and South between the 805 merge and Cardiff. It is a express lane style Car Pool lane in that there are no entrances or exits for 8 miles of freeway, except for the northbound lanes which have one exit just before the lane ends. Here is the Problem, in the afternoons heading north the freeway backs up a few miles after the lane starts, and the reason the traffic backs up is not because of a large number of cars, it is because the freeway loses a lane at Manchester drive, right where the Car Pool lane ends. Any time a freeway loses a lane I feel the need to hunt down the designer and slap them silly. I would really like to meet one road designer and have them explain to me why they would ever take a busy Freeway from 5 to 4 lanes in the middle of a metropolitan area. I understand if the freeway has left the city and is heading into the mountains where the number of cars using it will be less, but that is not the Case in the middle of San Diego County. It is apparent to me that just about all road designers have never driven a car or commuted a day in their life. I would imagine Jeremy Clarkson would say they probably have beards and ride the metro.
Lets look at another example of where a Car Pool lane is broken, the 5 South in Orange County where the 57 south merges into it. The 57 also has a Car Pool lane, and thus the 2 Car Pool lanes merge at the same time as the freeway, in fact they merge in about 150 feet of road which causes a backup several miles long during rush hour, causing many to illegally jump out of the lane into regular traffic lanes. Essentially if you are in the car pool you are moving slower then the main freeway, and if you jump out of it you are making the regular lanes have to slow down to let you over impeding traffic even more then it has to be. This does not have to be this way, in fact further down this same freeway there is another merge with the 405 which also has a Car Pool lane. The person who designed this merge obviously is the one person who designs road who did not take the short bus to school. The 2 lanes come together to form a 2 lane Car Pool lane for about 3 miles before they finally merge together. Besides this rare case of good design, Road Designers, you fail, emissions are not lower and traffic is not better.
The only time traffic has been reduced was 2 years ago when gas shot up to $4 per gallon and people stopped driving around if they did not have a good reason to do so. I am not saying increase gas prices to reduce traffic and emissions, but so far that has been the only solution I have seen to do this.
Hybrids, Specifically the Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid of a few years were given a special sticker that allows them to travel the Car Pool lane with only a driver and no passengers. At the time the reason behind doing this was to encourage people to waste thousands of dollars on brand new un-proven technology by giving them a perk. Who was the moron that came up with this idea? At 65+ miles per hour a hybrid is really no different then any other 4 cylinder vehicle on the road, if you do not know this or understand why this is so, time to do some research on how Hybrids work. If the idea of a Car Pool lane is to both reduce emissions and traffic, putting a Hybrid in them violates both of these principles as the mileage is not better and you are encouraging people to drive alone. If the lawmakers want to use Hybrid technology the law should stat Hybrids are restricted to roads where the speed limit is 40mph or less so they can stay in electric mode as long as possible. That is the only time a Hybrid is being "green". The fact of the matter is in SoCal the average speed for many is 75-85 on a regular basis, at that speed the underpowered Prius motor is actually getting less MPG then many lighter 4 cylinder cars. Oh Sure, YOU would never speed in your Hybrid. Don't bother trying to lie to yourself, I see it all the time. In fact just last week I was cruising above the speed limit when a new Honda insight blew by me. i decided to catch up and clock him to see just how fast he was going, 84. Give me your keys, you fail. Top Gear did an interesting piece on this a few years ago, if you have not seen it I suggest you go to finalgear.com and download all the TOP GEAR episodes and watch them until you do see it. So, Hybrids in the Car Pool lane, FAIL.
Weekends in the Car Pool lane can be horrendous, this past weekend we drove 150 miles up through LA to visit some family. On the way home Sunday mid-day the traffic was moving faster in the main freeway lanes then the Car Pool lane in many parts of LA because of one person out for a Sunday drive not caring that the rest of the world had somewhere to be. Car Pool does not mean get in and drive what ever speed you want, see the "fast lane" post from last week, all of that applies to you drivers, GET OUT and drive in the middle or right hand lane if you want to go slow.
