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wolrah posted:Bicycles are still vehicles and must play by the rules of the road. I'll bet there's a law similar to this one on the books pretty much anywhere: How is a vehicle that's, at most, 50cm wide going to impede traffic? I should hope you leave a wider gap than that between the edge of the road and your car. InterceptorV8 posted:Is this poo poo for real, or are you having a giggle? Everything I've said is literally true, yeah. The reform of roads into something you'd recognise, with asphalt and clear sinage coincides with the rise of the (once absolutely massive) cycling lobby. Horse and carts don't need smooth roads, suspentionless, solid rubber tired late 19th centry safety bicycles do though. Just the same as how things like jaywalking only became accepted ideas once there was a powerful auto lobby there to push them. Before that it was common for car drivers to literally be lynched for running people over. To people in the early 20th century, it was very irresponsible to bring such a fast vehicle into a city street, where someone could step out at any moment. This is all history, you can check up on it. It gives you perspective. Regardless it's the obligation of the elephant to mind where he's stepping, no sane mouse has ever jumped under his feet. If motorists weave to the side so heavily that they're likely to clip a cyclist then they should do something about it. HorseLord fucked around with this message at 14:43 on Aug 27, 2014 |
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Aug 27, 2014 14:28
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HorseLord posted:How is a vehicle that's, at most, 50cm wide going to impede traffic? I should hope you leave a wider gap than that between the edge of the road and your car. Dunno about you, but when I pass a bike, I like to leave at least a metre between me and them. Given that the lane is 2.5m wide, that's an issue.
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Aug 27, 2014 14:40
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That's very nice of you, most drivers never give that much space. You can still get past there, though. I'd poking local government and telling them to make the road wider, myself.
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Aug 27, 2014 14:45
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That's a particularly forgiving stretch of road, though, because you have sufficient visibility to pass a cyclist if there's no traffic. Now, change that to being on an uphill section, with corners obscuring your view of oncoming traffic, and you'll see why things get really dangerous. I had to follow a group of cyclists for around 5 minutes, going 10-20 km/h on a 100 km/h-limit highway, before it was safe to pass while driving through the mountains in BC. Not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, I suppose, but it did piss me off.
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Aug 27, 2014 14:50
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revmoo posted:What in the gently caress? That road has 140mph closing speeds assuming everyone is driving the limit. That's a dangerous loving road. It's in Montana, like jamal said. You'd be lucky to see what, ten cars an hour on that road? HorseLord, you've been here like 3 days and you're already anger-posting about cars and laws. I mean, that's fine, have fun, go hog wild etc, you have some good points, but chill, dude. You're gonna give yourself a heart attack. And that's me saying that, I'm not known for being calm and collected on the internet 
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Aug 27, 2014 15:04
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kastein posted:It's in Montana, like jamal said. You'd be lucky to see what, ten cars an hour on that road? If that's MT 200 or 93 it's actually pretty busy.. it's a major connection to the northwestern area of the state, especially to supply the Flathead lake area. All the state routes see quite a bit of trucking traffic.
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Aug 27, 2014 15:38
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InterceptorV8 posted:And don't even get me started on loving BLACK GHOSTS! This. I about killed a guy last night. Similar conditions as mentioned above : no streetlights, dude wearing all dark clothing and walking in the middle of my lane with his back to traffic. He would be dead now if not for the fact that he was wearing white sneakers. Hell - the only reason I started to slow down is because I caught a glimpse of what I thought was a white plastic shopping bag blowing down the road. Got closer and oh poo poo those are feet brake evade brake!!!
