Driving habits of rural folk

[ruffdog]

:thumbsup:

Yep...me too....:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Sigarms]

I think it became the norm there due to congestion. "Dog eat dog." They say "when in Rome, do as the Romans do," well I quickly had to adapt to their way of driving. You have to drive with no regard for your vehicle or anything (anyone) else. Otherwise you'll just sit there all day as people cut in front of you, (maybe) getting an opportunity to advance a few inches every half hour.

I do not think it's a symptom of the nature of people's hearts there. I found the people just as nice as anywhere else, but behind the wheel of a vehicle it's a different story. Ruthless, high stakes, no room for courtesy.

Sounds like the beltway around DC.

 

[Sigarms]

And southerners that never see snow or ice DON'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITIES to make the small mistakes and recoveries and learn. My teens and early 20's were spent in northern Vermont. Plenty of deep snow, ice, etc. Fond memories of going out on windswept frozen ponds and driving around and recovering. Became automatic.

My only point is that no matter where you live or what kind of population density, you will ALWAYS have idiot drivers.

I was in a gym in Syracuse NY when a guy (local to the area) was talking about how great his 4x4 handled on the ice. Yeah, right...

Went home one Christmas from south of Erie to my parents house on Christmas eve north of Harrisburg (normally a 5 hour drive). Snow all christmas eve. I drove a 4x4 in 4 wheel drive doing about 45MPH all the away across I-80 (west to east) in the right hand lane. Cars passing me out all over the place on the left side (packed snow) only to find them in a ditch down the road. 5 hour drive took me about 9 hours, but I didn't end up in a ditch LOL

Nice thing about the south though (at least where I'm at in NC), if we get a good dumping, generally it's all melted in a couple of days so you just ride it out at home.

That said, even in rual "country folk" parts even in my own area with no snow, cars drive too fast IMO.

Don't get me wrong, I'll do 80 on the interstate (generally 10MPH above the posted speed limit). That said, if I'm on a two lane rural road and if I see someone walking, I slow down and move over when I pass them. To me, that's just courteous.

 

[strantor]

My only point is that no matter where you live or what kind of population density, you will ALWAYS have idiot drivers.

I was in a gym in Syracuse NY when a guy (local to the area) was talking about how great his 4x4 handled on the ice. Yeah, right...

Went home one Christmas from south of Erie to my parents house on Christmas eve north of Harrisburg (normally a 5 hour drive). Snow all christmas eve. I drove a 4x4 in 4 wheel drive doing about 45MPH all the away across I-80 (west to east) in the right hand lane. Cars passing me out all over the place on the left side (packed snow) only to find them in a ditch down the road. 5 hour drive took me about 9 hours, but I didn't end up in a ditch LOL

Nice thing about the south though (at least where I'm at in NC), if we get a good dumping, generally it's all melted in a couple of days so you just ride it out at home.

That said, even in rual "country folk" parts even in my own area with no snow, cars drive too fast IMO.

Don't get me wrong, I'll do 80 on the interstate (generally 10MPH above the posted speed limit). That said, if I'm on a two lane rural road and if I see someone walking, I slow down and move over when I pass them. To me, that's just courteous.

What's wrong with 4wd in the snow? I was pulling a trailer back from MS a couple of years ago when that freak snow storm came and dumped like 2"-3" of snow across Southern Louisiana. When I came into it, my Yukon got pretty squirrelly and I put it in 4-HI and it snapped right out of all that nonsense. I kept it at or below 50mph in 4wd which felt 100% safer than 30mph in 2wd.

That's my only experience with 4wd in snow. When I lived in CT I was driving in snow with a 2wd trans am that didnt want to stay on the road even when it was dry. That was fun.

 

[strantor]

Sounds like the beltway around DC.

I've driven the beltway around DC, not as a daily commuter, but a few times. It does not stand out in memory. Driving in Manila is like being teleported into a Mad Max movie. I've not seen anything like it in the continental US or any other country for that matter.

 

[Jstpssng]

From the OP...

I apologize if I've offended anyone who wasn't already out looking for something to get offended about.

That's one of the most profound things I've read in a long time. :thumbsup:

 

[daugen]

From the OP...

That's one of the most profound things I've read in a long time. :thumbsup:

How very true... :thumbsup:

I've found good tires are a lot more important in snow, unless it's really deep. And slowing down...
A 2wd car with limited slip and good winter tires can be remarkably effective in bad weather.

 

[RalphVa]

If you want to drive like a demented motorcyclist, you can, but don't expect to receive much help from the rest of us. We will likely pull over to let you pass if we can do so safely. Otherwise, we'll slow down even more to keep the a rear ender from being so violent.

Ralph

 

[Sigarms]

What's wrong with 4wd in the snow? I was pulling a trailer back from MS a couple of years ago when that freak snow storm came and dumped like 2"-3" of snow across Southern Louisiana. When I came into it, my Yukon got pretty squirrelly and I put it in 4-HI and it snapped right out of all that nonsense. I kept it at or below 50mph in 4wd which felt 100% safer than 30mph in 2wd.

That's my only experience with 4wd in snow. When I lived in CT I was driving in snow with a 2wd trans am that didnt want to stay on the road even when it was dry. That was fun.

The only thing people never seem to realize with 4wd in the snow (or any other bad conditions) is speed, and hitting your breaks may not help.

I was going 45MPH because when I left work late in the day for the long drive home, we already had 10" with more coming. I knew it was going to be a long slow drive. The only road I could see on the interstate was in the right lane, and yet people were flying by on the left side passing lane on packed snow.

Years ago coming back from work from Greensboro heading home in NC snow was coming and already had about 4" and the roads were getting bad (thing I never realized when I moved to NC was that in general, they don't have the snow removing equipment like they do up north LOL). I was in 4wd doing about 50MPH and another truck past me out in the left lane making me look slow. I will remember thinking to myself when I saw him pass me, "dang, I must be an old driver driving this cautiously" in what didn't seem like to bad weather condiditons. Sure enough, couple miles down the road, there is the same truck that passed me out in a ditch. Thought to myself, well, maybe I'm smarter now LOL

Sort of like that guys comment in Syracuse about 4wd on ice. When you're on ice, 4wd isn't going to be much help no matter how you cut it.

For some reason, people think they can drive as fast as they want in 4wd.

 

[PILOON]

LOL, I usually drive speed limits (+5) unless a diplomat car passes me then I simply follow him.
Works every time!
(speed limits don't affect them, ergo what's good for the goose is good for the gander, always worked 4 me)