Folks Of Interest Is it just me or Am I just gett'n way to damned old?

ARE/DO PEOPLE DRIVE TO DAMNED FAST ON ALL ROADS THESE DAYS ??
This evening, I didn't feel at all like cooking dinner, so I decided to cheat and drive out for some burgers, fries and cherry pies for us. Headed down old highway 99 from my local well-traveled side 4 lane and dammed near got run over. It was admittedly rushing hour, but WTHell?? Is doing 50/55 in a 40 now the norm? Following so close that you can read the small print on the license tab car in front also the norm? Is weaving in and out because the car in front isn't launching like a rocket when light dose not change fast enough for you, the norm? I waited at an intersection to turn left while the straight though stuff had the green to go south. Speed limit for them, was a posted 50. I had to merge with them for a short distance before getting to the left turn lane. To merge I had to get to 65/70, and BTW this stretch of south 99 has the distinction of being the deadliest road in all of Pierce County. Last year, in 2023, Washingtons death toll was 800 souls.
This year's count is ahead of last year at this venture.
And so how is this on topic? Well, I' ll be driving my avatar sweet thang out among those absolute creeps soon on the weekends when they ain't work'n, and I don't drive like I want to see the devils house or the Lords Paradice. Thats how. Now, I migrated in 2008 down to Phoenix for the winter and continued to so for 11 more years. Now those Goys and Girls are CRAZY. 90/95 mph on hiways,10, 60, loop,202,17 at all times, at all hours or you'll be run off the road. My knuckles were white every single minute. I was so glad to get away from that and now I dammed near have the same in my own state.


Now I was just at a Fed. Way Council meeting just last night and the Police Chief was in attendance and looked to be an ok guy and so I intend to question him on this.

BTW those who know of my wife's dementia, her daughter was here for her at that time. At present Jan is fast asleep our bedroom, that's my wife, (not her daughter);, ((thought I'd just clear that up some, before the rumors fly)), next to my office.

 

You know, Funny you should ask...
Pay attention to what's behind the wheel, if you can sneak a look(clue?). I'm glad I'm not out on the road much anymore, esp at rush. MN is insane, esp in the larger cities... & no, I'm not braggin'... I don't mind fast, et-al, but fkn Stupid(read: brain-dead, & no-concern-for-others. Beyond that comment, I gotta quit!) is something else.
Marcus...

 

No

 

What rock were you living under? Can I join you there Been like that for quite some time In most places I know , that’s why I moved from our capital back to the rinky dink little town I grew up in and it has its days now as well

 

Marcus your right on, if your referring to young female types from age 17 to age....say, .....oh maybe 29. Not a single brain cell connected to another in that vast space between the ears known as the skull. If the states driving authorities had a drop of sense, they'd create a computer with AI that knew instantly when one of these offenders approached a vehicle with intent to operate, and it would lock all entrances, flatten all tires and lock all brakes for the next six months and then notify all state agencies of a dangerous violation in progress and give the location for immediate arrest.
And if any of your young sweet things should see this be sooooooooo offended, tough titty said the kitty, but the milk is good.

and OMG my spelling is atrocious, got ta get better and quit going so fast.
There is a story here. Engineers are known to be bad spellers and we use that as an excuse when we really shouldn't. It is said that our minds work so fast that we do not stop to spell when working on a solution for a project or on a entirely new project and we don't want to stop to put down on paper so any way we get down works for us and it does not matter how things get spelled at that moment and that often times gets into the final description of getting it done, along with spelling be damned!!

 

You forgot to mention the SOB's with oncoming headlights that are brighter than police takedown lights. I drive with my high beams on at night just to fit in and let them think I'm driving an import too.

 

And stay off my lawn ! The driving you're speaking of isn't exclusive to any one age group, there's enough Stoopid to go around , & Im old !

 

Haha! I think we have the opposite issue where I live. Folks in the city (Ottawa, ON) all tend to drive at or below the speed limit (100 kph/ 63 mph). On the stretch through the city, lots of folks who are it using for short stretches seem to think they are still driving on city streets and drive at only 80 kph/ 50 mph. On the backroads to my place, posted speed limit is 70 kph/ 44 mph. It’s 10 kms from the 2-lane hwy, and about a quarter of the distance to Ottawa. Five times out of ten, I’ll get behind someone doing 40 - 50 kph (25 - 31 mph). It drives me nuts and it usually happens when you’re in a hurry. There is no passing, so you would think these folks would slow down and pull over for 3 -5 seconds to let you go, but they seem obliviously to everything around them.

 

I am the guy who drives the speed limit. I am the guy that get tailgated. I the guy who feels I own the front of the vehicle, the person behind owns the rear.
I don’t even bother to look in my mirrors to see who’s on my ass, gonna be someone, why look?

 

The world is in a hurry. Me, not so much.

 

The younger generation has started watching NASCAR and they are really into that bump drafting thing.

 

people suck, stop signs have become a suggestion, maybe they lift a little but if the way is clear, it's back on the gas.
where the shared center left turn lane has become a passing lane where it's become ok to bypass blocks of slowed traffic only to cut back in ahead of all us suckers who follow the rules of the road. or they wait in the left turn lane until there's a break in the cross traffic, then proceed through the intersection long before the light turns green.
there isn't a day that I don't smell that skunk weed they're smoking, yeah, thanks gov'ner for endangering my life in order to add to your tax roll.

 

I'm the pokey guy in the right hand lane. Go around...I don't have time to be in a hurry.

 

If they followed you far enough back to see the front plate here ir would be an improvement. I had one last week
so close I could nor see his hood.

 

I drive my OT cars under 70, my last speeding ticket in 2019 ran me $900 including the lawyer's fee. The Ford I do about the same since I have a 3.89 rear. I see people blowing past me on busy 4 lane highways doing well over 90. Where is a cop when you need one?