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Aug 27, 2014 16:50
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revmoo posted:What in the gently caress? That road has 140mph closing speeds assuming everyone is driving the limit. That's a dangerous loving road. I drove to Big Sky, MT last September, and as far as I saw, all of the roads in western Montana were built right beside the river running down the middle of each narrow mountain valley, just like the one in the picture. No shoulder, speed limits get up to around 60 or 70 mph but with lots and lots of slower parts. Some corners are marked with the yellow "recommended" speed limits (50/40/30 mph), some are marked with the white actual speed limits (I saw some as slow as 20 mph). There were pull-outs every 10 miles or so, which most RV drivers and professional drivers (bus, transport) were pretty good about using. I saw plenty of bicycles, and some pretty close passes, but only a few real idiots - and as I recall, the biggest idiot, a lifted brotruck trying to do 90 mph but prevented by every other loving vehicle on the goddam road, was showing out-of-state plates. Colorado, I think, but I couldn't swear to it. The interstates, on the other hand, were built by more dynamite-and-concrete-happy engineers. Straight across broad valleys, right through the middle of big rock outcrops, put a bridge diagonally across the river and 100 feet above it, gently caress it just go. The interstates in Montana have big paved shoulders, so I'd have no problem with the cyclists taking them, except no sane cyclist would because holy crap that's a boring ride. HorseLord posted:How is a vehicle that's, at most, 50cm wide going to impede traffic? I should hope you leave a wider gap than that between the edge of the road and your car. spog posted:Dunno about you, but when I pass a bike, I like to leave at least a metre between me and them. kastein posted:It's in Montana, like jamal said. You'd be lucky to see what, ten cars an hour on that road? Not too many trucks where I was, but I think they stick to the Interstates for the most part.
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Aug 27, 2014 16:50
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JBark posted:The "technical" red light running is the big one I never noticed before. This is entering when the light is already yellow and turns red while still in the intersection. Illegal almost everywhere, but I see if all the time, and do it myself more times than I care to admit. I suppose that's the overconfidence effect kicking it, we all think we've got plenty of time until it turns red. I'm pretty sure that in many places, such as California, this is actually entirely legal? Here's a US DOT presentation on the subject, check out slide 4: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/redlight/outreach/marketing/rlr_pps022509/short/ I also checked the relevant portion of the CA legal code, it says that the yellow light serves as a warning that the red light is coming, and that you may not enter the intersection on a red.
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Aug 27, 2014 17:24
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buttcrackmenace posted:This. I was coming back from watching a basketball game at a buddy's house last year. He lives in what he calls "Little Alabama" - a pretty drat rural section of Fort Mill, SC. No streetlights to speak of. I'm the only car on the road, doing about 50 in a 45 zone, when see at the very last second some pissant teenager wearing all black skateboarding down the side of the narrow. Thank goodness I had my high beams on or I doubt I would have seen him in time. Scared the poo poo out of me (and I'm sure him, unless he was high on brain pills or something...wouldn't doubt it).
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Aug 27, 2014 17:46
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kastein posted:HorseLord, you've been here like 3 days and you're already anger-posting about cars and laws. I mean, that's fine, have fun, go hog wild etc, you have some good points, but chill, dude. You're gonna give yourself a heart attack. And that's me saying that, I'm not known for being calm and collected on the internet I'm being very calm. ExecuDork posted:A bicycle is about 50 or 60cm wide, yes. But if you've ever been on one when a car decides to pass you with 5cm between your handlebars and their mirror, you start to really think about the need for around 1m of buffer space beside you, and you remember those stupid-looking orange flags you can get that stick out sideways from a bicycle. Mine's 42cm wide, and that's not unusually narrow. Mountain bikes can be very wide, but anyone thinking they can manuver through traffic on knobblies without getting tired after five miles is likely inexperienced enough to become a danger way before width comes into it. I still don't see how that impedes traffic. It's not wide enough to make you have to slow down and wait. (and cyclists hate hearing engines following close enough to touch their wheel anyway).
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Aug 27, 2014 17:55
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Pham Nuwen posted:I'm pretty sure that in many places, such as California, this is actually entirely legal? Here's a US DOT presentation on the subject, check out slide 4: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/redlight/outreach/marketing/rlr_pps022509/short/ I also checked the relevant portion of the CA legal code, it says that the yellow light serves as a warning that the red light is coming, and that you may not enter the intersection on a red. Generally, yellow also means "stop if it is safe to do so". With sensibly-timed yellows, if the light turns red before you leave the intersection, you really should have stopped. If that would have been unsafe, generally you were going too fast (or your had a large truck right up on your rear end). Of course, with stupidly-short yellows, this all goes out the window.
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Aug 27, 2014 17:56
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KozmoNaut posted:Generally, yellow also means "stop if it is safe to do so". With sensibly-timed yellows, if the light turns red before you leave the intersection, you really should have stopped. If that would have been unsafe, generally you were going too fast (or your had a large truck right up on your rear end). Sure, but it's not "technically illegal" like he claimed.
