YES! FINALLY!!!

"Don Phillipson" > wrote in message
...
> "Don Bruder" > wrote in message
> . ..
>>
>> Just caught a blurb on the local radio station. Washington State
>> Troopers are launching a special traffic enforcement operation.
>> . . .
>> What they're specifically looking for in the next several weeks are the
>> idiots that don't understand that the left lane is for passing, not
>> playing roadblock.
>> . . .
>> but it's been explicitly stated law here in Washington for quite a few
>> years - including being clearly and frequently posted on every stretch
>> of multi-lane-per-direction pavement I've driven on in this state -
>> "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS" and/or "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT" signs are
>> almost as frequently seen as speed limit or "don't litter" signs.
>
> California seems to be different.

California is different? Now there's a shock.

>Those who block traffic lanes at any speed for moralistic reasons
>rob all other drivers of the right to judge safety or reasonableness,
>rob any driver of the necessary passage in an emergency, and rob
>the safety of all drivers by inviting road-rage incidents. Traffic
>lane blockers themselves are breaking the basic speed law, and
>are a serious threat to everyone's safety.
>
The violation is impeding the flow of traffic. You can be in violation
of this offence even if you are going above the speed limit.

On Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:00:23 -0500, "Frank Berger"
> wrote:

>
>"Don Phillipson" > wrote in message
...
>> "Don Bruder" > wrote in message
>> . ..
>>>
>>> Just caught a blurb on the local radio station. Washington State
>>> Troopers are launching a special traffic enforcement operation.
>>> . . .
>>> What they're specifically looking for in the next several weeks are the
>>> idiots that don't understand that the left lane is for passing, not
>>> playing roadblock.
>>> . . .
>>> but it's been explicitly stated law here in Washington for quite a few
>>> years - including being clearly and frequently posted on every stretch
>>> of multi-lane-per-direction pavement I've driven on in this state -
>>> "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS" and/or "SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT" signs are
>>> almost as frequently seen as speed limit or "don't litter" signs.
>>
>> California seems to be different.
>
>California is different? Now there's a shock.

in CA (southern CA, anway) there aren't many admonitions about staying
to the right - and any that do exist are pretty much ignored.

but given that the vast majority of speeding tickets issued by the CHP
are given to motorists driving in the far left lane (and anything over
100 is now ticketed as reckless driving - which can'be contested in
court they way speeding tickets can be if you know the loopholes in CA
code), i personally make it a point to move to the right as much as
possible. i've done 80+ in the middle lane (of five) and gotten a
verbal warning (via bullhorn) to slow down whereas if i'd been the far
left lane, i'd have gotten a ticket.

say what you will about the french, but they are civilized when it
comes to road and freeway traffic. i drove from paris to avignon and
everyone stayed to the right and moved left only to pass. too bad they
also put americans to shame with their use of roundabouts/traffic
circles.

--------
"any words spelled incorrectly are probably typing errors"

Don Bruder wrote:

> That, I think, is going a bit too far in the other direction... If
> you're cruising the freeway and all you've got is "a county and a half"
> worth of empty asphalt behind you, with everybody else hugging the right
> shoulder as you breeze by them, I can see no reason to quibble over what
> lane you're in.

Not only that, but it evens out wear on the traffic lanes. Down in the
desert southwest, the right lane in rural areas can get really pounded
in the summer months when the asphalt is soft, especially if everyone
camps out over there. I will move to the left lane to get out of the
washboard under those conditions, but I don't go to sleep over there. If
a speck appears 5 miles back in my rear-view and is closing, I'll move
back over.

Or not. Frequently in such a low-traffic scenario, the approaching car
will move over WAY back and politely pass on the right. It doesn't
scale to high-traffic scenarios (to quote Brent) but in such low traffic
areas two drivers can work out whatever they want by clearly showing
intent. Happens all the time.

E Meyer wrote:
>
>
>
> I remember the passing on the shoulder when I lived in Houston, as well as
> making ad hoc exit ramps and driving on the sidewalk. Fortunately, most of
> that doesn't extend throughout the whole state.
>
>

Its pretty rampant in the urban areas, unfortunately. It seems like the
highway department is always having to put up reflectors to block the
latest "exit of opportunity" across the grass. People get into a traffic
jam and then think its their god-given right to bail out any time they
want, rather than wait for an exit to the access road.


Texas has a few very nice rural driving traditions that I hope don't get
lost as the urbanites swarm all over the place. One that I particularly
like is used on 2-lane roads with paved shoulders (most state and US
highways are built this way in the boonies, the so-called "Farm to
Market" (FM) and "Ranch Road" (RR) state roads are 2-lane without
shoulders). On the roads with shoulders, it used to be de-rigeur for a
driver ahead of a faster driver to pull onto the shoulder to allow the
faster driver to pass without crossing into the oncoming lane. Of course
this was always timed so that no blind corners were ahead, lest someone
be stopped in the shoulder. So you might think its useless. Well it
isn't- it allows faster cars to safely pass in the presence of oncoming
traffic. It prevents long stack-ups and keeps things moving. The
protocol always included a wave or a few blinks of the hazard flashers
as a token of thanks as the faster car moved ahead, too. I've noticed
over the last couple of years that the practice is getting rarer and
rarer within 100 miles of any of the large urban blights, but still
common further out.

