Being a Good Driver

[Samson]

Pet peeve of mine is seeing drivers in movies having conversations with their passengers. (Yes, I know in reality they aren't actually 'driving').

"Dude, you don't maintain eye contact with passengers while behind the wheel! You drove the last half mile while not even looking at the road!!"

I am totally with you. The positive portrayal of loads of other irresponsible behaviour is restricted in films, and having a conversation while looking at someone in the passenger seat is really dangerous.

That's in keeping. They'll just govern the engine to match the specified passenger tire. I think it's usually around 100mph. I don't think there is anywhere in the states it's technically legal to drive on the public right of way that fast, even in the middle of nowhere Montana haven't seen a car in 5 miles.

But surely top speed is one of the selling points of cars? Surely manufacturers would not intentionally reduce that to save a couple of bucks on the tire they have to sell it with?

 

[Farm Boy]

On a Toyota Corolla? Or a Ford Focus? They'd struggle to get 100, but I bet even Ford Escapes with thier tiny little turbocharger are governed around there. I think the selling point is more functionally having decent acceleration between 60 and 80 for interstate driving. Past that you're going to need a car that's sold specifically as sporty?

 

[Samson]

On a Toyota Corolla? Or a Ford Focus? They'd struggle to get 100

Not here they do not. I have not had either of those, but my first car was an 88' 1.3 astra that I got to 117 on a good day. The ford focus ST is well rated, and the current one gets to 137mph. Even the 1 litre EcoBoost reports a 110 top speed with 85 bhp.

 

[Farm Boy]

Interesting! I do hear tell that at least Germans find American freeways to be messy and slow, but more relaxing. At least that's the impression I've gotten from YouTube channels.

 

[Kaitzilla]

So I hit a pothole too fast I guess and now my tire has a slight bulge in the side of it.

I moved the tire to the rear of my front wheel drive car, but is it safe to keep driving on it?

It doesn't appear to leak air or get any bigger.



**Edit**
About 90% of the internet thinks a sidewall bulge should be replaced, but it's $100 for a new tire.

Spoiler :

 

[Kaitzilla]

I also think most people have a slightly skewed idea of what goes into safe highway driving. Speed is mostly not important: sure, there's a point where you're going so fast you can't control the car, but most people don't ever hit that point (or even come close to it). It's much safer to go 20 above the speed limit to get away from other drivers than to continue to drive for miles and miles at the speed limit in a clump of traffic. Being in the middle of what I call a traffic void, far away from any other cars, is a much better way to avoid accidents than arbitrarily limiting your speed without regard to road conditions

Right, speeding to get away from a pack of vehicles is far better than doing the speed limit surrounded on both sides.

I'm only comfortable on the highway when no one is on my left or my right.

3 times in my life I have had people merge into my lane while I was in it at 60mph/100kph.


This situation is why I'm annoyed whenever I drive in Illinois.
The interstate speed limit is 75mph for cars and 65 mph for trucks.

Trucks were constantly passing slower trucks that obeyed the law.
I was constantly passing trucks.
The flow of traffic was maddening.

Sweat was beading on my forehead at the constant lane switching from having two different speed limits for the titanic steel trucks and everyone else.

The middle lane was a war zone.
The only safe spot was the fast lane, but enough 90mph people zoomed up behind me that I retreated to the slow lane.

Finally, I gave up and just drove in the slow lane that had no cars.
Traffic sorted until I was behind a slow truck and was tailgated by a stream of giant trucks.

I just resigned myself to dying if they didn't feel like braking.

 

[Farm Boy]

The calm of home. The fast lane is usually the most relaxing in heavy traffic. Perpetual mixed speed merge.

They did eventually raise the truck speed limit.

 

[uppi]

Interesting! I do hear tell that at least Germans find American freeways to be messy and slow, but more relaxing. At least that's the impression I've gotten from YouTube channels.

Yes. German freeways are perpetual mixed speed merging, but the fast lane is going twice as fast as the slow lane (well, most of the time, not quite, but it is close). And then you have the occasional madman going three times as fast. The rules are much stricter, so it does not end in total disaster, but it is usually much more stressful.

 

[Lexicus]

This situation is why I'm annoyed whenever I drive in Illinois.

I hate driving in Maryland because everyone thinks they belong in the fast lane there but they drive slow and the right lane is usually the clear lane that you can use to pass people.

 

[Samson]

is it safe to keep driving on it?

It is not safe as in it could go at any time and you will have a blowout. It may go on for years. For $100 I would change it but it depends on your own risk tolerance/cash situation.

 

[Mise]

For UK drivers I recommend the Roadcraft handbook, which is the resource police officers in this country use for their advanced driving techniques: https://www.roadcraft.co.uk/

My insurance went up by 30% or so when some idiot reversed into me in a car park. I was stopped, he accepted full responsibility, all paid for under his insurance, but my premiums still went up. Absolute joke...

 

[Kaitzilla]

My insurance went up by 30% or so when some idiot reversed into me in a car park. I was stopped, he accepted full responsibility, all paid for under his insurance, but my premiums still went up. Absolute joke...

That sucks!

I think my insurance company allows 2 no-fault accidents before they raise me.


I do have a parking lot story.

An older lady pulled into the parking spot behind me two places over.

So I started backing out in her direction and I saw that she was backing out right at me!
I guess she wanted another try pulling into her spot better?

I zoomed back into my spot and waited 10 seconds.
Then I slowly started backing out again in her general direction.

She came at me again!
We were both in our blind spots (car frames) until our rear windows were facing each other and our trunks (the boot in UK?) were about to collide.

I zoomed back into my parking spot and got out.
Then I watched her get out of her car and go inside the store before I tried to leave a 3rd time.