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Aug 27, 2014 17:59
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USDOT has standards for yellow lights, they're supposed to be set up so that any vehicles traveling at the average speed for that road (which isn't necessarily the posted speed limit) can either clear the intersection, or safely stop before entering it. Cities that fail to adhere to this standard can lose federal funding, so if you find a yellow that's too short and document it you can generally get them to fix it.
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Aug 27, 2014 18:01
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HorseLord posted:
Apparently you don't understand that most country roads (or similar) don't have a wide enough shoulder to give good separation, nor that most drivers won't pass a bike unless they have at least a yard or more of separation (which usually involves crossing the middle into the other lane). Your bike IS wide enough because there's nowhere else for you to go but either in a ditch or into my mirror.
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Aug 27, 2014 18:03
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Pham Nuwen posted:Sure, but it's not "technically illegal" like he claimed. They've run pilot projects here to target people who run "stale yellows", generally identifying them as people going straight who were still in the intersection when the light changed to red. Of course, this meant a police officer standing and actively watching the intersection, so the false positive rate was a hell of a lot lower than with red light cameras. Dunno if anything ever came of it. WAR CRIME SYNDICAT posted:Apparently you don't understand that most country roads (or similar) don't have a wide enough shoulder to give good separation, nor that most drivers won't pass a bike unless they have at least a yard or more of separation (which usually involves crossing the middle into the other lane). Your bike IS wide enough because there's nowhere else for you to go but either in a ditch or into my mirror. Yes, so you wait to pass until it is safe to do so. It's not that hard.
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Aug 27, 2014 18:03
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KozmoNaut posted:They've run pilot projects here to target people who run "stale yellows", generally identifying them as people going straight who were still in the intersection when the light changed to red. Of course, this meant a police officer standing and actively watching the intersection, so the false positive rate was a hell of a lot lower than with red light cameras. Dunno if anything ever came of it. I'm not arguing that. He's arguing that a person on a bike doesn't impede traffic because they're so narrow, and that you shouldn't ever have to slow down and wait because he's not in the way! Riot Carol Danvers fucked around with this message at 18:29 on Aug 27, 2014 |
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Aug 27, 2014 18:27
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Cyclists would much rather you overtake a bit close than spend forever hovering on their back wheels. You don't have to leave a full meter if you don't have it to spare, just don't take the piss and overtake with inches left. Besides, if there's not half a meter for a bicycle, then what madman decided it'd be a 70mph road? That's a 30mph road if you don't want to die.
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Aug 27, 2014 18:53
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HorseLord posted:Besides, if there's not half a meter for a bicycle, then what madman decided it'd be a 70mph road? That's a 30mph road if you don't want to die. As we circle back around to the beginning, no, that's a 70 MPH road that cyclists don't normally ride on. Because it's insane.
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Aug 27, 2014 18:58
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WAR CRIME SYNDICAT posted:As we circle back around to the beginning, no, that's a 70 MPH road that cyclists don't normally ride on. Because it's insane. That also makes it an extreme edge case that isn't applicable to 99,9% of the other roads cyclists may ride on.
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Aug 27, 2014 19:02
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HorseLord posted:You don't have to leave a full meter if you don't have it to spare In 20+ states in the US it is illegal not to leave 3 or in some cases 4 feet.
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Aug 27, 2014 19:09
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KozmoNaut posted:That also makes it an extreme edge case that isn't applicable to 99,9% of the other roads cyclists may ride on. Okay, as stupid as this derail is, Europeans and Americans need to stop arguing over bicycles and roads. They're two completely different worlds and will never be the same. Riding a bicycle on a 70MPH road in the rural US isn't going to be as common as riding a bicycle on a rural road in Europe. And while, yes, it may be an edge case, it's the edge case that started the entire debate, so I don't see where I'm off-base. But thanks!
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Aug 27, 2014 19:12
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Motronic posted:In 20+ states in the US it is illegal not to leave 3 or in some cases 4 feet. Then reduced speed would be necessary in order to comply with the law, as wolrah posted. The bike isn't legally impeding anyone, and you just have to slow a little, wait for the oncoming car to pass, and then overtake. I honestly don't see the problem.
