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Too much speed for conditions....
(New topic rather than tagging onto the 'CA Missions' thread...)

I had a few (uh, several) speeding tickets in my much younger years, but age (usually) brings the perspective of having a greater awareness of one's mortality.  ::) 

All sorts of vehicles, including tractor-trailers and RVs, travel at speeds that are well over the 'safe for conditions' limit (and the limit of the driver's skills!); I often wonder how many of these drivers ever consider just how difficult it is to maneuver, control, and stop a large, heavy vehicle in an emergency situation? From my observations, a lot fewer than there should be.

YMMV, as ever.
2003 TK has a new home
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #1 –
Good observations Joan.  I lived in Jackson Wyoming for quite a while and the speed limit was 55mph there.  I came to enjoy both the sense of safety and better scenery viewing afforded driving at that speed.  Since I moved to Santa Barbara I continue to drive the highways at 55-60, (except when driving slowly would create a safety risk).  Travel in the slow lane is certainly a less stressful way to get around here in California!
Warren
2019 MB “Dream Catcher”
Jeep Wrangler JL
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #2 –
Joan,
Driving on freeways in California can be a hectic, irrational, and frightening experience.  Tractor trailer rigs are often three lanes from the right with one passing the next at 1 mph difference in speed and all of them going less than 60mph.  There seems to be no enforcement or incentive for big rigs to stay in the right two lanes. 
Last night while driving the Jeep down highway 5 between Los Angeles and San Diego and staying in the right two lanes, we repeatedly had cars roar up behind us going faster than the cars in the fast lane and swerving in and out of the slow lane. One was easily doing 90mph in the right lane.   One flashed their high beams at me (while I was in the right lane) to get out of their way so they could continue at speed in the slow lane.  I always carefully check my mirrors before moving into a left OR RIGHT lane to avoid having a speeding vehicle slam into our rear.
Two years ago, we wandered with the Lazy Daze through the western US states.  Drivers in Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, etc. were typically courteous and predictable.  When we entered California, I had drivers flip me off twice within one day as I drove at 55-62mph in the slow lane pulling the trailer.  It was really inconsiderate of me to be in the right hand lane, towing at the speed limit.  Once I arrived in San Bernardino, a crazed woman roared up behind me, swerved around and next to me and screamed obscenities out her window at me. 
Go figure?
I no longer ride the motorcycle, especially with Cyndy on pillion, on the freeways in Southern California.  Between inconsiderate, unskilled, impaired, crazy, and texting drivers, urban motorcycling has become too risky. We limit our riding to back roads and rural areas.
California is a strange country.  We don't only export the most fruits, nuts, and vegetables in the nation, we import them as well.  And they don't drive very well.

Harold
2014 27 MB
Towd: Either the Jeep Wrangler or trailer containing the BMW R1200GS and 2 E-bicycles
Happy wife=Happy life
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #3 –
I lived in Denver for years.
Weekend trips up I-70 to the ski resorts was an adventure.
Trips back down to Denver were a nightmare.
Even in dry conditions, people would get out of control coming
down the mountain. It's as if they never learned to use the brake pedal.

I dated a German girl long ago. We discussed drivers license testing and
I was amazed at how much she had to do to get her license. Expensive too.
She was a much better driver than I was, hard to admit, but true.
Here in the US, you can get your license too easy, and without proper training.
No wonder it's scary out there on the roads.
Jota
96 23.5 FL
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #4 –
Harold, sounds like you imported some AZ drivers to CA.  I have lived in (and visited afterwards) both Northern and Southern CA (and other states).  IMO AZ has the worst (at least Phoenix, not sure about Tucson, the smaller towns seem ok running at a slower pace just like small towns in other states). 

Red light runners are extremely common (you will see them regularly at every rush hour and other times also) as is driving under the influence.  But we also have what I call Kamikazi drivers - similar to what Harold is seeing.  More common off freeways, but sometime on the freeways also.  Drivers that go 20mph faster than other cars and then dive for a spot about 2 car lengths long - yup only 2.   This means dive for the spot and slam on the brakes at the same time - right in front of you.
I figure they have a death wish (e.g. Kamikazi).   Very different than the high speed merge into small spots I see in CA.   It is also very, very common for people to merge right in front of your vehicle (e.g. less than a car length) even when they have 5-10 car lengths between you and the vehicle in front of you - that I just don't get.
I suggest if you drive in Phoenix, assume everyone will run red lights and wait until the traffic really stops before you enter the intersection.