Why Bus's are allowed in the Car Pool or "fast lanes" is beyond me. If Tractor Trailers are not allowed to travel above 55 and thus must remain in the right 2 lanes for safety reasons why would a giant bus or motor home be allowed to? I understand people like to think those who are riding the bus are "being green" by not driving their own car. In reality they are just "being cheap" cause they cannot afford their own car, every single face looking out at you as you drive by are jealous. A large Bus cannot stop as fast as a car, yet I see them regularly driving 70+, and half the bus's in Southern California are not Grey Hounds. Most of them are Intercalifornia's Bus's bringing people to and from Mexico, and thus have Mexican Plates. Last time I checked Mexico basically has ZERO rules about emissions and safety equipment. Essentially there are huge death machines polluting like mad in our "green" state and endangering the lives of everyone around them with high speed and who knows when the last time the brakes were checked. Plus, you cannot see around a huge bus which is a major danger in itself. In Drivers Ed I remember being taught to keep your eyes scanning the road a number of cars ahead of you in case you need to react to something you are coming upon, even looking though the windows of the vehicle in front of you. Unless you are driving another bus or motor home you cannot see anything but the black cloud coming from the back of a bus. Bus's in the Car Pool lane is FAIL. Big time FAIL.
So, what to do with the this vile thing known as a Car Pool lane? Change em, Change em to Express Lanes. There are 2 very good express lanes in Southern California, the better of the two being the 15 freeway Express lane that runs from San Diego to Escondido on one of the busiest Southern California freeways. To use the Express Lane one must either be traveling with 2 or more persons OR pay to use the express lane in the same way one pays for many of the toll roads, Fast Trak responders. I do this and on a Thursday or Friday afternoon it is pure joy to be traveling on the 2 lane Express lane while all the cheapo's sit in bumper to bumper traffic. Of course there is a slight flaw in that the Express Lane ends before the traffic does and thus I get to sit in it for about 3 miles before I connect to another freeway. I say remove the Car Pool portion all together and force all Express Lanes to be pay to use. I am not the richest person on the road, but I would fully support a pay to use system on every freeway I travel, and all the cheap people in the world can enjoy the traffic. I would even like to take this to another level, before you can qualify to use the "Express" lane you have to pass a high speed drivers course, and take a special class to get a high speed Drivers License. The Express lane should have a minimum speed of 75 and be highly enforced to make sure people get where they want to be on time. Modern technology has proven that cars can be safe at high rates of speed, but that is a topic for another time. Currently Car Pool lanes generate ZERO revenue for this state which as many know has been sliding down a huge slope of debt for the last 10 years even though the taxes are higher then any other state, the average income is way up there, and the general cost of living is higher then most places in the nation. I am not saying my plan would balance the budget, but it would create revenue. Currently the DMV is closed on Friday's to help the state save money, open it up on Fridays for Express lane tests and classes. I know I would be willing to pay a premium to get a high speed DL and the right to pay to drive faster then the traffic around me. And I can bet there are thousands like me who would do the same, in SoCal that number could possibly be in the millions. I have yet to meet someone who would not pay for such a privilege. I would be more then willing to brave the overall disgusting experience of waiting in line at the DMV to get this privilege. Dear California, Listen to my idea, I will even come up to Sacramento on my own dime to show you how to implement this. The end result would accomplish more then the goals of the failing Car Pool lane, those who want to drive faster and have the privilege to do so can pay for it if they are good enough to pass the high speed driving course and test, and all those who enjoy traveling at a slower pace will get their wish, and as the number of users of the express lanes grow the lanes can be widened until the non-express lane is just one lane on the highway, the off ramp.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
First post, Fast Lanes, and what they are for.
