Racing to get to a red light and wait...

Scott en Aztlán wrote:
>That puts me far enough ahead to make it through
>the NEXT light - the one that you were too slow to reach before it
>turned red.
>Checkmate, Sloth!

Did you ever stop to think that you were playing all by yourself? That
no one else particularly cared who got to the light first?
People who play chess all by themselves are very, very lonely. And
overcompetitive.
Besides, the guy you passed will usually catch up. Next light, the one
after, whenever.

On 25 Mar 2006 19:13:42 -0800, wrote:

>Scott en Aztlán wrote:
>>That puts me far enough ahead to make it through
>>the NEXT light - the one that you were too slow to reach before it
>>turned red.
>>Checkmate, Sloth!
>
>Did you ever stop to think that you were playing all by yourself? That
>no one else particularly cared who got to the light first?
>People who play chess all by themselves are very, very lonely. And
>overcompetitive.
>Besides, the guy you passed will usually catch up. Next light, the one
>after, whenever.


Usually while the nice officer is sitting behind you, running wants
and warrants before writing you a nice, shiny citation.

In article .com>, wrote:

> Did you ever stop to think that you were playing all by yourself? That
> no one else particularly cared who got to the light first?
> People who play chess all by themselves are very, very lonely. And
> overcompetitive.

The person who started this thread mentioned fuel costs. There is a
effeciency achieved by timing lights properly. While the bulk of people
who rush up to red signals are well idiots. Most of them won't properly
accelerate afterwards. However there are numerous times where if the
proper moves are executed, sometimes that means rushing to a red light to
block out slothly drivers, the end result is a gain. Not only personally,
but for the system as a whole. If more drivers understood this we could
get a measurable increase in road capactity at no cost.

> Besides, the guy you passed will usually catch up. Next light, the one
> after, whenever.

No, he won't. The only time that is possible is when a similiar sloth is
blocking the road ahead.

On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 01:13:59 -0600,
(Brent P) wrote:

>In article .com>, wrote:
>
>> Did you ever stop to think that you were playing all by yourself? That
>> no one else particularly cared who got to the light first?
>> People who play chess all by themselves are very, very lonely. And
>> overcompetitive.
>
>The person who started this thread mentioned fuel costs. There is a
>effeciency achieved by timing lights properly. While the bulk of people
>who rush up to red signals are well idiots. Most of them won't properly
>accelerate afterwards. However there are numerous times where if the
>proper moves are executed, sometimes that means rushing to a red light to
>block out slothly drivers, the end result is a gain. Not only personally,
>but for the system as a whole. If more drivers understood this we could
>get a measurable increase in road capactity at no cost.
>
>> Besides, the guy you passed will usually catch up. Next light, the one
>> after, whenever.
>
>No, he won't. The only time that is possible is when a similiar sloth is
>blocking the road ahead.

Baloney. More likely he will get in the way. There is absolutely no
correlation between people who rush to red lights and people who
enhance the flow of traffic. Once activity is stupid, and one is
smart. One activity is nerdy and ugly, the other smooth and sexy.
People who rush to red lights make everybody wait for them to
accelerate away. They have no sense of timing, and no inclination to
enhance traffic flow.
And confirming that, my observations during my daily commute shows
that about 50% of those who cut in front of me as I approach a
particular red light block my progress immediately after the light,
because they convert themselves into left lane blockers.
These are the same people you've heard in this thread squealing
about how everybody should move to the right at their approach,
but get jacked out of shape when others who want to go faster expect
the same of them.
The people who squeal about left-lane blockers are generally poor
drivers, have no patience, are often tailgaters, and are often driving
on a ticket, making them drive too slow in places where they should go
fast, and too fast in places where they should go slow.
That's why they get tickets, and are always bitching about the cops
too. Most of the males in this category have abnormally small dicks
or have trouble performing sexually without Viagra, and bad driving
serves as a substitute for productive masculine activity.
Not sure what motivates the broads, but it's a good bet many are
married to the male aberrants, making them frustrated and edgy.
They want to speed up to a red light doing the limit of 45mph, then
after the light changes they want to block the left lane doing 45mph
so they can get in the left turn 1/2 mile up the road.
But it requires going 55mph to make that light, a speed too fast for
them since they are driving on a ticket, and they are scared they will
lose their license because yet another ticket will put them over the
edge. And they know their tough-guy facade will melt away when the
man in blue approaches, ticket book in hand.
You know who you are. If the shoe fits, wear it.