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Aug 27, 2014 19:15
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HorseLord posted:Then reduced speed would be necessary in order to comply with the law, as wolrah posted. The bike isn't legally impeding anyone, and you just have to slow a little, wait for the oncoming car to pass, and then overtake. I honestly don't see the problem. quote:impede
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Aug 27, 2014 19:19
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Yes, I know what the dictionary is. wolrah cited a law about impeding traffic that specifically exempts situations where you have to in order to not break another law.
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Aug 27, 2014 19:21
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I give up, this derail is dumb for the reasons I stated earlier. To get the thread back on track: I was driving through town and was waiting at a light. To my right was a car that was obviously not turning right into the connected shopping center, but was continuing straight. Past the light, her lane turned into a right turn only lane. I knew what she was going to do, which was speed past me and cut in front of me. Normally, that would irritate the hell out of me, but today it was about 3pm and the "25MPH SCHOOL ZONE" lights were flashing, and apparently she didn't notice. The light turned green, I sped up to 25, since, you know, KIDS, but she floored it, passed me, got into my lane, and continued on going at least 45-50. At the base of the hill, after the school, a police officer with a yellow vest walked out into the street, held up his hand, and stopped her. He took her ID and made her pull off to the side while he let the rest of us continue. It was the best day.
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Aug 27, 2014 19:23
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WAR CRIME SYNDICAT posted:I give up, this derail is dumb for the reasons I stated earlier. To get the thread back on track: gently caress yes. I've been avoiding student traffic by coming in early and leaving early, but I got up late last week on Tuesday and there were no fewer than four motorcycle cops at the school zone on the way to work and boy howdy were they busy!
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Aug 27, 2014 19:38
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WAR CRIME SYNDICAT posted:I give up, this derail is dumb for the reasons I stated earlier. To get the thread back on track: Agreed, this derail is stupid. Happened something like that happen to me over the weekend. I was driving with the girlfriend from Seattle to Pullman, to visit friends and family. Well for those who don't know the east side of the state, you have to drive through Colfax, WA to get to Pullman, either by Highway 195 or Highway 26. Let me say, Colfax is a poo poo hole and I hate driving through it. The reason it's a poo poo hole is that it's a notorious speed trap. The highway speed drops from 60mph to 25mph. And you better be doing exactly the speed, all the way until you pass each sign that raises the speed limit. The cops are bored and will go after you for anything. I know people who got pulled over for going 2+mph over. So outside of Colfax, this old 1940s heavily modified farm truck comes blazing up behind me and passes me on the 2 lane highway. Didn't think much of it but the girl and I talked about how funny it would be if Colfax PD got them. Sure enough, driving through that poo poo hole, and there was the yellow farmtruck, on the side of the road with a cop giving the driver the riot act. Oh the laughs we had...
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Aug 27, 2014 19:39
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WAR CRIME SYNDICAT posted:I give up, this derail is dumb for the reasons I stated earlier. To get the thread back on track: poo poo like this is why I love driving acceptably over the speed limit for where I live, and laugh at people getting tickets for blowing past me. Speeds limits 90kph, and short of crappy weather, the OPP won't pull you over for anything under about 105. I usually sit around 100'ish, which is what most people drive. Then guys will blast past me. Then 2 miles later there they are, getting a ticket. Makes my day every time. As Kastein puts it, I love bear bait.
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Aug 27, 2014 20:02
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Siochain posted:poo poo like this is why I love driving acceptably over the speed limit for where I live, and laugh at people getting tickets for blowing past me. Speeds limits 90kph, and short of crappy weather, the OPP won't pull you over for anything under about 105. I usually sit around 100'ish, which is what most people drive. Then guys will blast past me. Then 2 miles later there they are, getting a ticket. Makes my day every time. As Kastein puts it, I love bear bait. Yeah, 10kph over on the speedo is generally my target speed, and I still get passed like I was standing still sometimes. Every single time an unmarked cop puts on his lights and goes after them, my day is saved.
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Aug 27, 2014 20:45
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Almost ran over a cyclist yesterday. I was just starting to go around him when he jerked 4 feet to the left and pulled out his cell phone. 
