Yeah, I would agree that open road trips are still fun. It's just the daily grind to and from work or just around town that gets to me.
Today let's discuss center turn lanes. Apparently these mystify many drivers. The correct method is (1) signal your turn, (2) move into center turn lane, braking as appropriate once you're out of the travel lane, and (3) make your turn when it's safe to do so. The method I see used all the time is (1) brake in travel lane, (2) turn across center turn lane, and (3) signal, if at all, once you're halfway thru your turn while you ignore the approaching opposing traffic, whose drivers now have to slam on their brakes to avoid t-boning you. Incidentally, center turn lanes can also be used to accelerate to traffic-matching speed before trying to enter the corresponding travel lane, which also seems to be a technique known to but very few.
Today we shall discuss headlights. Typically headlights have three settings: off, low, and high. Off is where they should be during normal daylight hours in clear weather. As an aside, daytime running lights are one of the stupidest ideas to come out of Detroit since the Edsel. Low is where your lights should be set whenever conditions dictate that they should be on (darkness, bad weather, etc) and there is other traffic present. High beams are for when there's no other traffic around. This is because high beams (especially these new "blue" headlights) are blinding to other drivers, whether in the rear view mirror or coming the other way down the road. You also should not use high beams in foggy conditions, as they actually reduce your ability to see ahead of you due to reflection and loss of contrast. This is why I hate DRLs, by the way. All too many idiots out there seem to work on the theory that if your headlights are on at all, they should be on high beam. Headlights are also useful to signal to other drivers. Flashing your lights to warn approaching drivers of hazards ahead, like speed traps or obstacles in the roadway. From behind, flashing your lights means "move over, you're going too slow for the lane you're in." And contrary to what some cops apparently believe, flashing headlights do NOT mean "pull over." That's what the bubble gum machine is for.
Disagree. Over here, the law requires all emergency vehicles to have headlights on at all times on the road. Why would they do that, if headlights didn't make it easier to see a car? Another advantage to it simply being a reflex to drive with the light on is that you avoid the people who decide to be as cautious as possible on deciding when to turn them on in the evening. "I can still vaguely make out that there's a car on the road ahead of me -- or is it a cow? hard to be sure...", so they avoid turning them on as long as possible. And you should never drive with parking lights on. If you want to be seen, use headlights. You can see a car in dim light before you can see its parking lights. If you think it's bright enough out that you don't need headlights (even though I disagree), then don't turn anything on. But don't drive with parking lights.
If one car out of a hundred has its headlights on in the daytime, it makes that car more noticeable, in a "look at this idiot" kind of way. When every car has its headlights on all the time, it becomes background noise and does nothing to improve safety.
Over there, I don't know enough about politics and business practices to speculate. In the US, in the land of planned obsolescence and applying the 'equation' before initiating a recall, I'd say a lot of it is likely due to seeing the inevitable sales of having to replace headlights that are always on. Just takes a few campaign contributions. Not saying in some places it doesn't make sense - certainly misty and mountainous areas, and certain times of day. But all the time? That's $$$.
Disagree with that too. It does increase safety nominally. But I don't think that's why it was done. It was done to sell more parts.
Mmmmm no. Automakers don't profit from aftermarket bulb sales. And it's reduced voltage so the bulbs don't wear out any faster. Halogens will last ten years even in drl mode. LEDs or HIDs forever.
My new car has an "auto" setting which leaves running lights on during the day, turns on full headlights at dusk and automatically dims and brightens. I really like it. As far as the safety issue is concerned, here's one blogger's take on it. ETA: What do the stats and research say about DRL effectiveness? The statistics show that DRLs provide a safety benefit that increases with the amount of darkness in an area. Estimates of multiple-vehicle crash reduction benefits have ranged from zero percent to 3% to 5% to 7%, depending on the study. Scandinavian countries show 3x the benefits from them than the US, ostensibly due to light level differences. Given the fact that half of all auto fatalities in the US are due to multiple-vehicle collisions, any factor that can reduce their prevalence is worth considering, particularly when such factors are built into every vehicle on the road (through headlights if not through DRL systems).