 

People now have no patience. Their driving habits are just an extension of their personality.
I hate stupid and inconsiderate idiots.
The me first mentality is more evident when the roads cant handle the traffic congestion.
Pulling out in front of traffic, changing lanes to gain one car length, no turn signals, never leaving enough space to stop their car and far be it they would actually stop or slow up to let someone enter in front of them.
I’ve only had one moving accident and three speeding violations in the 55 yrs I’ve been driving.

 

yes traffic sped up during covid when police were not stopping people & less cars were on the road & has not slowed down to pre pandemic speeds. Yes lights are much brighter & probably illegal in most cases even with Hallagan sealed beams I can see the shadow of my cars when most people are behind me. I actually had some one complain that there headlights reflecting off my rear bumper was blinding them but it didnt make them back off. not much chrome on the back of cars now a days

 

The only reaction I have to this is, "Hit me and let's see who has the better lawyer".

 

Same thing here in Indiana. This discussion comes up at least once a week at morning coffee with guys in my age group (post 70). Just returned from a trip to South Texas via six states. Same in all. Four lane, two lane, interstate, country road. Doesn't seem to make any difference. Even driving my rod to local Cruz Ins I can count on one close call per trip.

 

My take on the situation is the fact all mfgs need to supply higher MPG.
One way of doing this is gearing for lower engine speeds and multi-gearing trannys.
The result is where there used to be a lot of busy-buzzy engine noise, when driving over the limit, the newer models just hum along right to ninety ( )
No sweat.
The impatient driver can now beat the clock when getting to appointments.
As to the ridiculous behavior by the immature,,, us old fogeys need a supply of healthy organs

 

I'm the Old guy that usually sets the cruise at 5 over posted speed which makes me the rolling chicane at times, when it gets scary I pick up the pace to match traffic. I hear my Dad talking, "People drive crazy" Now I'm saying "People drive crazy" Hmmmmm I guess it all comes around, I'm old, HOW did this happen so fast.

 

We've raised a generation that never drove on bias tires or drum brakes. They've never known anything other than "stop on a dime" discs and radials so they drive accordingly......On Your Ass!!

 

I put in about 40 years in the trucking industry, I know some of you guys have that much time and even more. Over that 40 years, I saw the highways explode with traffic, cities extend out to what used to be open farm lands, and people lose their civility and common sense in many ways. I was, and still am, a fast driver, always 5-10 mph over the posted limits, but I was always a safe driver, I didn’t take chances for a couple of seconds travel time. I have over two million safe accident free driving miles in a truck, and that’s just the ones they still had records of, it was probably closer to three million. Civility and courtesy go a long way, and sadly most folks today have neither. My old stuff has the same lights and signals that were used for years, and I use them. I still run about five over, but I’m thankful I’m in a rural area, so I don’t have soccer moms and kids riding my ass every time I get on the road.

 

This thread is the opposite of the 50’s newspaper stories about the “Hot Rod Menace”. The juvenile delinquent is now the upright citizen.

 

By your testimony, the limit plus, can be quite managable, if you are aware of whats going on.
Mirror and lane checks, watching for the nut in the crowd who wants to go to the moon, etc.
Sadly as stated by many up the page th' yung'ns awareness is compromised by distractions

 

It would help if they were to pull their attention from their communication devices and look outside a little more often. Simple fact is most people don't "drive" anymore. They get behind the wheel and do whatever they want instead of being in control of their vehicle. The ads I see promoting hands-off travel and reliance on sensors to determine proximity between vehicles does nothing to help the situation. Back in the mid-eighties, I took a picture of an Oklahoma state representative (easily recognizable because of the distinctive license plate) behind the wheel of his vehicle on the Turner Turnpike. He was leaning on the driver's door with his feet in the passenger seat, steering with his left elbow and reading a newspaper. I wish I could find the picture, but I'm afraid it's been lost in all the moves we've made over the years.

 

I think part of it is that new cars, on average, are faster than they used to be. The advent of overdrive has made it effortless to roll along fast. I have one that will go 70, just off idle rpm. I think the top 2 or 3 gears are overdrives. Even crappy modern cars easily cruise at 90. I also have some '50's-'60's imports that were challenged to make it up to speed when they were new. When I set out in one of them I realize that I am an impediment to almost everyone's lifestyle, so be it and I can't worry about it. I pull out of my driveway on to a 55mph road. I have lived here 37 years and the average speed has increased at least 10 mph. I think the speed of cars has picked up even more if you look at the '60's thru today. When I was a kid in the back of a Rambler or Falcon wagon, I don't remember mom ever hitting 70 or 80. Then, think of the difference between 1895 and 1960. It's not a new thing. Even if I make to "just annoying" speed, I have 7" drum brakes. Great to the speed that they were designed for (probably 35-45), totally junk at 55-60. You can pull, or walk, out in front of me, I might be able to stop. It takes some of the fun out of driving them, I have to stick to the goat paths. Even then, I get tailgated while they try to read the emblems on the back or take pictures. Such is life, Mike

 

While I agree with the main sentiment, I will offer another cause.
The drive to do more with less (productivity), the need for every adult to work to afford a living space and food, the constant push to be on the go bleeds over to getting from place to place ASAP.

That coupled with modern stuff being engineered to be safe and easy (even self-driving) has caused a false security in driving close to or over the physical limits. My 20 year old truck will do 90 for hours on the interstate.

Larry, hope your rant relieves a little steam. Keep on going, dude.

 

Yup, right lane, sane speed, hopefully I can see the morons coming. Nothing more dangerous than a high performance car with a low skilled driver.

 

That's it, just karma for all those times we rattled the citizens in "the day"...what goes around, comes around.