Interesting graphs and charts department

[Undertoad]

I wonder how many miles GPS is saving.

OK I forgot: there was a massive price spike in 2005, which was shocking and probably led to a lot of changes in habitual driving. But still!

Also, around here the roads are well at capacity during rush hour. It is hard to get miles in when you're going 10 MPH. There has been an upswing in passenger miles on the commuter trains.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by glatt

Plus, who wants to jump in the car to sit in traffic?

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Also, around here the roads are well at capacity during rush hour. It is hard to get miles in when you're going 10 MPH. There has been an upswing in passenger miles on the commuter trains.

That's a biggie, Los Angeles synced their 4400 traffic lights to increase the average speed of traffic from 15 to 17.5 mph.
I've done the Philly to mid-state Massachusetts run a bazillion times, in every conceivable weather/time of day/day of week condition, since 1966.
NYC in the middle adds another dimension, as well as Governor Christie.
That trip has varied between 3hrs-57min and 23hrs-22min due to external forces I couldn't influence... no mechanical failures or personal foibles. Mostly increased volume, but self absorbed clueless drivers with no lane discipline are as big a contributor. When did fathers start telling their teens to drive in the left lane and never leave it no matter what? I guess you never know when you'll want to make a left turn... through the guardrail, across the median.

Christ, there are only two rules...
1- Don't hit the car in front.
2- Don't block the car behind.
how hard is that?

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Christ, there are only two rules...
1- Don't hit the car in front.
2- Don't block the car behind.
how hard is that?

I think it is hard for people who think they are the only car on the road, or the only car that matters...

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

When did fathers start telling their teens to drive in the left lane and never leave it no matter what?

In Kentucky, if a Trooper (or anybody else with blue lights and a gun) observes you driving more than a mile in the left lane (fast lane), without passing traffic in the slower lanes, you can be given a ticket. Lane obstruction, I think.

Also, it's a state law here that you have to go completely into the left lane if you pass a cop with someone pulled over, or writing up an accident, or whatever, on the interstate. On a regular road, you must get as far over as is prudent for traffic conditions. And slow down significantly.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Same here, new law on changing to the left lane or slowing way down if you can't, when a cop's on the shoulder. There seems to be a wave of these laws being passed across the country. I would speculate the problem was being out on the shoulder is incredibly dangerous and when someone hits the cop, his car, or the car he stopped, he could rarely charge the driver.

Hey, that's why they call them accidents, bro.

That's left the cops vulnerable to carefully executed "accidents", but this law helps prevent accidents real and staged. But of course that would never be discussed in the open.

A lot of states have the get-the-fuck-over laws but the cops are usually too busy to observe, no less enforce them unless you're right in front of him. I remember being on I-84 in Ct late at night. I'm in the right lane, very light traffic, and I see flashing lights coming up from behind in the left lane. When the cruiser catches up with me he's got colored light flashing, headlights strobing and the siren blaring. He's also 2 inches off the rear bumper of some guy who was oblivious... or dead. The cop must have been furious because about a minute later the cop passed him on the median, even though my lane was open.

It's one of those catch 22 things, the cop has to be elsewhere or he might have been tempted to shoot the fool, but if he didn't have to be elsewhere it wouldn't have happened in the first place.

[xoxoxoBruce]

The Scottish Owl Centre.

With a Scottish accent I wasn't sure if it was birds or wolves... it's birds.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

...
That trip has varied between 3hrs-57min and 23hrs-22min ...

I'd like to hear about that trip