Don Bruder wrote:
>
> Just caught a blurb on the local radio station. Washington State
> Troopers are launching a special traffic enforcement operation.
>
> Not the usual Ho-Hum crap of trying to screw people over for not
> buckling up, or a crackdown on speeders or drunks - Although I agree
> those are worthwhile efforts, they pale in comparison to one of my
> "favorite" pet peeves on the road.
>
> What they're specifically looking for in the next several weeks are the
> idiots that don't understand that the left lane is for passing, not
> playing roadblock.
>
> ...For once, I'll be rooting for the cops!

God, ya'll are so sweet and innocent, it's kinda like when I go to the
mall at Christmas time and some little kid looks up at me

http://uncharted.org/frownland/pix/wdk.jpg

with his or her big shining eyes and says, "Are you Santa Claus?"

Now here's what's really going on. You've heard of "DWB," right? Big,
big, bad offense: Driving While Black.

And where I live, by keeping your eyes open you can see it now and again
even if you're so extremely Caucasian you get mistaken for Santa Claus.
A whole line of traffic is just honking along on the Interstate, where
everybody who's not both antisocial and suicidal is going 15 or 20 over
the ridiculously low speed limit, as everybody does 24 hours a day on
that stretch of road.

Whoa, suddenly out of nowhere you see a cop car change lanes and come
zipping up behind one of the cars in the stream. He's following real
real close behind this one particular car and driving with one hand
while he keys the tag number into the Panasonic Toughbook mounted on the
passenger seat. And then that cop dogs him, just hounds the dude,
follows him at a car length gap for three, five, eight miles, until
finally he gets bored, lane-swerves, and roars off in a big dust cloud
of Police Interceptor horsepower.

And then you come on past the target, and glance over, and nine times
out of ten it's a brother.

All the young black guys learn real quick that when you see those
gumballs in your rear-view, you bring it right on down to the speed
limit and not an iota above, and you steer like you've got your Granny
in the passenger seat with a basket of eggs on her lap. You don't give
them any excuse to pull you over and while away an hour or two of their
paid time and your unpaid time while they inspect and interrogate you
like they saw your name on the FBI top ten most wanted list. You slow
down and drive straight.

All this is about is that the Washington cops have decided to take that
dodge out of play too. Speeding? We'll pull you over, boy, and slap
your black ass with a ticket. That'll teach you! Not speeding? Same
God damn thing.

yrs jp

Unfortunately, the semi's have torn up the right lane on the interstates to
the point that it's often unusable for a car like a Miata!
For instance--During a summer thunderstorm, the left lane ruts collect water
like you would not believe. In north Florida, when this kind of weather is
going on, you can expect to see several smaller and older foreign cars
hydroplaning into the shoulders or median. There should be warning signs
posted for these areas!

Not to mention that the driver and passenger (if any) are quite
uncomfortable because of the ruts, bumps, and the resulting vibration. It
makes driving or going any distance really an unpleasant experience!

"johnny p." > wrote in message
...
> Don Bruder wrote:
>>
>> Just caught a blurb on the local radio station. Washington State
>> Troopers are launching a special traffic enforcement operation.
>>
>> Not the usual Ho-Hum crap of trying to screw people over for not
>> buckling up, or a crackdown on speeders or drunks - Although I agree
>> those are worthwhile efforts, they pale in comparison to one of my
>> "favorite" pet peeves on the road.
>>
>> What they're specifically looking for in the next several weeks are the
>> idiots that don't understand that the left lane is for passing, not
>> playing roadblock.
>>
>> ...For once, I'll be rooting for the cops!
>
> God, ya'll are so sweet and innocent, it's kinda like when I go to the
> mall at Christmas time and some little kid looks up at me
>
> http://uncharted.org/frownland/pix/wdk.jpg
>
> with his or her big shining eyes and says, "Are you Santa Claus?"
>
> Now here's what's really going on. You've heard of "DWB," right? Big,
> big, bad offense: Driving While Black.
>
> And where I live, by keeping your eyes open you can see it now and again
> even if you're so extremely Caucasian you get mistaken for Santa Claus.
> A whole line of traffic is just honking along on the Interstate, where
> everybody who's not both antisocial and suicidal is going 15 or 20 over
> the ridiculously low speed limit, as everybody does 24 hours a day on
> that stretch of road.
>
> Whoa, suddenly out of nowhere you see a cop car change lanes and come
> zipping up behind one of the cars in the stream. He's following real
> real close behind this one particular car and driving with one hand
> while he keys the tag number into the Panasonic Toughbook mounted on the
> passenger seat. And then that cop dogs him, just hounds the dude,
> follows him at a car length gap for three, five, eight miles, until
> finally he gets bored, lane-swerves, and roars off in a big dust cloud
> of Police Interceptor horsepower.
>
> And then you come on past the target, and glance over, and nine times
> out of ten it's a brother.
>
> All the young black guys learn real quick that when you see those
> gumballs in your rear-view, you bring it right on down to the speed
> limit and not an iota above, and you steer like you've got your Granny
> in the passenger seat with a basket of eggs on her lap. You don't give
> them any excuse to pull you over and while away an hour or two of their
> paid time and your unpaid time while they inspect and interrogate you
> like they saw your name on the FBI top ten most wanted list. You slow
> down and drive straight.
>
> All this is about is that the Washington cops have decided to take that
> dodge out of play too. Speeding? We'll pull you over, boy, and slap
> your black ass with a ticket. That'll teach you! Not speeding? Same
> God damn thing.
>
> yrs jp