The first couple of times we drove the RV on the freeway people nicely gave us some some extra space knowing we were in a larger more difficult to stop vehicle but the next trip out we got the typical cut right in front of us.

Edit - However typically people here don't get mad you are in their way, though sometimes they express themselves.
Jane & Scott
Currently have a 1989 TK  LD we did a lot of upgrades on.
Bigfoot 25RQ Twin on order with early summer 2024 ETA

Our smartphone autocorrects into very poor English.
 We disclaim the illusion of ignorance this creates as we have enough ignorance we rightly claim.
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #5 –
A few years ago, Cyndy and I rented a BMW motorcycle in Munich and spent a few weeks exploring backroads and small towns and crossed 28 Alpine passes in  four countries. The drivers in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria were a real pleasure to be on the road with.  They were skilled and courteous.  Further, when they entered a round-about, they actually knew how to use it and what to do!  The Autobahn was a little intimidating, but as long as we followed the rules and cautions, it was safe:  slower traffic to the right, faster to the left, and use your mirrors before changing lanes.   We discovered that the training to get an automobile license and/or a motorcycle license was MUCH more extensive and thorough than getting one in the US.  The motorcycle training, qualifications, and testing was really impressive and we only saw excellent riders.  They were a lot of fun following up the switchbacks in the passes.
Italy was a little different.  We had to "earn" our passes and it was common for Italian drivers to speed up as we tried to pass them, even in the mountains approaching a curve.  Like I said, we had to earn the pass.  Round-abouts in Italy on a motorcycle are a white knuckle experience, but no one died.
However, even the Italians were better drivers than southern Californians.
2014 27 MB
Towd: Either the Jeep Wrangler or trailer containing the BMW R1200GS and 2 E-bicycles
Happy wife=Happy life
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #6 –
"The drivers in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria were a real pleasure to be on the road with.  They were skilled and courteous."

If you want skill and courtesy (that above all else) go to Denmark... the Danes have the patent on it.   ;D   ;)
Steve S.
Lazy Bones & Cedar
2004 30'IB (Island Bed)
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery
Live for the day!
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #7 –
I'll second what Jane says regarding AZ drivers.  I grew up in Southern California and have driven their highways and roads for the first 57 years of my life until I moved to AZ.  I have regularly witnessed red light violations in Phoenix since moving heare 10 years ago.  It's so bad that I will not enter an intersection first after the light turns green.  Some years ago Phoenix was the city with the most red light violations of cities its size in the nation.  Second was Tucson.  I have literally been at a stop light and watched the car next to me simply take off and run the red.  I asked a co worker, who is a native,  about this phenomenon and he half jokingly said, "red lights are an option in this state."  However, as bad as I have seen it here don't get me started on Boston drivers.

Bob
2006 RK
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #8 –
This is one thing that I am thoroughly enjoying about our small (even though it IS Arizona) town.  It is the epitome of politeness here.  Coming from the California Bay Area . . . well, it was a shock - but a welcomed one.  Twenty three years later, I am still surprised and grateful.

Drivers are very polite - rarely is a horn heard - digit waving and gunshots?  Never!  This politeness spills over into "traffic" with grocery carts as well.  The sounds of "pardon me" abound if a corner is occasionally occupied by two carts simultaneously, or if one shopper passes in front of another who is contemplating goods on the opposite side of the aisle.

   Virtual hugs,

   Judie
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #9 –
Big cities, East Coast, West Coast or in between have frustrated, aggressive, drivers. 
Like LA drivers ? Try driving in NYC or Boston. People are people.

Driving is always easier once the cities are left behind.
What else is new?

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #10 –
Bay Area traffic, both in numbers of vehicles and numbers of clueless drivers, is as bad as that in many, if not most, areas of southern California, and it gets worse every day. Add the dismal condition of so many of the state's highways, freeways, secondary roads, surface streets into the can of 'mixed nuts', and getting from Point A to Point B can turn into a real adventure. If I have friends from out of area who are unfamiliar with the various lunatic maneuvers to look out for when driving around here, I offer them a tip list of wacky road tricks to watch out for, and the locations where these are most likely to take place. Certainly not foolproof, but forewarned is forearmed! 

Whether I'm driving the car or the LD, I get multiple opportunities each day to hone my road survival skills, keep my reflexes as sharp as possible, and expand my 'color' vocabulary!  ;) 
2003 TK has a new home
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #11 –
Joan must have seen my driving record: "I had a few (uh, several) speeding tickets in my much younger years, but age (usually) brings the perspective of having a greater awareness of one's mortality."  It took a while for it to sink in when my kids' father said (early in our marriage) that I had "a low mileage vehicle...it only hits the tops of the hills between Breckenridge & Hamilton" which was on the decommissioned road after US 36 was moved a couple of miles south  :-* ). 