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Aug 27, 2014 22:07
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 Holy poo poo sorry I ever mentioned that.Speaking of dumbasses breaking the law and getting caught instantly, I had a good example recently. There's this road that basically starts at the highway exist and for some stupid reason has a 70km/h limit instead of 90. Still, it's usually safe to go at least 100-110. The trick is to make sure the coast is clear before speeding. Specifically, there's a crest that obstructs the view where the cops were hiding this time:  Now enter the dumbass in VW van or something. He was on my rear end the whole time even though I was clearly slowing down for the cops. While I was still waiting to break the line of sight in the rear view mirror, he started to rather unsafely overtake me (visibility + construction + speeding), then cutting me off an spraying with some gravel from the construction. Either the cops took off then or were already following us, but they gave chase and pulled him over right in front of me. I'm really not a nazi about this sort of thing, but if you're breaking the law, don't be a loving moron about it and do it right in front of the police!
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Aug 27, 2014 23:10
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KozmoNaut posted:Yeah, 10kph over on the speedo is generally my target speed, and I still get passed like I was standing still sometimes. Every single time an unmarked cop puts on his lights and goes after them, my day is saved. Ayup. That being said, winter up here, gently caress speeders. The roads are terrible because the companies contracted to do the snow clearing are loving retarded. So you get idiots in their brodozers with summer tires and no weight in the back flying down the road at 140-150 and crashing into minivans or old-people-cars and killing them every week or two. Its horrible. Hence why I've got a dashcam for the truck (and so far nothing fun).
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Aug 27, 2014 23:33
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I've got a whole bunch of these, still trying to figure out the best (and free) method to upload/edit them. Not sure why this one only uploads in 360p though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDUzUJKpdU4
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Aug 28, 2014 02:23
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Moppingest posted:Not sure why this one only uploads in 360p though: It's in 720p. Youtube just makes the lower resolutions available first, right after you upload it.
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Aug 28, 2014 02:32
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Moppingest posted:I've got a whole bunch of these, still trying to figure out the best (and free) method to upload/edit them. Not sure why this one only uploads in 360p though: That's just because it's one of the first resolutions to finish. It takes a while for the higher resolutions to complete and show up. E: Beaten!
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Aug 28, 2014 02:37
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KozmoNaut posted:There are narrower roads in the UK with 60 mph limits. https://www.google.com/maps/@39.308032,-120.763113,3a,75y,101.78h,62.73t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sEDo8w6LcQozN4yd5LhIYTQ!2e0 This is fun when you are 75 feet long.
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Aug 28, 2014 03:52
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jamal posted:A few weeks ago I rode about 75mi on this highway: As a former Montana resident in Colorado, I really miss the speed limits. I feel very comfortable at 70mph on a two-lane, and 75 feels just right to me. I travel a road in Colorado that is 60 to 65, and I always want to go faster, but I see a Hi-Po every single time I travel it. I also think the limits along I-70 are too low from Vail to Denver, and in Glenwood Canyon (50?!? Even the Gallatin Canyon is 60), but those are the breaks with increased population I suppose.
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Aug 28, 2014 06:00
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TWBalls & Craptacular posted:(youtube explanations) That makes sense, thanks guys! Here's a few more of 'em. I know this isn't the dashcam thread, but these [and I] are the people we share a road with. The videos pretty much explain themselves so I'll keep the descriptions short. Person drifts into my lane as I'm nearing a pass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCP8RGzGKec Clusterfuck of bikeguy getting angry that two people going 5 under the limit in both lanes side by side, followed by a really lovely zipper merge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo0v3JNvRkw This one I'm sure someone will get on me for, but we're going 45 in a 55 up until the bend-- we then drop to 35 and the passing zone opens. This was more of a snap decision, and after I had passed, they slowed back down to going <50 and I didn't really see them again. I really wish that there was something that prevented people who aren't passing/were going under the limit previously, from speeding up in a passing zone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzy_tAbhdJk Three cars enter my lane one after the other over a small bend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsD7t6lTass This one was just fun to watch. I always try to give plenty of room at this merge point. That black jeep merging over and not letting the people who were in front of him in : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h02XW5oxNf8 I'll probably continue uploading the rest of these if there's interest.
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Aug 29, 2014 01:54
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Yeah that pass of yours is outrageously dumb. The other ones are bog standard lovely drivers the world over.
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Aug 29, 2014 02:12
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