Driving habits of rural folk

[5030]

Day cabs run too, not just double bunks. Had a day cab Star that would run triple digits. 4oo Cummins cranked up. 430 at the rear wheels with a 13 double over. Company truck too. I just drove it.... Carefully. So you don't know.

Next time you get in a truck, take a close look at the speedometer. If it's an 85 mph speedo it's a puzzy truck. If it's a 100 mph or better clock, it runs. Truck builders only install speedo's that exceed 100 in trucks that are geared to run over 85.

Every truck I drove for the company I worked for, every one had 100 mph clocks, every one was either a 18 speed or a 13 double over. They sold out and I retired. Every one was a Western Star as well. Great job, made fantastic money, never has a year under 80 grand and home every night, great pension too. I appreciate it every month.

Don't miss it one bit. Besides, I have a nice Barnyard Buick Eagle double bunk in the barn with a 3406 and a 13 double over and it has a 100 mph clock too. Just hauls a 40 foot Wilson tandem hopper bottom to the elevator and back during harvest (right now) and gives me my big truck fix.

Just look at the speedometer. It tells all.

 

[goeduck]

Now for the question has anyone used Right track or a similar program were you plug in a monitor that records your driving style and sends the information to the Insurance company.

In my old Mercedes 240D diesel slug they might consider my driving style a road hazard. Or a speed bump.

 

[goeduck]

That's one of the drawbacks of a dash cam. Cop sees on in vehicle involved in crash and will snag it.

I am not aware of that being the case as allowed by law, at least here in WA State. I would hope you would have ownership of the video to protect yourself and that the cops would determine their own conclusion based on the facts as they see them.

 

[Sigarms]

I am not aware of that being the case as allowed by law, at least here in WA State. I would hope you would have ownership of the video to protect yourself and that the cops would determine their own conclusion based on the facts as they see them.

I could be wrong as usual, I'm guessing that if you were an employee driving a company vehicle, the employeer would use the video to throw you under the bus so to speak if the video showed any wrong doing on your part by beaking company policy.

As far as a dash cam as a private citizen, I understand that state laws vary, but I would be very surprised if you as the owner of a car dash cam wouldn't have to give up the video if a court of law ordered you to do so.

Of course you'd use a personal video if it helps your own case in litigation, and I can see where it could get tricky with legalities in self incrimination as far as ownership of the video recording device and video, and a simple solution would be to destroy the video, but there spoliation laws to deal with in the destruction of evidence.

I can see where a dash cam would be more benifical than harm as long as you don't drive like an idiot, but since I don't own a dash cam, kind of a moot point on any recording of evidence.

Besides that, with todays technology, give another 100 years with our own societies obsession with filiming everything, I'd be surprised if there weren't a camera on every road sign and stop light in the USA. Heck, my wife got a ticket in Virginia when she took the boys to visit family and didn't realize she was in some kind of paid express lane (and they were even nice enough to mail the photo of the license plate as documentation). Take that back, she didn't get a traffic ticket, but had to pay the fee and perhaps interest on using the lane.

 

[PILOON]

Well I'm rural and retired.

Live at the end of a 10 mile road that twists, turns and is very hilly and 80% blind.
Limit is 40 kms/hr. and solid yellow line all the way.

But we are within 1 hour from major metropolitan area (Montreal) and have yuppy commuters.
Super scary, like passing uphill and blind corners, tailgating so close that you see their eyeball color, and stop signs? well rarely used.
Always interesting to see what offenders are driving, BMW's is one class and Honda Civics all seem to demonstrate similar habits.
BMW's--entitled, move over I'm important and in a hurry.
Civics, well fast, brazen and invincible.

Making it worst you get 'granny type' that slows down if she can't see over the hill crest or around the blind corner and generally never over 20/25 KPH

Then for some reason bicycles have adopted this road as a challenge of some sort.
They weave all over the road on the hills, ride 2-3 abreast and U (law) are supposed to pass them leaving 1 yard of clearance, but to do so U have no choice but to cross that solid center line as the road is that narrow.