I think it is safe to say that most Southern California drivers have a sense of entitlement when driving their vehicle. Hence the reason we see one person driving a large SUV without any passengers or cargo getting 9mpg, these same people also feel they are entitled to $0.99 per gallon gas, but that is a subject for another post. What I am speaking about is while driving on a multiple lane road, especially the freeway Drivers feel entitled to drive slow in the fast lane. The California Driving code is very clear on how to use the lanes of a freeway or highway. There are large white signs with black letters on ALL multi-lane roads in the state that pronounce "Slower traffic keep right". What I find most interesting about this sign is the fact that is makes no mention of speed limits. There is no subnote stating the the rule only applies to those driving under the posted speed limit. Drivers entitlement allows people to drive at whatever speed they feel comfortable at while in the "fast lane" or the more accurate "number one lane". Notice what the California Drivers Handbooks says about how to use multiple lane highways:
http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/traffic_lanes.htm#choose_lane
This needs to stop. But how? The slower traffic keep right sign is not enforced. Could it be? Should it be? YES. It is obvious that the California Highway Patrol's main focus in life is to collect money for the state through traffic tickets, and to baby sit car accidents, again another topic for another day. So, lets start writing tickets for cars who are disrupting the flow of traffic on the freeway. Driving slow in the fast lane holds a number of dangers to all who travel on the freeway for it causes those who wish to travel at a higher rate of speed to slow down, some times rapidly due to a lane change into the fast lane, accompanied by slower driving in the said fast lane. It can also cause the faster vehicle to move into the number 2 lane in order to go around the slower vehicle. I noticed on my commute this morning on a 4 lane freeway that the number 4 lane was actually wide open and the traffic in it was moving faster then any other lane. This is in direct contrast with what the laws state about proper use of the highway, and can be very dangerous for those entering or exiting the freeway, but as many know it is a very common occurrence. Drivers Entitlement. Having slower drivers in the fast lane also adds to global warming and wastefulness, yes maybe in a small hard to measure way, but it still does. Driving slow in the fast lane adds to congestion, cars that have to slow down use the brakes when otherwise they would not leading to more brake dust, and more money spent to replace brakes more often. It also adds to greenhouse gases in the air since when a car slows it will eventually have to accelerate back up to speed causing higher RPM's and thus more waste of fuel and money spent on fuel. Driving slow in the fast lane also adds to the mental instability of many others on the road, choosing to be selfish and hold up those who want to move faster then you causes you to become a cause for contention on the highway. you can only control what you do on the freeway, not what others do or how they react, so why not try to respect others wishes. I once watched a program on the BBC where a psychologist was trying to help a man overcome his road rage. The man was taken to a shopping mall where he was asked to watch how people were able to walk in large crowds at different speeds and somehow manage to be polite and move out of each others way, no one ran into another. The reasoning behind it was that people are less likely to be rude to others to their face, but once shielded by metal and glass those inhibitions go away. I think this can be used to show slow people that just cause you have some metal and glass around you does not mean you have the entitlement to hold up those who are actually interested in making it their destination on time.
Some might say, why not go after the person who is speeding and forced to go around such an entitled driver. Well, that is already being done, and in the past 100 years or so of automotive existence has proven to not make the highways safer in any way. I was able to enjoy some first hand experience of what good highway driving is while in Italy in 2002. The Auto Strada, which is the name of the Toll road system used in Italy follows the "Slower traffic keep right" rule to the letter, and the flow of traffic is amazing. Most of the Auto Strada we drove on was 2 or 3 lanes. On a 2 lane section ALL traffic drives in the number 2 lane, ONLY moving out into the number 1 lane to pass, or if they are driving so much faster then the other cars that moving back and forth into the number 2 lane would be dangerous. When a driver is ready to pass a vehicle they put on the left blinker, move over and leave the blinker on to notify drivers approaching from behind that their presence in the number 1 lane is temporary. They quickly speed up and pass to move back into the slower lane to keep the number 1 lane open for faster traffic. It was a beautiful thing, and for the following 3 or 4 months driving in LA again after that trip my frustration with California Drivers was at an all time high. According to my Italian Grandfather who shared the wheel with me in Italy, that is the way it has been in Italy for as long as he can remember, and the percentage of traffic accidents caused by speeding is well below that in the US. Drivers in Italy respect other drivers (to a degree, city driving is opposite of highway driving in Italy) and thus traffic, waste and accidents are reduced compared to the US. All US drivers need to experience this in person.