--Vic

In article >,
Victor Smith > wrote:

> If the shoe fits, wear it.

My last participation in this thread, just to note how sad and ugly it
has wound up. This thread personifies why traffic is the way it is, with
all its unnecessary tragedy and expense. To understand why insurance
premiums are so high, re-read this thread. Terribly unfortunate that
people just can't seem to see any other way to share the road.

Reluctantly killfiled by subject: line

==Street roadracing rules==

1. The car in front at the finish wins.

2. The leading car chooses the course.

3. The finish is when the stalker quits the course.

Would these simple rules have applied in this case?

Brent P wrote:
>> Besides, the guy you passed will usually catch up. Next light, the one
>> after, whenever.
>No, he won't. The only time that is possible is when a similiar sloth is
>blocking the road ahead.

Depends on what you mean by "sloth".
Someone poking along below the limit is someon nice to be in front of.
Just make the moves gently and safely, without cutting in front of
someone and then hitting the brakes just to be in front of him.

If the sloth is at approximately the limit, he's no sloth. If most
drivers appear to be sloths, and you are going left, right, left,
right, left, right, you are probably going too fast.

The sloths won't catch up to you. But, in general, average traffic
seems to do just that, in my observation.

Brent P wrote:
> wrote:
>
>> Besides, the guy you passed will usually catch up. Next light, the one
>> after, whenever.
>
> No, he won't. The only time that is possible is when a similiar sloth is
> blocking the road ahead.

In my area, that does qualify as "usually"

In article >, Victor Smith wrote:

> Baloney. More likely he will get in the way. There is absolutely no
> correlation between people who rush to red lights and people who
> enhance the flow of traffic.

You've never paid close enough attention then. That's all I can say.

> Once activity is stupid, and one is
> smart. One activity is nerdy and ugly, the other smooth and sexy.
> People who rush to red lights make everybody wait for them to
> accelerate away. They have no sense of timing, and no inclination to
> enhance traffic flow.

You didn't read my posts then. There are some who are idiots just like
the sloth. However there are conditions where one is required to do
exactly that or pay a penalty. For instance, I just drove on a road where
there three lights close together that are not timed well together. If
there is a red at the first light I want to be in the lead spot in one
of the lanes. Because one needs to hammer the acceleration to make the
next two on green. If one fails to accelerate, then it's three reds in a
row. The sloth has no sense of this timing. Sure, I'd love to time it so
that I was moving over the line as the first light turned green, but
someone will cut me off and then accelerate slowly if I don't go right
up the line ASAP.

Another thing the coaster has no sense of is that traffic lights are sensor
driven. There is a triggering window for the sensor in the light's
programing. Some lights only go green for the directions where vehicles
have been sensed within that timing window. This later type of traffic
light is very aggrivating to behind a coaster because it means waiting
there for two cycles because the coaster didn't understand that he had
tigger the sensor in a timely manner.

If lights still in large part worked on fixed timings the coasters would
have some point, but they don't. Fixed timing lights are the minority
where I drive. Sensor driven lights are the rule and it takes a different
method of driving for them.

In article >, Scott en Aztlán wrote:

> The vast majority of people who are driving a motor vehicle on the
> road are doing so to get someplace, and they wish to do so as quickly
> and efficiently as possible. This is the "game" I am talking about,
> and I guarantee I'm not the only one playing it.
>
> By planning several "moves" ahead and positioning my vehicle to avoid
> being blocked by Sloths, I can achieve that goal. The Sloth Coaster
> never does.

What I loved about my driving experience in Germany was the lack of
sloth. Everybody did what is being called a game in this thread. Everyone
apparently knew how to get the most traffic through the smallest space in
the shortest time and did their part. They all seemed to know how the
lights were timed, they paid attention to detail.

There were no sloth, no coasters, no self-serving, self-rightous assholes
blocking traffic. Here at home, if I'm in the 5th car back from the line
at a red signal it's questionable if I'll make it through. In Germany it
didn't matter if I was 1st or 15th, everyone would start moving together,
on green more or less, without that assinine slinky effect in the USA.