🚀 go-pugleaf

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J.D. Baldwin wrote:

> In article <359d2c9a.8323937@news.okc.oklahoma.net>, E. Faubion
> <in@the.sig> wrote:
> > >A motorist was going 85 mph, weaving from lane to lane to lane.  He lost
> > >control of his car, and it flipped over several times, his seat belt
> > >failed, and he was ejected.  The rescue squad workers found him at the
> > >bottom of an embankment, and his brain was hanging out.  The coroner
> > >pronounced him dead.  He was put in a body bag.  He was taken to the
> > >morgue.
> >
> > Rest assured the leadfoot crowd will find a way to convince themselves
> > speeding had nothing to do with this or any of the other crashes you
> > mentioned.
>
> I'd hate to see you disappointed, so here I am to say exactly that.
> Speeding perhaps increased the severity of this crash -- perhaps if
> he'd beeing going 65 instead of 85, he merely would have broken his
> neck and smashed in his skull instead of having his "brain hanging
> out." I fail to see how a "someone was speeding and driving like an
> idiot" anecdote proves anything about those of us who speed and drive
> carefully while doing so.
>
> Hell, even the drivers' manual published by my original home state
> admitted that speed doesn't cause accidents, in and of itself.  (But
> it does make accidents more severe when they happen.)
>
> Fortunately, the police where I live generally take the same view.  If
> you're not weaving or following too closely, and you stay near the
> flow of traffic at about 15 mph over the posted limit, you'll
> generally be left alone.
> --
>  From the catapult of J.D. Baldwin  |+| "If anyone disagrees with anything I
>    _,_    Finger baldwin@netcom.com |+| say, I am quite prepared not only to
>  _|70|___:::)=}-  for PGP public    |+| retract it, but also to deny under
>  \      /         key information.  |+| oath that I ever said it." --T. Lehrer
> ***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Well I am here to tell you something different.  I have yet to see anyone (with
the exception of some police officers and some professional race drivers) who
speeds with any regularity who does not often drive dangerously as well.  Every
day I see people who drive too fast for the conditions that exist, and I don't get
onto Interstates as much as I used to, having gotten a job closer to home.

Unless you want me to (God knows why,) I won't spend a lot of time pointing out
incidents, but last night, there was a guy up my ass while I was passing a slower
vehicle at 65 who then passed and accelerated to 100 mph or so.  He continued
this, changing from lane to lane, at one point nearly clipping a slower car.

1.  Driving 100 mph on that highway after dark is dangerous, especially if you
know what  a moose can do to a car.

2.  Driving 6-10 feet from someone's rear bumper at 65 mph is dangerous.

3.  Diving in and out of the slow lane is dangerous, because people will not be
able to keep track of you, even if they pay more attention to the rear-view mirror
than the norm (30 seconds.)

4.  Having to swerve at the last minute proves my contention, since, if he hadn't,
he would have collided.

This type of thing happens every day, several times a day just where I can see
it.  Multiply this by the number of people who are in other areas who are probably
doing the same thing and you have a lot of people who are doing stupid things.

You guys may not be dangerous.  I would like to believe it.  You have to
understand, though, that you are not the norm.  Most people got about 20 hours of
driver education (if any) and a little time with mom and dad (if any.)  That's
it.  Then they pass the minimal test from DMV and off they go.  And they know
everything and are invincible.

Then, some get on the net.

M


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J.D. Baldwin wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>In article &lt;359d2c9a.8323937@news.okc.oklahoma.net>,
E. Faubion
<BR>&lt;in@the.sig> wrote:
<BR>> >A motorist was going 85 mph, weaving from lane to lane to lane.&nbsp;
He lost
<BR>> >control of his car, and it flipped over several times, his seat
belt
<BR>> >failed, and he was ejected.&nbsp; The rescue squad workers found
him at the
<BR>> >bottom of an embankment, and his brain was hanging out.&nbsp; The
coroner
<BR>> >pronounced him dead.&nbsp; He was put in a body bag.&nbsp; He was
taken to the
<BR>> >morgue.
<BR>>
<BR>> Rest assured the leadfoot crowd will find a way to convince themselves
<BR>> speeding had nothing to do with this or any of the other crashes
you
<BR>> mentioned.

<P>I'd hate to see you disappointed, so here I am to say exactly that.
<BR>Speeding perhaps increased the severity of this crash -- perhaps if
<BR>he'd beeing going 65 instead of 85, he merely would have broken his
<BR>neck and smashed in his skull instead of having his "brain hanging
<BR>out." I fail to see how a "someone was speeding and driving like an
<BR>idiot" anecdote proves anything about those of us who speed and drive
<BR>carefully while doing so.

<P>Hell, even the drivers' manual published by my original home state
<BR>admitted that speed doesn't cause accidents, in and of itself.&nbsp;
(But
<BR>it does make accidents more severe when they happen.)

<P>Fortunately, the police where I live generally take the same view.&nbsp;
If
<BR>you're not weaving or following too closely, and you stay near the
<BR>flow of traffic at about 15 mph over the posted limit, you'll
<BR>generally be left alone.
<BR>--
<BR>&nbsp;From the catapult of J.D. Baldwin&nbsp; |+| "If anyone disagrees
with anything I
<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp; _,_&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Finger baldwin@netcom.com |+| say,
I am quite prepared not only to
<BR>&nbsp;_|70|___:::)=}-&nbsp; for PGP public&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; |+| retract
it, but also to deny under
<BR>&nbsp;\&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; /&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
key information.&nbsp; |+| oath that I ever said it." --T. Lehrer
<BR>***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------</BLOCKQUOTE>
Well I am here to tell you something different.&nbsp; I have yet to see
anyone (with the exception of <I>some</I> police officers and <I>some</I>
professional race drivers) who speeds with any regularity who does not
often drive dangerously as well.&nbsp; Every day I see people who drive
too fast for the conditions that exist, and I don't get onto Interstates
as much as I used to, having gotten a job closer to home.

<P>Unless you want me to (God knows why,) I won't spend a lot of time pointing
out incidents, but last night, there was a guy up my ass while I was passing
a slower vehicle at 65 who then passed and accelerated to 100 mph or so.&nbsp;
He continued this, changing from lane to lane, at one point nearly clipping
a slower car.

<P>1.&nbsp; Driving 100 mph on that highway after dark is dangerous, especially
if you know what&nbsp; a moose can do to a car.

<P>2.&nbsp; Driving 6-10 feet from someone's rear bumper at 65 mph is dangerous.

<P>3.&nbsp; Diving in and out of the slow lane is dangerous, because people
will not be able to keep track of you, even if they pay more attention
to the rear-view mirror than the norm (30 seconds.)

<P>4.&nbsp; Having to swerve at the last minute proves my contention, since,
if he hadn't, he would have collided.

<P>This type of thing happens every day, several times a day <I>just where
I can see it.</I>&nbsp; Multiply this by the number of people who are in
other areas who are probably doing the same thing and you have a lot of
people who are doing stupid things.

<P>You guys may <I>not</I> be dangerous.&nbsp; I would like to believe
it.&nbsp; You have to understand, though, that you are not the norm.&nbsp;
Most people got about 20 hours of driver education (if any) and a little
time with mom and dad (if any.)&nbsp; That's it.&nbsp; Then they pass the
minimal test from DMV and off they go.&nbsp; And they know everything and
are invincible.

<P>Then, some get on the net.

<P>M
<BR>&nbsp;</HTML>

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