Parking lights are called parking lights because they were initially used when your car was parked, at night. When cars were first equipped with parking lights, street parking was common and street lighting wasn't very common. So they were meant to be left on at night, so drivers could see that your car was parked and not moving. Or someone might rear end a parked car thinking it was moving and follow the parked car.
Today we shall discuss drive-throughs. So it seems that many drivers do not understand the basic purpose of a drive-through. The idea is to access some service or other in a fast, efficient manner. For instance, today I was at the drive-through ATM at my local bank. The lady two cars in front of me was blocking both machines because she was at the first one in line playing Monopoly or some shit. Card goes in, buttons pushed, card comes out, card goes back in, buttons pushed, more stuff comes back out, card goes in . . . I think she was both pulling out cash and trying to deposit some checks. As the line of cars waiting behind her kept growing, she kept playing with buttons. Oblivious to the simple fact that walking into the bank would let her do all the same things, with a teller to assist, without causing a back-up in the bank's parking lot. Fast-food drive throughs. I appreciate that there's always going to be someone who's using these for the first time - recent immigrants, tourists, new drivers, etc. Does it have to be everyone in line in front of me? Is this really your first day on Planet Earth and you've never, ever seen a McDonald's before? It's burgers, fries, and drinks. Not complicated. If you're ordering fifteen meals for your worksite, walk your damn ass into the store and use the counter. They're less likely to screw up your order that way and you won't be causing other drivers to curse your very existence. Also, pay with fucking cash. Using your card just slows everything down even more. Drive-up voting. Yes, this is a Thing in most districts. In Virginia there's usually at least one poll worker at each location who is trained in curbside voting and will bring you a ballot or a machine to cast your vote. There's no need to sit in front of the location tooting your horn. Thank you.
My friends think it’s dumb, but I refuse to do special orders at the drive through. If you want a double cheeseburger no onion extra pickles, a fish sandwich with no tartar sauce, and fries without salt, go inside. I don’t do multiple orders in the drive through either. I’ll buy this time, you buy next time. Pick something to shove in your pie hole and let’s get outta here!
When you consider how long it takes a typical cashier to make change, I'd say that the wait time between cards and money is probably about the same. At least around here.
about #5 - in the age of COVID some banks don't allow you to go inside. If I'm parked at a store next to the bank should I get in my car and go through the drive thru then drive back to the store or just walk my ass thru the drive thru? about #4 - where I live population growth has greatly exceeded road construction, and quite often the acceleration lane is gridlocked.
In Germany (and maybe certain states) it's a law that you have to clean all the snow off your car before toy get rolling. I have an elderly neighbor who swears that just because you turn on your signal everybody has to immediately let you in! Riding with her when it's time to merge in heavy traffic is As for the white line at intersections I do leave a little space, because if you are in the left lane and people 90 degrees to you who are turning left are hauling ass, they could clip your front left quarter. Would they be at fault? Yes they would, but do you want to go through that hassle? Thus I never crowd the white line.
The beaches here have separate, distinctly marked paths for bikers/skaters and for pedestrians. There is invariably a family of six, complete with coolers and folding chairs, waddling across the biker lane.
One of the first things I noticed when I moved from NY to CA (I'd been warned about the tap water, so I got a Brita pitcher) was that no one knows how to give change. The lowliest underpaid cashier in NY knows you put the large bill on the bottom, followed by the singles, with the change in a neat pile on top. AND ALL OF THE BILLS SHOULD FACE IN THE SAME DIRECTION, not upside-down and backwards!!!!
That annoys the fuck out of me. I hate being handed a wadded-up clump of bills, because then I have to stand there and straighten them out so that I can get them in my wallet.
