A few incidents that happened on my latest trip:
25 is not 55
I was travelling on a road with a 65 MPH speed limit, when I encountered a construction zone with a 55 MPH limit. Immediately before the road was reduced to one lane due to the construction, a car passed me - and proceeded to drive 25 MPH through the construction zone. If you're going to go that much below the limit, DON'T pass someone before a one-lane section begins.
No room at the inn (or out)
I was making a delivery (related to building renovation) in a small office complex with no loading bay (other parts of the complex were business as usual). One aisle of parking (continues through an underpass where 2 buildings of the complex are joined at the 2nd floor) goes past the door with the service elevator. In this aisle, immediately past the underpass, are the Peterbilt of Natural Selection, a cube van belonging to the installers, and a small gap (a Schwinn could get through, a Harley couldn't). Taking advantage of the weather protection given by the underpass are some carpet installers, rolling out, measuring, and cutting carpet.
A car comes in the opposite end of the parking aisle (can see the obstruction from the point where he made his turn), and gets almost to the carpet before realizing he can't get through, then backs up and takes a different aisle. When I mentioned his stupidity to the carpet guys, they said that on some occasions, cars have driven OVER the carpet that they were cutting.
Look where you're going
I was on a 3-lane (each direction) highway, in the right hand lane. Traffic was heavy (minimal gaps, but not significantly slowed). On the right shoulder up ahead, I saw a cube van with its left signal on, creeping along. There happened to be a gap in the middle lane next to me, so I signalled and changed lanes. The driver of the cube van must have been watching, because as soon as I changed lanes he accelerated. As I (and the gap to my right) passed him, he started changing lanes from the shoulder into the gap (and waved). Checking my mirrors, I saw a white pickup truck (and the car behind it) pass him IN THE LANE HE WAS ALREADY PARTWAY INTO, forcing him back onto the shoulder.
Guys, look at whats happening further ahead than your front bumper, and try to anticipate what people will do - failure to do so is why you hear about 50 vehicle pile-ups. If someone is on the shoulder signalling left, they probably want to get back into traffic. If a semi moves out of the right lane, and the guy starts accelerating, there's a pretty good chance that he wants to get into the gap left by the semi.
25 is not 55
I was travelling on a road with a 65 MPH speed limit, when I encountered a construction zone with a 55 MPH limit. Immediately before the road was reduced to one lane due to the construction, a car passed me - and proceeded to drive 25 MPH through the construction zone. If you're going to go that much below the limit, DON'T pass someone before a one-lane section begins.
No room at the inn (or out)
I was making a delivery (related to building renovation) in a small office complex with no loading bay (other parts of the complex were business as usual). One aisle of parking (continues through an underpass where 2 buildings of the complex are joined at the 2nd floor) goes past the door with the service elevator. In this aisle, immediately past the underpass, are the Peterbilt of Natural Selection, a cube van belonging to the installers, and a small gap (a Schwinn could get through, a Harley couldn't). Taking advantage of the weather protection given by the underpass are some carpet installers, rolling out, measuring, and cutting carpet.
A car comes in the opposite end of the parking aisle (can see the obstruction from the point where he made his turn), and gets almost to the carpet before realizing he can't get through, then backs up and takes a different aisle. When I mentioned his stupidity to the carpet guys, they said that on some occasions, cars have driven OVER the carpet that they were cutting.
Look where you're going
I was on a 3-lane (each direction) highway, in the right hand lane. Traffic was heavy (minimal gaps, but not significantly slowed). On the right shoulder up ahead, I saw a cube van with its left signal on, creeping along. There happened to be a gap in the middle lane next to me, so I signalled and changed lanes. The driver of the cube van must have been watching, because as soon as I changed lanes he accelerated. As I (and the gap to my right) passed him, he started changing lanes from the shoulder into the gap (and waved). Checking my mirrors, I saw a white pickup truck (and the car behind it) pass him IN THE LANE HE WAS ALREADY PARTWAY INTO, forcing him back onto the shoulder.
Guys, look at whats happening further ahead than your front bumper, and try to anticipate what people will do - failure to do so is why you hear about 50 vehicle pile-ups. If someone is on the shoulder signalling left, they probably want to get back into traffic. If a semi moves out of the right lane, and the guy starts accelerating, there's a pretty good chance that he wants to get into the gap left by the semi.
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