Don Bruder wrote:

Just caught a blurb on the local radio station. Washington State
Troopers are launching a special traffic enforcement operation,
concentrating for the next several weeks on the idiots who don't
understand that the left lane is for passing, not playing roadblock.
__________________________________________________ ________

"johnny p." wrote:

It's just another excuse to harass motorists for DWB (Driving While Black).
When a line of traffic is moving along nicely, a cop will thread through the
traffic to zoom up behind one car, tailgate it at one carlength for 3 to 5
miles, than pull out and zoom away if they can't scare the driver into
making a mistake. Nine times out of ten, the victim is a brother.

Besides ticketing you for speeding they can now ticket you for not
speeding. Same God damn thing.
__________________________________________________ _______

It's called profiling. One group is singled out for scrutiny for possible
law-breaking while others are ignored. Those who endorse profiling
claim that it is the most efficient use of security resources. They use
statistics to support their position. For example, they claim that
Blacks, who are 13 per cent of the population, commit 50 per cent of
the felonies, while Whites, who are 50 per cent of the population only
commit 30 per cent of the felonies. Then they compare felonies per
population density for both groups: 50/13 = 3.85 felonies per population
unit versus 30/50 = 0.6 felonies per population unit. They conclude
that any Black is 3.85/0.6 = 6.4 times as likely to commit a crime as
a White. So millions of innocent Blacks suffer being profiled.

Religious profiling also exists. Islamics, who are 33 per cent of the
world's population, commit 99.8 per cent of suicide bombings, while
Christians, who are 33 per cent of the world's population commit
only 0.004 per cent of suicide bombings. Comparing suicide bombings
per population unit yields Islamics 99.8/33 = 3.02 suicide bombings per
population unit, and Christians 0.004/33 = 0.00012 suicide bombings per
population unit. The conclusion is that any Islamic is 3.02/0.00012
= 25,167 times as likely to be carrying a suicide bomb as a Christian.
Here again, millions of innocent Islamics suffer being profiled.

Rodan. <------ been profiled before

> Religious profiling also exists. Islamics, who are 33 per cent of the
> world's population, commit 99.8 per cent of suicide bombings, while
> Christians, who are 33 per cent of the world's population commit
> only 0.004 per cent of suicide bombings. Comparing suicide bombings
> per population unit yields Islamics 99.8/33 = 3.02 suicide bombings per
> population unit, and Christians 0.004/33 = 0.00012 suicide bombings per
> population unit. The conclusion is that any Islamic is 3.02/0.00012
> = 25,167 times as likely to be carrying a suicide bomb as a Christian.
> Here again, millions of innocent Islamics suffer being profiled.
>
> Rodan. <------ been profiled before
>
Well, Maybe if Islamics stopped the suicide bombings, stopped burning
Christian churches in the middle east, stopped detroying Buhdist temples in
S. E. Asia and generally joined the ranks of the modern world, the profiling
would stop.
I don't expect Islam to adjust to the world of 2008 but maybe if they could
move their thinking forward a few years (maybe the early 1800s????) we could
all get along. I, for one, am tired of Islamic fundamentalists coming to
America and then demanding that we adjust our way of life to fit their
warped "religion".
Religion of peace, my ass.
Squat

<snip>

> gumballs in your rear-view, you bring it right on down to the speed
> limit and not an iota above, and you steer like you've got your Granny
> in the passenger seat with a basket of eggs on her lap. You don't give
> them any excuse to pull you over and while away an hour or two of their
> paid time and your unpaid time while they inspect and interrogate you
> like they saw your name on the FBI top ten most wanted list. You slow
> down and drive straight.

<snip>

Uhm... why wouldn't you already be driving legally in the first place?