Taking a picture of your speedometer

[sirwired]

I hang out in a forum dedicated to the kind of car I own; the B5 VW Passat. When some idiot posted a cell phone picture of his car going 120MPH, I practically shit a brick. Yes, a cell phone picture. While traveling at suicidal speeds. On a public road.

When I posted kindly requesting that people stop doing crazy shit like that on public roads, you would not believe the kind of flack I got for it. (To be fair, most people on the board agreed with me.) Most of the morons argued that it was their god-given right to pretend speed limits don't exist, as long as they don't happen to see any hazards on the road at the time.

When I pointed out that the smallest pothole or chunk of truck tread at that speed would total your car, (or you attempting to avoid it would), and you were likely to take somebody else out in the process, the oh-so-clever counter was: "I live in Allentown PA, where do you drive that your roads have potholes?"

If you've ever driven in Eastern PA, it's hard to find a stretch of road without potholes.

SirWired

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Most of the morons argued that it was their god-given right to pretend speed limits don't exist, as long as they don't happen to see any hazards on the road at the time.

At that speed, when you happen to see a hazard, it's already too late to avoid it safely.

I guess they kinda sorta have a point. If you want to turn your car into a flaming metal ring around a telephone pole, and leave only brain matter, intestines and a couple toes to identify you by, I guess you have a right to do that. Just try not to take out any innocent bystanders while you're at it.

[protege]

If you've ever driven in Eastern PA, it's hard to find a stretch of road without potholes.

PA in *general* has some of the worst potholes on the planet. Right, MadMike?

Seriously though, you'd have to be on crack to drive that fast. Even if the roads could support such speeds, if something happened (tire failure, something falling into the roadway, etc.) you'd literally have no time to react. You'd literally go to that big scrapyard in the sky

I've really never seen the need to go that fast. Although, my family once owned a '79 Volvo sedan that would cruise all day at 90mph-plus! Very deceptive, since that V6 engine (same one used in the DeLorean) was unbelievably smooth. Wasn't unheard of for my mother to be driving to Grandma's, look down and go "OH SHIT!" when she saw the speedometer needle at nearly triple digits

[sprocket79]

I took a pic of my speedometer with my cell phone when my car hit 100,000 miles. Although the difference is that I was at a red light...

[Racket_Man]

I've really never seen the need to go that fast. Although, my family once owned a '79 Volvo sedan that would cruise all day at 90mph-plus! Very deceptive, since that V6 engine (same one used in the DeLorean) was unbelievably smooth. Wasn't unheard of for my mother to be driving to Grandma's, look down and go "OH SHIT!" when she saw the speedometer needle at nearly triple digits

back in the 1970's (pre oil crisis days when the speed limits WERE 70 MPH on the US Interstate highways and pre-crusie control) when we used to travel a fair distance to see my oldest sister and brother (in seperate cities about 300 miles apart) , we (my dad doing the driving) would leave at midnight so as not to catch too much traffic or hit rush hour in a major city. traveling through Illinios (which was/is mostly flat farm land) my Dad and Mom would be talking and then every now and then she would look over and tell Dad "Hey you are going 90MPH, SLOW it down a bit"

[sirwired]

At that speed, when you happen to see a hazard, it's already too late to avoid it safely.

I guess they kinda sorta have a point. If you want to turn your car into a flaming metal ring around a telephone pole, and leave only brain matter, intestines and a couple toes to identify you by, I guess you have a right to do that. Just try not to take out any innocent bystanders while you're at it.

Irv,

The problem is two-fold:

1) There are plenty of people-based hazards you may not be able to see, like a disabled car, or some poor schmuck walking down the shoulder getting gas.
2) During your fiery demise, you can very easily cross the median into oncoming traffic, with fatal consequences for you both.

Even if you somehow know that the interstate is clear for miles in both directions, you still don't have the right to pretend the speed limits don't exist. (I, for one, don't want to pay for the bridge abutment or proverbial telephone pole you destroy.) The state owns the road, they make the rules. If people want to drive at crazy speeds, they can do so on a track.

SirWired

[Mottom24]

If you've ever driven in Eastern PA, it's hard to find a stretch of road without potholes.

SirWired

Wow... what an idiot. I live in Philly and grew up in jersey. I always thought jersey had some bad roads here and there, but PA has the worst track record I have ever encountered, making me wish we had roads like jersey. I would see dangerous potholes, some a foot deep, sit in the middle of the road for months.

One is/was on baltimore ave in west philly. it was where the trolley starts being on the road with cars and there was a foot deep pothole inbetween the trolley tracks that went on for about 3-4 feet. people who lived there and knew about it would swerve around it into the bike lane (I always kept and eye out when riding my bike there) but some folks would hit it and bottom out real bad. a couple days ago I saw they filled it in... with about 4 inches of tar... it's still deep enough to bottom out and that tar is already cracking and breaking off because so many people are bottoming out on it. I have lived in west philly for almost a year, and that one pothole has been there since I moved in.

*Edit* here is a link to the pothole. when this was taken it was filled up, but i also think it was taken a couple years ago. but the pothole is all where that black is/was, to give you an idea of it's size.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...,108.9,,0,40.2

[MaseMan]

Funny...I was recently perusing a VW forum, as I recently bought a Jetta. Some 16 year old was on there bragging about how he got a speeding ticket for doing like 70 mph in a 30 mph zone. He also seemed oblivious to the fact that he was probably going to lose his license which he had just gotten like two weeks earlier.

It wouldn't be so bad that they could kill themselves on the road if they weren't also a risk to others.

[MadMike]

PA in *general* has some of the worst potholes on the planet. Right, MadMike?

Definitely. To our visitors from out of state: When driving in PA, watch out for the little pieces of interstate that are scattered throughout our pothole system.

[protege]

Of course I-80 isn't all that bad...but the turnpike (76) sucks

[AtDIelement]

I live right outside of Philly... I now have a bent wheel because of the wonderful job in Willow Grove.

I hate the roads here.

[protege]

* sets Smartass mode = ON*

Given the title of this thread, I couldn't resist

This is actually the original Smiths speedometer out of my MG. It's currently sitting on my kitchen counter, because the cable finally snapped.

[ShinyGreenApple]

Oh, no! Your tire's brain is all flat and junk. Aw, did I do that? Here, let me get my cellular, call you a wrecker coroner. Shoot, I don't have a cell phone. Cuz I'm a pothole. Sooooo . . . 'kay bye!

Sorry, couldn't resist. That's one more award waiting for Darwin to hand it out. But I also hope no innocents get sucked into the vortex of stupid.

[sarasquirrel]

I took a pic of my speedometer with my cell phone when my car hit 100,000 miles. Although the difference is that I was at a red light...

i did the same thing, only at 66,666

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Definitely. To our visitors from out of state: When driving in PA, watch out for the little pieces of interstate that are scattered throughout our pothole system.

And if we have a few more winters like what we're having so far this year, North Carolina will be saying the same thing . . .

We've got numerous potholes already in Greensboro and surrounding areas and they're growing worse due to the unseasonably cold temps we've had . . .we've got one right on my road across the street from me at the corner from where a water main burst almost 3 weeks ago and cracks growing on the roads.