And, then add the huge 12 wheel dump trucks that always seem to be on your side at every blind corner.
(More than a few times I've taken the side to avoid being hit, and I was once clipped when I even parked my vehicle with 2 wheels in the ditch and honking like crazy)
The worst was a Hydro truck towing a long trailer loaded with hydro poles and on a blind corner! Whew, close call but lucky me as there was a solid shoulder for me to move over to.
Thankfully I have good reflexes.

Oh, I've seen a lot but still won't change my location due to a few crazy drivers.
I simply adopt a 'defensive' driving attitude always with an 'avenue of escape' plan.

 

[fried1765]

I've been chewing on what you said, and was reminded of Hanlon's Razor: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

I've been taking it personally, these bad drivers; assuming that they're enforcing their dominion over other people by making them drive slow. Given a large enough sample size, I'm sure there's bound to be a few with those motives in the mix. But I think you hit it closer to the head. They're just idiots. They don't know what a cruise control is for, and they're facebooking or instagraming, or whatever, instead of driving. They probably do it more out here on the rural routes than in town, because they feel that the straight road demands less attention. But they're still inconsiderate idiots.

So......I am an "idiot" because I never use cruise control?
Thank you for you unsolicited assessment of my intelligence!
I have some hours of flying formation at 200+ knots,.... with NO CRUISE CONTROL!
Trust me......it is a WHOLE LOT less difficult to hold speed, and relative position at a mere 75mph on a smooth highway.
I CAN DO IT... and.... I WILL DO IT!
.........Even though YOU KNOW that I am an "idiot".

 

[RoyKing]

When on rolly two lane roads at night I drive right down the middle on the yellow lines. Reason, to give me time to dodge the wild life that is standing road side, Alligators, deer, cows, horses, raccoons. When I spot something I slow and start tapping the horn. Had deer run into the side of the car, kind of know the crossing spots and look for fawns following mom.

Twice I had very large gators refuse to move and had to drive around.

 

[strantor]

So......I am an "idiot" because I never use cruise control?
Thank you for you unsolicited assessment of my intelligence!
I have some hours of flying formation at 200+ knots,.... with NO CRUISE CONTROL!
Trust me......it is a WHOLE LOT less difficult to hold speed, and relative position at a mere 75mph on a smooth highway.
I CAN DO IT... and.... I WILL DO IT!
.........Even though YOU KNOW that I am an "idiot".

That's a rather creative interpretation of what I said, and your ability to take personal insult from it is nothing less than artful. Please, allow me to re-quote myself from the quote you already quoted, highlighting the part you consciously chose to ignore:

They don't know what a cruise control is for, and they're facebooking or instagraming, or whatever, instead of driving.

If you'll go back 30 or so pages (wherever you dredged that up from) and look at the context in which it was written, you'll find that the focus of the conversation at the time was about distracted driving. About idiots who are posting on social media from behind the wheel, and since they're doing it without using cruise control, they introduce oscillations into the speed of traffic behind them.

If you're interacting with a social media platform while you drive, then yes, you're an idiot; pilot license or no. If not, then try to wear your heart a little further from your sleeve.

 

[fried1765]

That's a rather creative interpretation of what I said, and your ability to take personal insult from it is nothing less than artful. Please, allow me to re-quote myself from the quote you already quoted, highlighting the part you consciously chose to ignore:

If you'll go back 30 or so pages (wherever you dredged that up from) and look at the context in which it was written, you'll find that the focus of the conversation at the time was about distracted driving. About idiots who are posting on social media from behind the wheel, and since they're doing it without using cruise control, they introduce oscillations into the speed of traffic behind them.

If you're interacting with a social media platform while you drive, then yes, you're an idiot; pilot license or no. If not, then try to wear your heart a little further from your sleeve.

Your statement was: "they don't know what a cruise control is for".
VERY clear!
If you don't use cruise control, you don't know what it is for, and thus are an "idiot".
Could not be more specific!

 

[strantor]

Your statement was: "they don't know what a cruise control is for".
VERY clear!
If you don't use cruise control, you don't know what it is for, and thus are an "idiot".
Could not be more specific!

Alright well seems you're more than capable of interpreting things the way that they best apply to you.