These are the people you share a road with: Let's play "drunk or hyper-miler?"

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > These are the people you share a road with: Let's play "drunk or hyper-miler?"

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Galler: Jan 28, 2008

leica posted:

After riding motorcycles for three years in Japan, coming back here was a nightmare and I haven't been riding since

I'm becoming increasingly convinced that anyone riding a motorcycle in the US (including myself) is an idiot. I really should sell this dumb bike buuuuuut I'm an idiot and enjoy it too much.

# ¿ Sep 10, 2013 01:36

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# ¿ May 5, 2024 18:43

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

After I reinstalled the headlight assembly on my bike I did a half-rear end aim on the garage door but forgot to do a final one after it warmed up. Thanks to this thread I just now went and aimed it according to the very precise (German) instructions in the manual. It was slightly off but not blindy. Need to do the same thing on the Fit but the lights on it look pretty close and aren't really capable of blinding anyone so :effort:

I didn't know rear fog lights were a thing, which I guess isn't surprising since I live in the USA, but it wouldn't make much of a difference since hardly anyone turns on any of their lights anyway. Heavy rain/dense fog/night time/whatever they aren't watching the road enough to notice they can't see it or realize no one can see them.

# ¿ Sep 20, 2013 02:31

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Their lane positions, following distances, and (lack of) gear choice is loving appalling. Also, how loving dumb do you have to be to try and make a 2 ton vehicle rear end your motorcycle. I'm totally going to show this rear end in a top hat! *brake checks, gets squished* He's lucky the Range Rover driver was paying some sort of attention and not traveling along like most motorists.

e; also that article is really loving hard to read. What's so hard about telling a story from start to finish in the order that it happened?

Galler fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Oct 1, 2013

# ¿ Oct 1, 2013 00:06

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Giblet Plus! posted:

The dude on the white bike brake checked him and he didn't brake back.

Watch the video playback time and keep in mind the average human perception/reaction time of 1.5 seconds.

The biker cut him off with about 1/8th a car length to spare, speeds up slightly, and then brake checks the SUV driver. That's loving on the biker.

e: I ride a motorcycle. I do everything in my power to not get loving run over by inattentive drivers. Part of that is to not put myself in harms way by being dumb as hell.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2013 00:26

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Holy poo poo, thank you for quoting that. The post itself is pretty hilarious but the next few posts

Beardless Riker posted:

This thread got exponentially dumb recently and it wasn't even my fault, gently caress that guy for stealing my thunder

VikingSkull posted:

Yeah, sorry man, that guy went on some next level poo poo. You got outclassed.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2013 00:24

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Foggy as poo poo today with <25 yard visibility in places. From what I saw a rough breakdown was 25% head lights on, 50% DRL, 25% no lights at all. So 75% or so of the traffic was invisible from behind and 25% was invisible from the front.

# ¿ Oct 2, 2013 18:07

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

I like the people who signal after they have gotten half way through their merge/turn/whatever. I guess they know that they are supposed to signal but just have no idea why. :downs:

# ¿ Oct 4, 2013 00:04

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Jonny 290 posted:

The best are the people that drive one speed and manage to pull this poo poo off. I've figured it out. It's 41 MPH.

The car is always like a bashed up Alero or maybe a Windstar with no rear suspension. 55 MPH? Driving 41. Slows to 45? 41 MPH. 35 MPH speed limit? Forty-one miles per hour.

For my commute, at least the highway part of it, there always seems to be someone that wants to do 63-64 everywhere and is also afraid of passing. Traffic mostly does 5 over along this route so at no point is this person ever going with the flow.

code:

<-------------------------===================================------------------------->
 55                            55 65               65 55                             55

----- highway
===== divided highway
## speed limit

So in my ASCII drawing above I, and everyone else, would be doing ~60 through the 55 zone. Mr. 64 will ride my rear end all the way to where the divided highway starts (but 1/2 mile before the speed changes) and then whip around and jump up all the way up to ...64 and then keep doing speed. I'll wait until the 65 zone actually starts and then accelerate to 70. I invariably end up passing Mr. 64 soon after and then put enough space between us that he doesn't catch up again until sometime in the 55mph highway where he will resume riding my rear end while refusing to pass. There's usually at least one or two sections of completely straight and flat 1.5-2 mile long stretches of rode with plenty of visibility and minimal traffic that would make passing easy. Also I'm either on a motorcycle or in a Honda Fit so it's not like this individual cannot see past my vehicle to know if it's clear to pass or anything.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2013 21:41

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

My BMW motorcycle's speedometer is about 7% optimistic but the odometer is correct. Judging by the other bikes in the (BMW MOA) club this is normal. :iiam:

Are there more strict regulations on odometers than speedometers?