So to sum up my first blog post here, GET OUT OF THE FAST LANE IF YOU ARE NOT PASSING ANYONE. Thanks for reading.
http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/hdbk/traffic_lanes.htm#choose_lane
This needs to stop. But how? The slower traffic keep right sign is not enforced. Could it be? Should it be? YES. It is obvious that the California Highway Patrol's main focus in life is to collect money for the state through traffic tickets, and to baby sit car accidents, again another topic for another day. So, lets start writing tickets for cars who are disrupting the flow of traffic on the freeway. Driving slow in the fast lane holds a number of dangers to all who travel on the freeway for it causes those who wish to travel at a higher rate of speed to slow down, some times rapidly due to a lane change into the fast lane, accompanied by slower driving in the said fast lane. It can also cause the faster vehicle to move into the number 2 lane in order to go around the slower vehicle. I noticed on my commute this morning on a 4 lane freeway that the number 4 lane was actually wide open and the traffic in it was moving faster then any other lane. This is in direct contrast with what the laws state about proper use of the highway, and can be very dangerous for those entering or exiting the freeway, but as many know it is a very common occurrence. Drivers Entitlement. Having slower drivers in the fast lane also adds to global warming and wastefulness, yes maybe in a small hard to measure way, but it still does. Driving slow in the fast lane adds to congestion, cars that have to slow down use the brakes when otherwise they would not leading to more brake dust, and more money spent to replace brakes more often. It also adds to greenhouse gases in the air since when a car slows it will eventually have to accelerate back up to speed causing higher RPM's and thus more waste of fuel and money spent on fuel. Driving slow in the fast lane also adds to the mental instability of many others on the road, choosing to be selfish and hold up those who want to move faster then you causes you to become a cause for contention on the highway. you can only control what you do on the freeway, not what others do or how they react, so why not try to respect others wishes. I once watched a program on the BBC where a psychologist was trying to help a man overcome his road rage. The man was taken to a shopping mall where he was asked to watch how people were able to walk in large crowds at different speeds and somehow manage to be polite and move out of each others way, no one ran into another. The reasoning behind it was that people are less likely to be rude to others to their face, but once shielded by metal and glass those inhibitions go away. I think this can be used to show slow people that just cause you have some metal and glass around you does not mean you have the entitlement to hold up those who are actually interested in making it their destination on time.
Some might say, why not go after the person who is speeding and forced to go around such an entitled driver. Well, that is already being done, and in the past 100 years or so of automotive existence has proven to not make the highways safer in any way. I was able to enjoy some first hand experience of what good highway driving is while in Italy in 2002. The Auto Strada, which is the name of the Toll road system used in Italy follows the "Slower traffic keep right" rule to the letter, and the flow of traffic is amazing. Most of the Auto Strada we drove on was 2 or 3 lanes. On a 2 lane section ALL traffic drives in the number 2 lane, ONLY moving out into the number 1 lane to pass, or if they are driving so much faster then the other cars that moving back and forth into the number 2 lane would be dangerous. When a driver is ready to pass a vehicle they put on the left blinker, move over and leave the blinker on to notify drivers approaching from behind that their presence in the number 1 lane is temporary. They quickly speed up and pass to move back into the slower lane to keep the number 1 lane open for faster traffic. It was a beautiful thing, and for the following 3 or 4 months driving in LA again after that trip my frustration with California Drivers was at an all time high. According to my Italian Grandfather who shared the wheel with me in Italy, that is the way it has been in Italy for as long as he can remember, and the percentage of traffic accidents caused by speeding is well below that in the US. Drivers in Italy respect other drivers (to a degree, city driving is opposite of highway driving in Italy) and thus traffic, waste and accidents are reduced compared to the US. All US drivers need to experience this in person.
So to sum up my first blog post here, GET OUT OF THE FAST LANE IF YOU ARE NOT PASSING ANYONE. Thanks for reading.
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