When 55 was the national limit I just blew it off & paid the tickets (my dad was good at talking his way out of them; I never learned his technique), & when they raised the speed I just kind of bumped it up from there  :-[.  I am thankful I've not injured anyone & that's in the past.  When I first got the LD I figured I should leave additional space beyond what my HS Driver's Ed teacher had told us--I remember coming back up I-25 & suddenly hitting the urban traffic in Albuquerque-Colorado Springs-Denver & folks were just whizzing into my safe space while I'm shouting "You fools don't realize how new I am to this!" & scared to death I was gonna land in somebody's trunk (though I'd never had trouble with Denver when just driving the minivan)...  I also remember the first time driving solo in St. Louis at 20-something (mid-'70s)--I'd driven quite a bit in the Kansas City metro, & while visiting my aunt in Tempe, AZ, but Lord love a duck St. Louis was like a completely different world in the same state (a bazillion lanes of traffic/construction/cars flying & zipping all over)--I thought it was because they were a bunch of "Easterners," but now that I've experienced the misery of the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex (where mid-day was worse than rush hour in Kansas City :P) & reading these comments it seems my experience in KC is the anomaly. 

Now I drive 55 in all my vehicles, because I watch the gas mileage on the trip computer like it's a competition with myself, & I certainly feel more in control with the LD at that speed, though yesterday it was more like 25-40 as I came down Ark. Hwy 7--plenty of steep grades & hairpin curves in the Ozarks to keep the adrenaline flowing & knuckles white, and few pull-offs so I could let folks behind me around (including at least a couple of big rigs going way faster than I'd have expected  :P ).

Slower is definitely better for this time in my life--except for those folks in my dinky little town going slow because they're occupied by the phone... >:(  :P  ::)

Lynne
Lynne
LDy Lulubelle, Green '05 31' TB
Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #12 –
I have a buddy that drives a 42' Winnebago diesel pusher. Behind that he tows a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Once the Jeep is disconnected from the RV, he drives it like a maniac, bobbing and weaving in city traffic.
Says that he enjoys the freedom and wants to take advantage of that when he can.
Scares the crap out of me.
Jota
96 23.5 FL
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #13 –
LB and I generally are entertained and generally 'bet' when the person on the on ramp will see us .......  It is oh so hard to look over your shoulder to see if there is a car or truck in that lane you want to be in.

glen
personal fine art photo stuff
TF Mack | Flickr
It's all good .......
2014 Twin King
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #14 –
Julie,  I see from the google map that you live in Sierra Vista?  Small world, we live in Tucson but the family has a small section of land behind Ft Huachuca.  We also lived in the Bay Area for 55 years before moving to the surface of the sun.  The drivers here are polite, but go up to Phoenix and it reminds of the Bay Area but with less skilled drivers.  I was just over to LA (Topanga actually) and was surprised at how polite most of the drivers were.  But traffic is beyond abysmal.
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #15 –
"It is oh so hard to look over your shoulder to see if there is a car or truck in that lane you want to be in."

When we are traveling in the same vehicle (motorhome or toad - at home or on a trip), I am the "right person".  I watch to the right so that hubby can concentrate on what he is seeing coming from the left. I sing out "Clear to the right" and then update every few seconds if he has not pulled out into traffic.  He makes a quick check to the right to make sure, and away we go.

Ditto for mergers coming at us from the right.  I can turn to see pretty far down the oncoming ramp and announce the status, even if it is "no oncoming"! 

These bits of information cut down on the head swiveling from the driver.  His duty is to double check before moving the vehicle onto the roadway, but he has plenty of advance information with which to quickly assess what he is seeing.

   Virtual hugs,

   Judie
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #16 –
"I watch to the right so that hubby can concentrate on what he is seeing coming from the left."

Judie

Whatever became of your rear view mirrors?   ::)   ;)
Steve S.
Lazy Bones & Cedar
2004 30'IB (Island Bed)
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery
Live for the day!
 
Re: Too much speed for conditions....
Reply #17 –
Quote from: colddog  - 
LB and I generally are entertained and generally 'bet' when the person on the on ramp will see us .......  It is oh so hard to look over your shoulder to see if there is a car or truck in that lane you want to be in.

Got mirrors? Works for me, especially when towing my 35' glider trailer behind my 25' Class C.
2005 Jayco 24SS