Galler fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Oct 22, 2013

# ¿ Oct 22, 2013 17:34

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Ahhhh what the gently caress is so difficult about merging onto the interstate from surface streets. There's plenty of loving on ramp for even the shittiest of poo poo boxes to get up to merging speed and yet several times a week I get stuck behind some retard that doesn't even attempt to accelerate going up the ramp and then doesn't even look before merging into 70mph+ traffic while doing 40mph.

I had to stop on the on ramp today because one of those fuckers decided to pull that maneuver and if I had merged in behind him I would have been the cream filling in a semi and pickup truck sandwich. Fortunately the trucker was paying attention so the only damage was to his underwear. As far as I could tell the retard in the pickup remained oblivious to his near major accident.

# ¿ Oct 23, 2013 21:52

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

The space you would save by not recording audio is going to be insignificant compared to the space required by 1080p video. The quality of stills will mostly depend on the encoding used by the camera but will probably be reasonable.

# ¿ Oct 24, 2013 06:04

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Snowdens Secret posted:

I was pointing out the drivers that thought somehow if the bars weren't down the train didn't have the right of way.

And really the bars are irrelevant. The train always has the right of way.

# ¿ Nov 6, 2013 02:09

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

That didn't get me through Calculus and Analytical Geometry because the jerk professor wouldn't let us use calculators on most of the tests t :mad:

It did however get me through statistics and a bunch of other math type courses. Also some non math courses where it helped me to be really good at remembering stuff during tests somehow :iiam:

# ¿ Nov 9, 2013 01:08

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

There are garbage cans right next to every gas pump so it really takes no effort to not fill your car with trash.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2013 00:20

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

InitialDave posted:

If he does what he says and gets it off the windows and lights, as well as the majority of the roof/bonnet stuff, I'm not really seeing why it would be an issue.

Well he specifically said he only cleans the windows, lights, and license plate so I'm guessing the roof/bonnet remain covered.

e: welp, he edited the post. So I guess he just missed the entire conversation V :shobon:

Galler fucked around with this message at 00:46 on Nov 15, 2013

# ¿ Nov 14, 2013 23:59

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Terrible Robot posted:

Also, pretty much all of the students of the college I work at are apparently incapable of using a sidewalk, and will instead stroll down the center of the road, even if one is literally 5 feet away. They might use it to stand on as you drive past, but usually will hop right back into the road. It's a small campus with a lot of blind corners, I've nearly hit some on more than one occasion because of this but they never loving learn.

Do not even get me started on how they drive, I might have a stroke.

My university has a huge parking lot between one set of dorms and various lecture halls. There's a giant sidewalk linking the two which is both the shortest path to and from the lecture halls and also protected from the traffic in the fairly busy lot. About half the students choose to walk through the parking lot anyway meandering in and out of the traffic lanes never once glancing about to see if they are about to get nailed by a car.

They aren't any smarter when they eventually make it into the classroom.

e: Going back for a degree has been depressing as hell. I'm going to end up with the same degree as these retards that should have failed out of CS101 but have been allowed to squeak by in every class. Oh well, I got an internship out of it which resulted in a very good job offer at a pretty good company. Most of these idiots are about to graduate and have either never held a job or worked as an RA or some other non-computer position. Good luck with your tier 1 help desk job since that's all you will be qualified for!

Galler fucked around with this message at 00:12 on Nov 20, 2013

# ¿ Nov 20, 2013 00:01

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

What seems to happen around here is that everyone does the zipper correctly except that they do it a mile too early. Traffic still flows along perfectly fine however even if it's slightly less efficient until someone charges up the empty lane and has to come to a complete stop in front of the cones until they can force their way in which completely fucks the flow of traffic. So the person jumping the queue is a shitlord for loving up the flow of traffic and everyone else is dumb for zippering at the wrong spot.

We need a big PSA about zipper merging or something.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2013 01:45

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Let's be practical about this. No one is going to pull over the trooper and write them a ticket and no one is going to pass the trooper on that road regardless of lane positioning. Well, I guess, someone might pass the trooper but they are dumb as hell and are probably going to get a ticket for their trouble.

Not saying it's right but it's how things work.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2013 05:45

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

davebo posted:

You can't tell me with all the technology onboard that a Prius doesn't turn its lights on automatically at night. How are people accidentally manually turning their lights off at night?

Maybe all the bulbs are burned out including whatever bulbs might signal that the bulbs are burned out :v:

. Still, you would have to be pretty loving oblivious to not notice that you're unable to see where the hell you're going.

# ¿ Dec 11, 2013 19:04

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

My highschool had an 8 week driver's ed course with a written and practical exam at the end. If you got a good enough score on both they gave you a waiver to take to the DMV which would then issue you your license with no further testing required. I qualified for the waiver :smugdog:

The alternative was to not go to the nearest DMV but instead go ~30 minutes away from civilization to this little town with a population of 2,000 and a sum total of 27 streets, most of which are less than two blocks long, which just happens to have a DMV for some reason. The driving test there pretty much just requires stopping at a stop sign and not crashing into anything while you make a loop of the town which takes 5 minutes max because it's loving tiny.

# ¿ Dec 11, 2013 23:09

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

To be fair truckers are doing something useful like delivering food or something whereas cyclists are just making congested roads even more congested by loving up the flow of traffic.

Galler fucked around with this message at 08:41 on Dec 24, 2013

# ¿ Dec 24, 2013 08:38

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

I just park out in the rear end end off the parking lot away from everyone and walk a bit further. As an added bonus I get to watch the people that pulled into the parking lot ahead of me circle around the spots next to the building for a few minutes waiting for one to open up so they can avoid walking an extra 5 yards.

# ¿ Jan 4, 2014 19:01

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

nm posted:

You know who never uses turn outs? Motorcycles. Was stuck behind a harley and two BMW touring bikes from Boonville to Cloverdale on 128 the other day. loving maddening.

Presumably the harley was having trouble maintaining a reasonable speed because it's a brick with a 1920s tractor motor and the beemers were helpfully picking up all the parts that were falling off harley :v:

# ¿ Jan 5, 2014 21:05

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Sure. Whether or not the police will actually use the footage is an entirely different matter and will depend on the officer/department/city/whatever policy.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2014 10:37

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

clutchpuck posted:

You don't know anybody who rides a beemer, eh?

I ride a beemer and the cars are bimmers. It's a very important distinction because reasons :colbert:

# ¿ Jan 7, 2014 00:50

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

xzzy posted:

65 mph (which is the max speed limit in Illinois)

As of 8 days ago it's now 70! Except possibly in some Chicago-land areas because they get to opt out of it or something (as if anyone does less than 80 ever up there).

# ¿ Jan 9, 2014 23:38

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Terrible Robot posted:

I've been spending way to much time in GBS lately.

Why would you do this? The posting in there is just as lovely as the comments on youtube or the experience of joining a HOA.

# ¿ Jan 12, 2014 22:12

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

If I'm going to be on my motorcycle for more than like 15 minutes I'll put in ear plugs (and really should for every ride) since I like my hearing in its current functional state. The earplugs mostly just block out the wind noise and actually make it easier to hear everything else. Also, like BraveUlysses mentioned, I'm probably going to get killed anyway so I might as well die comfortable*.

When I'm driving though I can barely tolerate a hat the covers my ears let alone headphones or ear buds. Just feels weird and isolating.

e: *I'm strongly considering LS swapping a miata or something when I can afford it to get as close as possible to a motorcycle but with like a 90% reduction in death likelihood.

Galler fucked around with this message at 22:00 on Jan 14, 2014

# ¿ Jan 14, 2014 21:55

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

It's also the last time your birthday has any significance beyond possibly getting a free beer or some cake

# ¿ Jan 15, 2014 04:00

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Nope. That's a myth that just refuses to die I'm sorry to say.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2014 04:05

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Insurance rates can and do change for a million different reasons but there's no universal turn 25 and get a big discount rule. Not saying yours didn't just that it's not something you can count on.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2014 04:50

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Jesus christ you're not kidding about the last one. My dad is 65 now and the AARP mail never stops.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2014 05:24

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

I've got a pair of these red led panels hooked up to a one of these brake light wig-wag flashers mounted to my bikes splash guard. I've also got some 3M reflective stuff covering the back of my rather large side cases and replaced the large horizontal reflector with one of the red marker lights used on semi trucks. I'm sure it irritates people that are behind me when I'm braking but I will be seen by even the most inattentive retard when I'm stopped at a red light or whatever.

fake edit: also have a bunch of reflective poo poo on my top-of-the-line riding suit and helmet.

Still probably going to be killed. Gotta start my new job and get some awesome car that can substitute for a bike.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2014 04:46

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Thank you stop light for letting me catch this:

The upper pieces were bouncing around pretty good.

The road crews got the roads mostly clear except for a few areas where the small amount of snow had worked its way past the shoulders a bit. I saw a number of people that were so concerned about making sure their passenger side tires didn't come within 3 feet of that encroaching snow that they were paying absolutely no attention to how far over the yellow line their driver's side was. I'm glad my car is tiny so that I only need a small part of my lane.

Craptacular posted:

Loading docks are busy places with lots of big things being moved around, it would have been a shame if the car had been accidentally hit by one of them.

I would be OK with trucks being able to 'ignore' illegally parked cars in loading areas in the same way that fire fighters 'ignore' cars parked in front of a hydrant they need to use.

Galler fucked around with this message at 23:17 on Jan 22, 2014

# ¿ Jan 22, 2014 23:15

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

To an extent. The lights and siren are frighteningly ineffective. A ton of people are so completely oblivious that the squad/ambulance/fire truck will be a block past them before they notice it and so many people react in a completely unpredictable fashion (usually dangerously wrong) when they do notice them that it can be easier to just not use them at all.

Also I went through one of the longest police academies in the US and spent a grand total of 2 weeks on driving. Of that time maybe a quarter of it had anything to do with driving fast and at best only about a quarter of that was spent actually driving. The rest of the time was waiting in line or doing push ups because someone did something dumb.

Anyone that's gone to any kind of race school has more training in driving fast than the vast majority of police officers. The police do, however, have more training in driving in stressful situations surrounded by retards.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2014 23:26

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Police motorcycle positions are extremely competitive and the training is dramatically better. Patrol officers get the bulk of their training up front and then get some updates every now and then (frequency and quality depending on the department of course). Specialized positions after that tend to have a lot of highly focused training and anyone that doesn't cut it gets booted back to patrol and someone else gets their spot.

# ¿ Jan 30, 2014 07:07

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Not a lawyer either but I have had a few law classes and I'm reading it the same way. It is illegal to park or be stopped for more than a moment in front of any of those places listed.

Call the non-emergency police number and tell them that people are blocking driveways and refusing to allow residents to enter/leave their property during school pickup/drop off times. Also talk to your neighbors and get them to report the same.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2014 05:32

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Haifisch posted:

I've resigned myself to the usual winter driving terribleness. People who think that any snow on the ground means they can't go faster than 20

This was basically my commute on Friday. People saw snow and slowed way the gently caress down which I suppose is better than the alternative of going balls out regardless of weather but in this case it was completely unnecessary. The snow was very dry and powdery and the roads were completely clear and cold before it started snowing. The plows were out in force but just movement of air caused by the traffic was enough to blow the snow off the roads and what did stay on the road didn't affect traction at all. Ended up with a bunch of convoys in the completely clear and dry right lane doing 20+ under the limit and I passed all of them going the limit+5 in the snowy left lane because, again, it just looked like it was covered in snow but in reality just had a dusting of powder that amounted to nothing.

I imagine a bunch of those people thought that the little hatchback that blew past them was completely reckless and would spin out at any moment but I made the entire 170 mile trip without hint of an issue. I was very cautious going through all the little towns on the way, however, because all the intersections had turn to ice or slush.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2014 23:27

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

Fortunately in this case they only salted the towns which made what you said all the more apparent as the roads they just plowed were perfect. Also the one intersection they dumped grit instead of salt was also perfect.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2014 23:37

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# ¿ May 5, 2024 18:43

Galler: Jan 28, 2008

While not anywhere near train horn loud these Stebel Nautilus horns are pretty loud and a lot cheaper and easier to mount.

# ¿ Feb 6, 2014 02:35

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > These are the people you share a road with: Let's play "drunk or hyper-miler?"

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